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Casino (1995)

8.2
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Ratings: 8.2/10 from 195,500 users   Metascore: 73/100
Reviews: 480 user | 106 critic | 17 from Metacritic.com

Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.

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(book), (screenplay), 1 more credit »
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Title: Casino (1995)

Casino (1995) on IMDb 8.2/10

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Top 250 #141 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations. See more awards »
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Cast

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Pasquale Cajano ...
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Vinny Vella ...
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Joseph Rigano ...
John Bloom ...
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Storyline

This Martin Scorsese film depicts the Janus-like quality of Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one. Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence. Written by Tad Dibbern <DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Don't Push Your Luck. See more »

Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, pervasive strong language, drug use and some sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

|

Language:

| |

Release Date:

22 November 1995 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Kasino  »

Box Office

Budget:

$52,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

£3,834,340 (UK) (15 March 1996)
 »

Company Credits

Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

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Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

To date (summer 2009) this is the last theatrical movie to be censored by Swedish authorities. The scene cut is the infamous "head in the vise" scene. See more »

Goofs

When Ace and Nicky are supposedly driving in Downtown Las Vegas, the view differs from each of their side windows. The Fremont Hotel is visible out of one window, and the Sahara out of the other. The Fremont is on Fremont Street, while the Sahara is on the Las Vegas Strip. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Ace Rothstein: [voice-over] When you love someone, you've gotta trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point? And for a while, I believed, that's the kind of love I had.
[Ace's car explodes]
See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Hangover (2009)
The scene of the money exchange is filmed in the same location as the Deniro/Pesci argument, and features the same "Car with dust as seen in a pair of sunglasses" pre-shot. See more »

Soundtracks

"The 'In' Crowd"
Written by Billy Page
Performed by Dobie Gray
Courtesy of MCA Records
Published by Unichappell Music, Inc. & Elvis Presley Music
(All Rights Administered by Unichappell Music, Inc.)
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Typically fantastic Scorcese film
14 May 2003 | by (Milwaukee, WI) – See all my reviews

I have to admit my bias, because I believe that Scorcese cannot do wrong - ever. Even his lesser-known or critically panned films are above the "great film" line, and Casino is certainly no exception.

Casino spans three decades and chronicles the true story of a faction of the mob who ran Las Vegas casinos. Robert DeNiro plays Ace Rothstein, a fantastic bookie who is chosen to run the Tangiers hotel and casino. Along the way, he marries a drug-addicted con-artist trophy wife (Sharon Stone) and struggles with his friendship with loose-cannon Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). Rothstein is a complicated figure in that he is not a heavy, yet he wields a lot of power due to the respect he has gained from his mob bosses back home.

Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci are both fantastic in their roles, and Sharon Stone actually turned out a non-irritating performance. As the viewer, you can't stand her, but that is the point. Scorcese's normal supporting cast are also involved in this film, including his great mother - even though she usually has incredibly minimal roles, they are always memorable.

Scorcese seems to have several different directing styles, and Casino follows in the tradition of Goodfellas as a pseudo-documentary. A lot of the exposition is revealed by the characters themselves in the form of voice-overs, and several scenes are filmed in documentarian fashion. The entire production however, is sleek and very quick. The use of music bears mentioning as well: Most Martin Scorcese films have an amazing soundtrack that adds to and enhances the scene. Being a child of the MTV age, I'm a sucker for good uses of music in films and Scorcese is a master. Scorcese doesn't just utilize the soundtrack, he makes it part of the storytelling - by the music, we chronologically know what time period we are witnessing, since one cannot rely on other factors, such as fashion alone. One of my favorite scenes in film which effectively involves music is actually from Casino - the very intense scene when the relationship between DeNiro, Stone and Pesci come to a head in the climax of the film. The pounding music cut throughout this scene is a cover of "Satisfaction" by Devo and the result is absolutely brilliant.

Being a complete film geek, I generally don't go to films that feature certain stars, I go to films by certain directors and Scorcese is one of them. While this was probably the tenth time I'd seen this film there were more things I noticed, and I'm sure I'll notice more upon my eleventh viewing. The man is a complete genius, and a gift to film - my suggestion is to watch some of his films, then check out his unbelievable series, "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorcese Through American Movies" which was done the same year as Casino. The series is essentially a primer on the history of film, sectioned off by film genres. You not only will experience his amazing intellect and massive knowledge of film history, but his incredible humility as well.

--Shelly


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