Given my affinity for casinos, sports betting, Las Vegas and mafia movies in general, Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” starring Rober De Niro is one of my all-time favorite movies!
But the fascination with casinos like the Bizzo Casino goes far beyond exceptional offers or the rush to win. The combination of this and the chance of winning it all, along with the strong cast and brilliant script, is what really makes Casino one of those “I-can’t-take-my-eyes-off” movies.
Top facts about the movie “Casino”
So, as this week marks the 30th anniversary of Casino hitting the big screen, let’s dive deep into some of the more memorable scenes, characters and facts that made this Martin Scorsese masterpiece an instant classic.
1. the book
Scorsese usually gets most of the credit for Casino, but the movie is based on the book “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas,” the nonfiction book by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi.
According to a biography of Robert De Niro written by John Baxter in 2003, creatively titled De Niro, the movie “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas,” Pileggi had already written the book and wanted to publish it before the film adaptation, but Scorsese tried to convince him to release it after the movie. They compromised and the book was published a month before the movie was released.
Pileggi also wrote the book Wiseguy and co-wrote the screenplay for the classic mafia film Goodfellas. Speaking of which, in the De Niro biography, Baxter writes: “Casino is Goodfellas on speed”.
2. spurned by critics
Sharon Stone, who played her role as Ginger to absolute perfection, won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Drama and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but ultimately lost out to Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking).
Scorsese was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director and lost to Mel Gibson for Braveheart, which is hard to argue with, but that’s it for the big awards.
3. the cast
Despite the lack of awards, the performance of the entire cast was breathtaking. De Niro was, well, De Niro, who absolutely made his role as Sam “Ace” Rothstein his own. Scorcese and De Niro had worked together seven times before Casino, so this was a no-brainer.
Like De Niro, Pesci was born to play Nicky Santoro, Rothstein’s bombastic right-hand man. The scene where Nicky squeezes a wise guy’s head in a vise is as gruesome as it gets, and one of the most terrifying scenes comes when Nicky finally meets his demise and is beaten and buried alive in a cornfield. According to IMBD.com, Pesci broke a rib during this scene.
In their best performance since Basic Instinct, Stone, as mentioned above, was excellent, as was Don Rickles (God rest his soul; perhaps the funniest man in history?). Kevin Pollak and James Woods, both regulars at the World Series of Poker, were also fantastic, as was Frank Vincent, who you’d think has been in every single mob TV show or movie ever made, and you’d be completely fine with that.