Martin Scorsese's fascinating new film 'Casino' knows a lot about the Mafia's relationship with Las Vegas. It's based on a book by Nicholas Pileggi, who had full access to a man who once ran four casinos for the mob, and whose true story inspires the movie's plot.
In early-1970s Las Vegas, low-level mobster Sam Ace Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with. “Casino” is one of the all-time great movies about Las Vegas. The film, released in 1995, was inspired by real people and, in large part, actual events. “Casino” is a funny, violent, eye-opening glimpse into the colorful history and culture of Las Vegas casinos, and the film has helped shape how many perceive Sin City, for better or worse.
Like 'The Godfather,' it makes us feel like eavesdroppers in a secret place.
The movie opens with a car bombing, and the figure of Sam 'Ace' Rothstein floating through the air. The movie explains how such a thing came to happen to him. The first hour plays like a documentary; there's a narration, by Rothstein (Robert De Niro) and others, explaining how the mob skimmed millions out of the casinos.
It's an interesting process. Assuming you could steal 25 percent of the slot-machine take - what would you do with tons of coins? How would you convert them into bills that could be stuffed into the weekly suitcase for delivery to the mob in Kansas City? 'Casino' knows. It also knows how to skim from the other games, and from food service and the gift shops. And it knows about how casinos don't like to be stolen from.
There's an incident where a man is cheating at blackjack, and a couple of security guys sidle up to him and jab him with a stun gun.
He collapses, the security guys call for medical attention, and hurry him away to a little room where they pound on his fingers with a mallet and he agrees that he made a very bad mistake.
Rothstein, based on the real-life figure of Frank (Lefty) Rosenthal, starts life as a sports oddsmaker in Chicago, attracts the attention of the mob because of his genius with numbers and is assigned to run casinos because he looks like an efficient businessman who will encourage the Vegas goose to continue laying its golden eggs. He is a man who detests unnecessary trouble. One day, however, trouble finds him, in the person of Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), a high-priced call girl.
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Original Release
11/22/1995
Links
Cast
| Robert De Niro | Sam 'Ace' Rothstein |
| Sharon Stone | Ginger McKenna |
| Joe Pesci | Nicky Santoro |
| James Woods | Lester Diamond |
| Don Rickles | Billy Sherbert |
| Alan King | Andy Stone |
| Kevin Pollak | Phillip Green |
| Pasquale Cajano | Remo Gaggi |
| L.Q. Jones | Pat Webb |
| Dick Smothers | Senator |
Directors
Writers
Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi
Cast
| Robert De Niro | Sam 'Ace' Rothstein |
| Sharon Stone | Ginger McKenna |
| Joe Pesci | Nicky Santoro |
| James Woods | Lester Diamond |
| Don Rickles | Billy Sherbert |
| Alan King | Andy Stone |
| Kevin Pollak | Phillip Green |
| Pasquale Cajano | Remo Gaggi |
| L.Q. Jones | Pat Webb |
| Dick Smothers | Senator |
| Frank Vincent | Cowboy |
| Oscar Goodman | Oscar Goodman (achive footage) |
| Richard Riehle | Charlie Clark |
| Catherine Scorsese | Piscano's Mother |
| Vinny Vella | Artie Piscano |
| Nobu Matsuhisa | Ichikawa |
| Erika von Tagen | Amy Rothstein (Older) |
| Nick Mazzola | Male Blackjack Dealer |
| David Rose | David |
| John Bloom | Don Ward |
Producers
| Barbara De Fina | Producer |
| Joseph P. Reidy | Producer |
Editors
| 1996 | Oscar | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Nominated |
| 1996 | Golden Globe | Best Director - Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 1996 | Golden Globe | Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Won |
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