Director: Martin Scorsese
First Release Date: 22nd November 1995 (US)
Running Time: 178 minutes
Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, James Woods
"Casino" is a 1995 Martin Scorsese classic. The film has Scorsese written all over it from the script, screenplay and filming style used. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci star is this highly entertaining and quick-witted movie.
In a time where Las Vegas is ran by gang criminals, Sam 'Ace' Rothstein (De Niro) and Nicky (Pesci), work there way into the Las Vegas scene. The gang bosses can't go to Vegas themselves so use others to filter money out. With a changing job title to avoid getting caught, Ace is the effective owner of the Tangiers Casino and is successful at doing so. Nicky has his own way of doing things and with the FBI on the prowl and Ace's wife, Ginger (Stone) very unstable, the whole mob world starts to collapse around them both.
The film blasts off and captures the audience straight away. Within minutes, events in the film engage the audience. The movie then plays through events that lead to the beginning scene before venturing past that event. Much of "Casino" is portrayed through voice-overs by the two main characters Ace and Nicky. This way of story telling works very well in the setting that Scorsese sets up. By providing this explanation via narration from the characters themselves, it gives the movie an alternate dimension. It gives them a chance to explain what they are doing and the reasons why. This is needed in a film that is just shy of three hours long and features an extensive cast with many characters and interlocking plot lines.
It is impossible to argue that De Niro and Pesci do not carry the film. As always in Scorsese movies, the general cast are great but like with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in the more recent "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), De Niro and Pesci steal the show. Having worked with Scorsese before, both De Niro and Pesci were able to overcome the feel of familiarity and are able to make this film feel fresh and exciting. It feels wrong to have an insight and to feel part of how the mob infiltrated Las Vegas yet so right at the same time.
"Casino" features a great deal of violence which is at times over the top, however this is true to Scorsese's style. Combined with the violence is the intricate story of ultimately three characters lives as they do living and at times this works well together but on the other hand they clash. De Niro plays his character perfectly. Powerful yet so quiet and calm. This portrays a character that holds an incredible screen presence. Pesci's character is rather different. Brash, tough and seemingly less clever, Nicky provides the more humorous scenes that make the movie even more enjoyable.
"Casino" is definitely a film that people can enjoy. It may be a bit too graphic for some, however that does not make it a bad film by any means. It is crafted cleverly in a way that makes an intricate movie through Scorsese's own special way of film-making. It takes the time it needs to piece the whole plot and character sequences together without rushing any scene. "Casino" is a great film which contains great dialect, characters and is thoroughly entertaining.
M+F Rating: 8/10
Reviewed by M+F Reviews.
The film blasts off and captures the audience straight away. Within minutes, events in the film engage the audience. The movie then plays through events that lead to the beginning scene before venturing past that event. Much of "Casino" is portrayed through voice-overs by the two main characters Ace and Nicky. This way of story telling works very well in the setting that Scorsese sets up. By providing this explanation via narration from the characters themselves, it gives the movie an alternate dimension. It gives them a chance to explain what they are doing and the reasons why. This is needed in a film that is just shy of three hours long and features an extensive cast with many characters and interlocking plot lines.
It is impossible to argue that De Niro and Pesci do not carry the film. As always in Scorsese movies, the general cast are great but like with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill in the more recent "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013), De Niro and Pesci steal the show. Having worked with Scorsese before, both De Niro and Pesci were able to overcome the feel of familiarity and are able to make this film feel fresh and exciting. It feels wrong to have an insight and to feel part of how the mob infiltrated Las Vegas yet so right at the same time.
"Casino" features a great deal of violence which is at times over the top, however this is true to Scorsese's style. Combined with the violence is the intricate story of ultimately three characters lives as they do living and at times this works well together but on the other hand they clash. De Niro plays his character perfectly. Powerful yet so quiet and calm. This portrays a character that holds an incredible screen presence. Pesci's character is rather different. Brash, tough and seemingly less clever, Nicky provides the more humorous scenes that make the movie even more enjoyable.
"Casino" is definitely a film that people can enjoy. It may be a bit too graphic for some, however that does not make it a bad film by any means. It is crafted cleverly in a way that makes an intricate movie through Scorsese's own special way of film-making. It takes the time it needs to piece the whole plot and character sequences together without rushing any scene. "Casino" is a great film which contains great dialect, characters and is thoroughly entertaining.
M+F Rating: 8/10
Reviewed by M+F Reviews.
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