There’s something about a casino that makes you feel like you’re stepping into a whole new world. The twinkly lights, the noise, and the constant movement create a euphoric atmosphere that makes you want to gamble your hard earned cash away. However, the odds are against you and the house always wins in the end. The casinos have a built-in advantage that allows them to make money every single time you play.
Martin Scorsese masterfully recreates this Sin City spectacle in his 1995 film Casino, a movie that’s as much about Vegas as it is about the mobster-run Tangiers hotel. In a brilliantly constructed early sequence with deliberate echoes of Goodfellas’ Copacabana interlude, a prowling Steadicam glides past closed doors into the money counting room of the mighty Tangiers. Skimming off the till is an art form and one that Ace countenances as long as he gets his kickbacks from old-school mob bosses in Kansas City.
Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone both give stellar performances, but it’s Joe Pesci who truly elevates the film with his chilling portrayal of mobster Nicky Santoro. Unlike Ace, who has a veneer of honesty for a hood, Nicky is a wild man who lets his anger guide his decisions. Like all of Scorsese’s work, Casino is a visual feast with stunning camera movements, angles, and framing. The use of music is also top notch. It’s one of the best films of all time.
