Pulp Fiction Review (Revisited Again!) - "God came down from heaven and stopped the bullets!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, now we are into February, its about time I did another review, so this one will be yet another revisit (again, I am lazy!) and will be on the Tarantino sophomore film (as the Americans might say!) Pulp Fiction. I've already reviewed this one in recent years, so I will try and add a few bits here and there but also tidy up one or two sections as well.

So, with that said, let's take another look at this modern classic some 32 years on from its release... 

And the usual is coming up.... 

PLOT SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the plot is told in a typically non-linear fashion for writer/director Quentin Tarantino and is split across two main stories with some subplots and the first one features hitman Vincent Vega (Travolta) who goes on a job with his partner Jules Winfield (Jackson) to retrieve a briefcase from some young associates lead by Brett (Frank Whaley) who unwisely tried to rip off Vincent and Jules's boss, Marsellus Wallace (Vingh Rhames).  In the ensuing scene after they have killed the guys, Vincent accidentally kills one of their associates, Marvin (Phil LaMarr) by shooting him in the head while Jules is driving.  After that Jule's calls his local friend Jimmie for help (played by Tarantino himself) and Marsellus who sends one of his business associates Mr Wolf (Harvey Keitel), who "solves problems" and aids in cleaning up their mess for them.

The other story follows Vincent, who is asked by Marsellus to take out his wife Mia (Uma Thurman) one night on the town while he is away on business.  As the two of them have a good night out, and share a steak, burger, and take part in a twist contest, at a "wax museum with a pulse" 1950s style diner.  But when they go back to Mia's place, Mia accidentally overdoses on Vincent's heroin baggie, thinking it to be cocaine.  At this point Vincent in a panic takes Mia over to his drug dealer, Lance (Eric Stoltz) from whom he bought the heroin, which leads into the infamous "needle" scene where Vincent brings Mia round with an adrenaline shot.

The next big story is the "Golden Watch" where a boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) who is coming to the end of his career and is being forced to take a dive in his fight by Marsellus.  But Butch has other ideas and ends up winning the fight, unintentionally killing his opponent in the process and plans to flee with his girlfriend and the winnings he made from the bookies who placed bets on him.

However as Butch and his girlfriend, Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros) plan their departure, Butch notices that Fabienne neglected to pick up his precious golden watch, which was given to him as a present from a soldier (Christopher Walken) who was entrusted the watch given to him by Butch's dad.  Enraged by Fabienne's failure to pick up the watch, Butch decides, with little choice, to go back to get the watch.  So as Butch goes back to his apartment to pick up the watch he proceeds to have the "weirdest fucking day of his life" as he rightly puts it.

Lastly the film concludes with Vincent and Jules having breakfast in a coffee house where they have a deep conversation about the freaky encounter they witnessed at Brett's apartment, when a gunman fired six bullets straight at them and they all missed.  Not long after two thieves, Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Yolanda (Amanda Plummer) hold up the coffee shop (whilst Vincent is in the bathroom) but as Pumpkin approaches Jules to get his wallet, the thief gets more than he bargained for as it leads into the film's surprising climax.

THOUGHTS 
  
It has to be said that Pulp Fiction remains one of the most seminal and highly entertaining films of the last 30 years, which really established that Tarantino was not a one-trick pony and that he could continue to craft excellent films.  Tarantino's script for the most part is wonderfully written and is filled with rich (and very profane) dialogue which is highly memorable as well as quotable.  And its Tarantino's emphasis on the characters is what helps Pulp Fiction work so well as they are all very drawn out.  Vincent as the main character in the film, is both dim and smart at the same time, as he holds a rather stubborn view of life, but at key moments isn't the brightest of sparks (especially leaving his machine gun outside the bathroom, in the scene where Butch faces off him with his gun).

Jules on the other hand is much brighter, cockier and smarter, and as he and Vincent face certain death at one point in the film, Jules is smart enough to realise that at this point, this probably isn't the life for him.  And its most likely Jules decision after his dice with death that would go on to save him from a similar fate than Vincent's.  In the final scene Jules also helps the two coffee shop robbers (from the opening scene) to escape unharmed, as prior to that he would have just killed them.

Mia is also a really good character as she is smart enough to know that her husband is protective of her, but she can look after herself.  And Mia's close call with death also, provides a chance for Vincent to be the good guy and save her, although he wouldn't stand a chance in hell if she died on him.  There's almost a fine line between Mia also flirting and going a step further with Vincent, but Quentin sensibly doesn't let it go that far, although in a later scene its implied they have been seeing each other behind Marsellus's back.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and very strong language!) 

As for the performances, well the film features a star cast that are all on top form.  

Starting with John Travolta who's career was totally revitalized here as he superbly plays the part of the hitman Vincent Vega, who gets into hot water when he unwittingly blows the head off a business associate and also has to try and save his boss's wife from overdosing on his own heroin.

Travolta has numerous highlights in the film such as his opening scene where he talks with Jules about the subtle differences between the cultures of America, Paris and Amsterdam.  And in the scene Jules says "Do you know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris?" and Jules asks "Don't they call it a quarter pounder with cheese?" and Vincent says "No they've got the metric system they wouldn't know what the fuck a quarter pounder is.  They call it the Royale with cheese".  And of course when Jules asks him "What do they call a whopper?" Vincent says "I dunno.  I didn't go into Burger King".

Then there is the scene where Vincent teases Jules about giving foot massages and says "Would you give a guy a foot massage?  I'm little tired I could do with a foot massage myself!".  And as Jules tells Vincent it wasn't right that Marcellus threw Tony "Rocky Horror" out of a window for giving Mia a foot message, Vincent responds.  So, Vincent tells Jules " Now look, I've given a million ladies a million foot massages, and they all meant something. We act like they don't, but they do, and that's what's so fucking cool about them. There's a sensuous thing going on where you don't talk about it, but you know it, she knows it, fucking Marsellus knew it, and Antwon should have fucking better known better. I mean, that's his fucking wife, man. He can't be expected to have a sense of humor about that shit!". 

And later as he fights the temptation to try anything on with Mia after their dinner, he talks to himself in the bathroom mirror at her place and says "You see, this is a real test to see if you can prove loyality, which is very important".  And then after he says to himself "So what you're gonna do is go out there and say "I had a lovely evening" get in the car, go home, jerk off, and that's all your gonna do!".

And later the scene where Vincent desperately drives Mia over to Lance's place and drags her unconscious body out the car, despite Lance's protests "you are not to bring this fucked up bitch into my house!".  And Vincent let's her drop to the ground and says "This fucked up bitch is Marsellus Wallace's wife!  Do you know who Marsellus Wallace is???  Now if she croaks on me I'm a fuckin grease spot! Now I will forced to tell him that you let her die on your fuckin lawn, so please help me get her up!".

And later after they shoot the gunman in Brett's apartment, Vincent kneels down and asks Marvin "Why the fuck didn't you tell us about the guy in the bathroom?  Did it slip your mind?  Did you forget there was someone in there with a goddamn hand cannon?!".  And as Jules insists it was "divine intervention" that has kept them alive from being killed by the hail of bullets, Vincent tells him "Do you wanna continue this theological discussion in the car, or at the jailhouse with the cops?!".  

Another good scene is when Jules tells Vincent what he intends to do with his life after choosing to quite being a hitman and Vincent calls him a bum. So, Vincent says "So, you decided to be a bum?" and Jules says "I'll Jules, Vincent, no more, no less" and Vincent says "No, you decided to be a bum, just like those pieces of shit that beg for change and eat what I throw away. They got a name for that, Jules and that's a bum and without a job, residence or legal tender, that's what your gonna be, man, you're gonna be a fuckin bum!". 

Vincent then refers to back to their freak incident with the gunman in the bathroom missing them completely and Vincent tells Jules "Jules, what happened this morning was peculiar I agree but water into wine..." and Jules says "All shapes and sizes, Vincent" and Vincent shaken says "Don't fuckin talk to me that way man!". Jules then says "If my answers frighten you, Vincent you should cease asking scary questions!". Vincent after a pause then announces "I'm gonna take a shit" and he gets up and says to Jules "When did you make this decision? While you were sitting there eating that muffin?" and Jules says "Yeah, I played the incident in my head when I had what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity" and Vincent says "Fuck! To be continued" and he walks off.

And lastly one of my favourite lines from Travolta is during the robbery of the diner and as Jules is about to give his money to Pumpkin he warns him "Jules if you give that fuckin nimrod 1500 dollars I'm gonna shoot him on general principle!". And in the final moment when the robbery has been diffused, Jules takes his wallet back and Vincent says quietly to him "I think we should be leaving now" and Jules says "Yeah, that's probably a good idea!".

Samuel L Jackson next up, who made his breakthrough with this role, is simply terrific in his role as the philosophical hitman, Jules Winfield, who decides to turn a new leaf after his incident at Brett's apartment when retrieving Marsellus's case. Jackson himself was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance but he lost out to Martin Landau's performance in Ed Wood.

Jackson has so many highlights in the film as well as priceless dialogue its hard to name them all but I will mention a few.  The first being the scene where Jules and Vincent arrive at Brett's apartment and he asks Brett if he can take a bite of his burger and he does so and says "This IS a tasty burger!" followed by "Do you know what they call a quarter pounder in France?" and he tells Brett its a Royale with cheese and why and as Brett says "Because of the metric system?" Jules says "Check out the big brain on Brett! You're a smart motherfucker, that's right! The metric system!".

And later in the scene he taunts Brett just before he shoots him and asks "What does Marsellus Wallace look like?!" leaving Brett a stuttering wreck who keeps saying "What?" and Jules's short fuse is about to reach the limit and he points the gun at him saying "Say what again?!  I dare you!  I double dare you, motherfucker!  Say what one more goddamn time!".   And this is of course is followed by his famous Ezekiel 25:7 passage from the bible, which he finishes by shouting "And you will know my name is the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon thee!" before unloading into Brett.

Then there are some priceless Jackson moments in the "Bonnie Situation" story line, such as when the gunman bursts out of Brett's bathroom and opens fire on Jules and Vincent but all the bullets miss.  And Jules looks down at the dead gunman, after they shoot him, and he says "Did you see the size of the gun he fired at us?  It was bigger than him!".  And as Jules looks at the bullet holes in the wall he says "We should be fuckin dead, man" and Vincent says "Yeah, I know, we were lucky" and Jules says "No, this shit wasn't luck, this was divine intervention.  Do you know what divine intervention is?".  And Vincent, humouring Jules says "I think so.  It means that God came down from heaven and stopped the bullets?" and Jules says "That's exactly what it means.  God came down from heaven and stopped these motherfuckin' bullets!". 

And one of Jackson's funniest moments comes in the scene where Jules and Vincent have to clean out the blood stained car and Jules groans in despair as he cleans out bits of skull and blood "Oh, man!  I will never forgive your ass for this shit!  This is some fucked up repugnant shit!".  And when Vincent tries to say "When a man admits all his wrongdoings he is immediately forgiven" Jules says "Get the fuck out of my face with that shit!  The motherfucker that said that shit didn't have to pick up ity-bity pieces of brain and skull on account of your dumb ass!".

And when Vincent says how is "ready to blow" this is finally followed by "Well, I'm a mushroom cloud layin' motherfucker, motherfucker!  Every time my fingers touch brain I'm Superfly TNT!  I'm the guns of the Navarone!  In fact what the fuck am I doing in the back?!  YOU'RE the motherfucker that should be on brain detail!  We're fuckin' switching!  I'm washin' windows and you're picking this n*****'s dead skull!".

And lastly when Jules grabs Pumpkin he tries to chill out Honeybunny (or Yolanda) by saying "We're gonna be like three Fonzies!  And what's Fronzie like?" and Yolanda says "cool?" and Jules says "Correctamundo!".  And as Yolanda tells Jules to let Pumpkin go, Jules tells her "Yolanda, I thought you were going to be cool.  Now, when you yell at me that makes me nervous and when I get nervous, I get scared.  And when motherfuckers get scared that's when motherfuckers accidentally get shot!".  Then Jules negotiates with Pumpkin and gives him money so he doesn't have to "kill his ass" and he quotes the Ezekiel 25-17 bible passage and explains what he thinks it means.

So, Jules says to Pumpkin "I been sayin' that shit for years, and if you heard it, that meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was some coldblooded shit to say to a motherfucker... before I popped a cap in his ass.  But I saw some shit this morning made me think twice. See, now I'm thinkin' maybe it means...you're the evil man, and I'm the righteous man, and Mr. 9-millimeter here, he's the shepherd...protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean... you're the righteous man, and I'm the shepherd, and it's the world that's evil and selfish. Now, I'd like that. But that shit ain't the truth.  "The truth is...YOU'RE the weak and I'm the tyranny of evil men.  But I'm tryin, Ringo.  I'm trying real hard....to be the shepherd!" and he lowers his gun and let's Pumpkin and Honeybunny go. And after they go, Vincent quietly walks up to Jules and says "I think we should be leaving now" and Jules says "Yeah, I think that's probably a good idea!" and they both leave.  

Uma Thurman is also excellent in her role as Mia Wallace, Marsellus's alluring wife who has dinner with Vincent and their scenes together provide a nice chemistry between them both.

Uma's notable moments all take place mainly at Jack Rabbit Slims restaurant, so I will start with the scene where Vincent at the diner with Mia, asks her about the incident with Tony and Marsellus.  And Mia asks him "So, did you think of something to say?" and Vincent says "Actually, I did.  However you seem like a nice person and I don't want to offend you" and Mia, surprised says "Ooohh! This doesn't sound like the usual, mindless, boring, gettin'-to-know-you chitchat. This sounds like you actually have somethin' to say".  And when Vincent asks her if Tony ever gave Mia a foot massage, she replies "Only thing Antwan ever touched of mine was my hand when he shook it... at my wedding.  Truth is, nobody knows why Marsellus threw Tony out that window... except Marsellus and Tony. When you little scamps get together, you're worse than a sewing circle!".

Then there is the moment where the Jack Rabbit Slim twist contest takes place and Mia wants to dance but Vincent is having none of it but Mia insists. And as Ed Sullivan look-a-like announces "Now who will be our first contestants?" Mia puts her hand and says "Right here!" And Vincent looks horrified and Mia says "Wanna dance" but Vincent quietly says "No, no, no, no, no". Mia however cuts him off and firmly says "No, no, no, no, no, no! I do believe Marsellus Wallace, my husband and your boss told you take to ME out and do whatever I wanted! Now I wanna dance, I wanna win, I want that trophy, so dance good!". 

Then there is the scene just after they dance, we see that they won the trophy as they dance into Mia's place and they share a laugh and an awkward moment where Vincent asks "Is that what you call an uncomfortable silence?" and Mia says "I don't know WHAT you call it!". Mia then quickly snaps out of her reverie and says "Music! Drinks!" and Vincent smiles and says "I'm gonna take a piss" and as Mia prepares to play something on her eight track, she says "That's a littttttle bit more information then I needed, Vincent but go right ahead!".

And after Mia has her harrowing near death experience and is saved bt Vincent she wearily asks him if he wants to hear a joke she told on the TV pilot she did.  And in the scene Mia asks him "Vincent, do you wanna hear my Fox Force Five joke?" and Vincent says "Maybe but I'm still a little too petrified to laugh" and Mia says "No, you want laugh because its not funny but if you wanna hear it, I'll tell it" and Vincent says "I can't wait". So, Mia tells the joke "A daddy tomato, a mommy tomato and a baby tomato cross the street.  The baby tomato starts lagging behind, the daddy tomato gets angry goes back and squishes him and says "Ketchup!" and Vincent smiles a little. Mia then looks at Vincent and says "See you around" and she walks off and Vincent blows her a kiss. 

Bruce Willis also puts in a good performance as the troubled boxer, Butch Coolidge, who is haunted by nightmares involving a soldier who hands Butch his late father's watch, who died in Vietnam and later on goes on the run from Marcellus Wallace as he ends up killing the boxer in his fight.

Willis play the part with his usual type of coolness combined with some hot tempered moments, which we see in the scene where he frantically looks through his suitcase for his father's watch, which his girlfriend Fabienne has forgotten.  And he says to Fabienne "That was my father's fucking watch.  Do you have any idea what he went through to get that watch??  I don't have time to go into it but it was alot!".  And Butch continues "All this other shit you could've set on fire, but I specifically reminded you not to forget the fucking watch! Now think!  Did you get it?" and Fabienne nervously says "I think so".  However, Butch now angry says "You believe so???!"  What the fuck does that mean??!  You either did or didn't get it!!" and Fabienne says "Then I did" and Butch asks again "You sure?" and Fabienne, frightened says "No".

So, then Butch explodes in a rage, yelling "FUCK!  FUCK!!! FUCK!!! MOTHERFUCKER!!!" and he starts leaping up and down and he grabs the motel room TV and smashes it and yells "DO YOU KNOW HOW FUCKING STUPID YOU ARE???!!".  However Butch then regains his composure and shouts "NO!  It's not your fault. You left it at the apartment. If you left it at the apartment, it's not your fault. I had you bring a bunch of stuff. I reminded you about it, but I didn't illustrate how personal the watch was to me".  And after he leaves and reassures Fabienne, we cut to him in his car and he pounds the steering wheel angrily, shouting "SHIT!! OF ALL THE FUCKING THINGS SHE COULD FUCKING FORGET, SHE FORGETS MY FATHER'S WATCH!!  I specifically reminded her!  Bedside table!  On the kangaroo!  I said the words "don't forget my father's watch!".   

And one of Willis's best moments is where after he and Marsellus have been captured by the rednecks in the pawnshop and he breaks free of his bonds and he decides to save Marsellus.  So, Butch rummages through the pawnshop for a weapon to rescue Marcellus with and he picks up a samurai sword (a katana) and goes downstairs and exacts some revenge on the rednecks.  And in the scene, Butch skewers one of the rednecks and then points the katana at the other, Z, and he notices a gun on a table near him and he says to Z "You want that gun, don't you, Zed?  Go ahead and pick it up!".  And as Z is tempted to pick it up, Butch says "Atta boy!  I want you to pick it up...Z!" but then Marsellus stands up behind Butch armed with a shotgun.....

And later when Marsellus let's Butch go he takes Z's chopper (Z is played by Peter Greene) and picks up Fabienne and he tells her "Honey, since I left you, this has been, without a doubt, the single weirdest fuckin' day of my life!".  And as Fabienne get's on the bike, she asks him "Who's motorcycle is this?" and Butch says "Its a chopper baby" and she says "Who's chopper is this?" and Butch says "Zed's?" Fabienne "Who's Zed?" and Butch says "Zed's dead, baby.  Zed's dead!" and they drive off.

Vingh Rhames is great as the crime boss, Marsellus Wallace who sends Vincent and Jules to retrieve a case containing something of great value (and has a golden glow) which we never see what it is and later on has a confrontation with Butch.

Rhames also has some good moments such as in his first scene where Marsellus talks to Butch and tells him "I think when this shit is all done and over, you're gonna find yourself one smilin motherfucker" as he tells Butch to take a dive in his fight.  And in ths scene, Marsellus holds out an envelope of money to Butch and he says to him "Are you my nigga?" and Butch takes the envelope and says "It would certainly appear so".  And Marsellus says to him "The night of the fight you might feel a slight sting.  That's pride fucking with you.  Fuck pride!  Pride only hurts, it never helps.  You fight through that shit.  Cause a year from now when you are kickin it on the Caribbean you're gonna say to yourself "Marsellus Wallace was right!".  

And later in the scene where Butch, driving his car, spots Marsellus cross the street, carrying a box of doughnuts and they look at each other and Marsellus shouts "Motherfucker!" and Butch puts the car into gear and runs him over only to crash into another car in the process. 

But later on Butch decides to save Marsellus during being raped by the rednecks, and Marcellus then takes the shotgun and blasts Zed's private parts to bits.  And as Butch asks him if he is OK, Butch says "Naw, man.  I'm pretty far from OK!".  And Butch asks Marsellus "What now?" and Marsellus says "Let me tell you what now. I'm gonna call a couple of hard, pipe-hittin' niggers...to go to work on the homes here...with a pair of pliers and a blowtorch"  And Marsellus shouts at Z, who writhes on the floor in agony, nursing what is left of his gentialia "You hear me talkin', hillbilly boy? I ain't through with you by a damn sight! I'm gonna get medieval on your ass!". 

So, Butch asks "I mean what now between me and you?" and Butch says "Oh, THAT what now.  I tell you now what between me and you.  There IS no me and you.  Not no more".  And Butch asks "So, we cool?" and Marsellus says "Yeah, we cool.  Two things: Don't tell nobody about this.  This shit is between me, you and soon to be living the rest of his short ass life in agonising pain, rapist here, it nobody else's business". 

And lastly there is the scene where Jules make a call to Marsellus about the "Bonnie" situation and what can the do to resolve it. So, in the scene Marsellus on the phone to Jules says re: Bonnie "If she comes what do you think she'll do?" and there is a beat as Jules replies and Marsellus "Yeah no fucking shit she'll freak. I mean how much? A lot or a little?". And as Jules anxiously explains that if Bonnie catches them trying to shift Marvin's body when she comes home "there aren't no telling what she is a liable to do!".

So, Marsellus says "I know that, Jules. All I'm doing is contemplating the ifs" which prompts Jules to snap back "I don't wanna hear about no motherfuckin ifs! All I wanna hear from your ass is "You aint got not problem, Jules! I'm on the motherfucker! Go back in there and chill those niggers out and wait for the cavalry, which should be coming directly!". So, Marsellus calmly replies "You aint got not problem, Jules. I'm on the motherfucker. Go back in there and chill those niggers out and wait for the Wolf, who should be coming directly". Jules, surprised then asks "You sending the Wolf?" and Marsellus says "You feel better, motherfucker?" and Jule smiles and says "Shit, negro! That's all you had to say!". 

Eric Stoltz is also good in his role as Lance, the drug dealer who sells Vincent the heroin, which Mia later overdoses on and he takes the call from Vincent when Mia has OD'd he says to him on the phone "This is not my fuckin problem!  You fucked her up, you fuckin deal with this!  Are you talking to me on a cellular phone?!  I don't know you!  Prank caller, prank caller!" and hangs up.

And later when Vincent brings the OD'd Mia to Lance's place, the two of them squabble as Lance prepares the needle with adrenaline to resuscitate Mia.  And Lance says "Here, I'll you what to do" but Vincent refuses, saying "You're gonna give her the shot" and Lance insists "No, you're gonna give her the shot!" and they continue to argue.  So, Lance finally says "I never done this either! I ain't starting now! You brought her here. You give her the shot. The day I bring an O.D.ing bitch to your house, then I give her the shot!  Give her the shot!".

So, Vincent relents and takes the needle and uses a black marker to mark the point on Mia's chest where he is to inject the needle.  And Vincent says "All right, tell me what to do" and Lance says "Okay, you're giving her an injection of adrenalin straight to her heart. But she's got a breastplate... You gotta pierce through that. You gotta bring the needle down in a stabbing motion!" and Lance indicates a stabbing motion three times.  So, Vincent asks "So, I've got to stab her three times?" and Lance shouts "No, just stab her once! But it's gotta be hard enough to get through her breastplate into her heart. Once you do that, you p-press down on the p-plunger".  And Vincent asks "OK, then what happens?" and Lance shrugs and says "I'm kinda curious about that myself" and Vincent angrily says "This is ain't no fuckin joke!  Am I gonna kill her?!" and Lance says "She's supposed to come out, just like that!".

Then after Vincent injects the needle in Mia, she suddenly is brought to life and screams out loud and Lance nervously asks her "If you're alright, then say something" and Mia looks a bit needle embedded in her chest and says "Something...." and Vincent and Lance sigh in relief. 

Harvey Keitel also provides an amusing performance as Winston Wolf, the problem solver who turns and sorts out the "Bonnie Situation" which refers to Jule's friend, Jimmy's wife, Bonnie who will come home from work any time. The character of Winston would of course later appear in a series of UK parody television adverts for Directline.com

And Harvey's best scene comes when Vincent disputes Winston's straight talking no-nonsense manner and says to him "A please would be nice" and Winston, taken aback asks "Come again?" and Vincent says "A please would be nice".  So, Winston tells Vincent "Get it straight, buster. I'm not here to say please. I'm here to tell you what to do. And if self-preservation is an instinct you possess, you'd better fuckin' do it and do it quick. I'm here to help. If my help's not appreciated, lotsa luck, gentlemen!".

So, Jules tries to step in to diffuse the tension and says "No, it ain't like that, Mr Wolf, you're help is definitely appreciated!" and Vincent says to Winston "Mr. Wolf, listen. I don't mean disrespect, okay? I respect you. I just don't like people barkin' orders at me that's all".  So, Winston says "If I'm curt with you, its because time is a factor.  I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you want to get out of this.  So pretty please, with sugar on top, clean the fuckin car!".

Another good scene is when Winston gets Jimmie to get a bunch of blankets together to cover over the bloodied seats of Jules's car and Jimmie explains his concerns about his bedset being used as it belong to his Aunt Jenny. So, Winston in the scene asks "Let me ask you a question, Jimmie. Was your Aunt Jenny a millionaire?" and Jimmie says "No" and Winston tells him "Well, your Uncle Marsellus is and I'm positive he will furnish you with a whole new set". So, Winston takes out a wad of dollar bills and says to Jimmie "I like oak myself. How about you, Jimmie? Are you an oak man?" and Jimmie with little choice says "Oak's nice" and Winston starts counting out the money.

And last of all is the scene where Winston, Jules and Vincent successfully dispose of Marvin and the tainted car and they meet his girlfriend, Raquel. So, in the scene Winston offers them a ride but when they tell them where the live, Winston looks to the skies and says "Its your future...I see...a cab ride! Way out of the sticks, fellas!" and he says to Raquel "Say good night, Raquel" and she sarcastically repeats "Goodnight, Raquel!". Jules and Vincent then both thank Winston saying it was a pleasure to watch him work and Winston smiles and says "Call me Winston" and then he heads to his car with Raquel and says to her "You see young lady! That's respect! Respect shows character" and Raquel protests "I HAVE character!" and he tells her "Just because you ARE a character doesn't mean you HAVE character!". 

Christopher Walken who makes a cameo appearance in the film as the solider who gives Butch as a child, his father's watch, is also great and his long speech is nicely written and also pretty funny.

And of course there is funny moment where he tells the young Butch "The way your dad looked at it, this watch was your birthright. He'd be damned (in Walken's unique style!) if any slope's gonna put their greasy, yellow hands on his boy's birthright, so he hid it in one place he knew he could hide something... his ass!  Five long years he wore this watch up his ass. Then he died of dysentery...He give me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass two years. Then...after seven years, I was sent home to my family and...now...little man, I give the watch to you!".

Maria de Medeiros is also good in the film as Butch's girlfriend, Fabienne although it has to be said that she get's the worst of Tarantino's dialogue given that she has to say lines such as "Pot bellies are sexy!" and "I'm gonna order a big plate of blueberry pancakes... with maple syrup, eggs over easy and five sausages!".  So in all honesty I'm not going to bother quoting any of her scenes here just for the sake of time (sorry!).

And lastly Quentin Tarantino also can't resist putting himself in the film in his small role as Jimmy who through little choice has to help out Jules and Vincent with their problem and his performance in all honesty isn't that great but he does what he can. However some of his delivery feels like he is trying to remember some of his lines particularly when says how Bonnie is working "the graveyard shift at the hospital!" it just feels weird and unnatural. Basically Quentin, stick to the directing and writing, that's what your good at!

And Tarantino's most noteworthy scene comes when Jules compliments Jimmy on how good his coffee is and asks what flavour it is and Jimmy says "Knock it off, Julie!".  And Jules asks "What?" and Jimmy angrily tells him "I don't need you to tell me how fuckin' good my coffee is. I'm the one who buys it. I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping, she buys shit! I buy the gourmet expensive stuff 'cause when I drink it, I wanna taste it. But you know what's on my mind right now? It ain't the coffee in my kitchen. It's the dead n***** in my garage!".

So, as Jules tries to calm Jimmy, Jimmy interrupts him and asks "When you came pulling in here, did you notice the sign on the front of my house that said, "Dead N***** Storage"?".  And as Jules is about to reply, Jimmy asks louder "Did you notice the sign on the front of my house that said, "Dead N***** Storage"?!!".  And Jules says No, I didn't" and Jimmy asks him "You know why you didn't see that sign?" and Jules asks "Why?" and Jimmy yells "Cause it ain't there, 'cause storing dead n****** ain't my fucking business, that's why!".

And Jimmy then tells Jules "Now, look, you know, she comes home from work in about an hour and a half. The graveyard shift at the hospital. You gotta make some phone calls? You gotta call some people? Well, then, do it, and then get the fuck out of my house before she gets here!".  And as Jules tries to reassure Jimmy that "We don't wanna fuck your shit up" Jimmy angrily yells "You're fucking my shit up right now! You're gonna fuck my shit up BIG TIME if Bonnie comes home!  Do me that favor, all right? The phone is in my bedroom. I suggest you get going!".

DIRECTION AND MUSIC 

As for the director himself, Quentin Tarantino does a great job here of course and technically it is also pretty good film and as he did with Reservoir Dogs he employs the use of long takes in certain scenes and even has a little nod to Brian De Palma with the scene where we see Butch on the right edge of the frame, exhausted on the run from a groggy Marcellus who went see in the distance on the left of the shot.  He also makes good use of visual creativity, such as in the scene with Fabienne's reflection standing inside the motel room TV while an action film is playing. Perhaps time wise the film does feel a bit flabby in places with certain scenes overrunning but for the most part this is certainly one of Tarantino's very best efforts. The film is also remarkable for having cost just $8.5 million to make and it recouped its money and made a profit of over $200 million at the box office.

As for the music in the film it features a memorable soundtrack made up of tracks such as Dick Dale's "Miserlou", and Kool n the Gang's "Jungle Boogie", Aretha Franklin's "Son of a Preacher Man" as well as other songs like "Countin flowers on the wall" by the Statler Brothers, "Comache" by The Revels, used during the hillbilly rape scene and Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" used during Vincent and Mia's dance.  

FLAWS (Warning: this section may also contain spoilers!)

As for flaws....yeah well as good as Pulp Fiction is, it still has some worth mentioning.

And for starters, I do think that the film could be a little shorter as certain scenes do feel a bit panned out.  And for examples sake the scenes between Butch and Fabienne do drag on a bit, and are the only fairly tedious scenes in the film, especially with Fabienne wittering on, about wishing she had a pot belly like "Madonna did when she did Lucky Star!". At this point you want to just hit the fast forward button as the dialogue starts to get a bit cringe worthy! Further to this, I think its also a bit fair to say that Fabienne is a bit too cutesy a character for the film itself as she is quite a contrast to the rest of the hard boiled gangsters and molls we get but maybe that's the point I guess.    

And one of the few things that does leave me slightly uncomfortable about Pulp Fiction is the somewhat racist element on the dialogue, especially as the N word is repeatedly used in many scenes, such as Lance the drug dealer saying to Vincent about his deals "Am I a n*****?  Are we in Inglewood??" as well as Jimmie saying to Jules "when you pulled in here, did you see a sign on the front of my house saying dead n*****storage??".  It does show the film has an uncomfortable mix of humour blended in with racism, and it was the same in Reservoir Dogs where e.g. Harvey Keitel's character, Mr White, talks about "How is it every n***** I know treats their women like a piece of shit?".

I also though that in the redneck scene where Marsellus is sexually assaulted by one of the good ole boys, it does appear very stereotypical in its depiction of these characters and it almost like Quentin threw in the sodomy scene for shock effect more than anything else.  Its almost like Tarantino is doing a nod to the classic 1970's thriller "Deliverance" where Ned Beatty's character is also sexually assaulted by hillbillies.

Another issue is to do with the idea of Winston driving the tainted car with Marvin's dead body in it as he tells Jules and Vincent that he will drive that car and he gives Vincent the keys to his own Acura sports car.  So in the scene Winston tells Vincent "I drive real fuckin fast, so keep up" but if he does that then surely they will get pulled over by the police!  So, in this instance wouldn't it be better for Winston to exercise a little care when he is driving a car containing a dead body rather than belt it out at 90 miles an hour and risk being pulled over and arrested!

Then of course there is the continuity flaw in the scene where the guy in the bathroom bursts out and unloads his magnum at Jules and Vincent only to miss them both and the bullets go into the wall instead.  However if you look carefully before this scene, the bullet holes are already in the wall!  This however is already a well noted continuity flaw in the film itself, so I guess its nothing new but still worth pointing out all the same.

And further to this point, its surprising that the cops aren't alerted at all in any of the scenes involving gunfire in this film, not even where Marsellus shoots at Butch on the streets in broad daylight! I mean Jules and Vincent unload on Brett and his associates in an apartment with loud 9mm guns but NOTHING is heard or done about it, so no one calls the cops! I guess it was just a very apathetic neighborhood I guess where gun crime is so rife no one can be bothered to call the police! And even further to this, why DIDN'T Jules and Vincent use guns with silencers instead to keep things quiet?! I mean they even talk about using shotguns and that would be even worse! Ah well, we're not talking about real life here as it is a Tarantino film after all. 

This bring up another issue of continuity where Vincent refers to watching a TV show called "Cops" when earlier he clearly stated "I don't watch TV" to Jules when Jules talked about Mia's TV pilot. Now, Tarantino could have done this on purpose to mess with people and shift the narrative on purpose, as he does do this also with Honey Bunny's dialogue from the opening scene of the diner robbery. However, it is just a strange shift to go from "I don't watch TV" to "You ever watch that show cops?" and not even Jules thinks to remark on this either although his mind is probably still reeling from their narrow escape.

Another problem I had with the film was to do with Butch's choice when he went back to his apartment to get his watch and THEN go in and make himself some pop tarts in the kitchen!  I mean what hell???!  Surely to God he should have just got his watch and left the apartment straight away!  However I guess the flip side is that by killing Vincent that's one other problem dealt with but on the other hand even though Butch saves Marsellus's life, he does also kill one of his main henchmen, so wouldn't that also cancel out Marsellus's new found faith in Butch??!  Just maybe  In short, Butch really should have just left the apartment straight away than hang about to make breakfast for himself.

I also though it was strange how Butch appears to have the same dream about being a kid and receiving the gold watch and that he wakes up startled. It begs the question: is this the only dream Butch has? If so then I'm kind of surprised that Fabienne wouldn't be used to him having this dream by now when she said she was startled by him and she even asks "Did you have a bad dream?". Then again maybe he only has the dream when he is under stress and there is a lot on his mind and there certainly was in this film! And to be fair Butch does refuse to tell Fabienne as he says "its rare that I remember my dreams".

There are also another couple of oddities in the story such as the scene where Vincent tells Jules that he doesn't watch TV and he later on asks Jules if he watched a show called "cops" which totally negates what he said to Jules earlier! Now, you could argue that Vincent was being sarcastic in his response that he doesn't watch TV earlier in the film but it is still a bit bizarre how Tarantino doesn't refer back to it in the script at that point although clearly Jules's mind is elsewhere after their near death experience. 

Also was it really a good idea for Vincent to shoot up heroin just BEFORE he is due to go off and pick up his boss's wife for a dinner date?!  I mean what if he crashed the car enroute or worse crashed it while he was driving her to dinner?! I guess its OK for Mia to get all coked up since she won't be driving but not so much for Vincent surely! But again it is a Quentin Tarantino film where gangsters can shoot up people in neighbourhoods, scream and shouts as they do it as well as get pissed up on drugs and booze and drive cars at the same time!   

And last of all is the change of dialogue in the scene where Honey Bunny says in the opening scene "Any of you fucking pricks MOVE and I'll execute every single last motherfucking one of ya!" and later on the dialogue changes during the robbery finale itself. And it changes to "Any of you fucking pricks move and I'll execute everyone one of you motherfuckers!". I always felt that this changed was mainly pointless even if Tarantino himself argued that its from a different perspective but even so I think he could easily have kept the dialogue the same as it works much better than the changed version.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Pulp Fiction is easily one of Quentin Tarantino's very best films and its script and cast are both top notch and direction is by large terrific and sharp and he even makes good use of panning shots and fills frame at times in a creative way (where we see Lance's reflection in the mirror of his bedroom as he lays out on it being one). The film also has a very memorable soundtrack with the unforgettable "Miserlou" at the beginning and the use of other tracks such as "Jungle Boogie" by Kool n the Gang. 

And yes it does have some minor flaws and some plot holes and yes even some of the dialogue is a bit cringey at times and yes it does come across as being quite racist at times. However if you forgive it all that, Pulp Fiction is still one of the best films of its era and of the 1990's.

So, I will rate it:

9.5 out of 10 

Right, that's it for now and I'll return with another before the end of the month.

Till then bye for now! 

 

Dirty Harry Review "Every dirty job that comes along..."

 

 

 

 

 

Well, I thought I would get another review in before the end of the month and this one is a redo of a very old post on this blog, which is the crime thriller classic, Dirty Harry. So, this will be expanded quite a bit since its an old post but I will try and not overdo the sections too much (for a change, well try at least!).

So, with that said, let's take another look at this classic and see how it fairs 55 years on from its release... 

Also the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!  

STORY 

So, the plot begins with a serial killer nicknamed Scorpio (Andy Robinson) who kills a girl in a swimming pool by sniping her from a rooftop.  The investigating police officer, Inspector Harry Callahan (Eastwood) finds a ransom note which he takes to the mayor (John Venon), which reveals that Scorpio demands $100,000 and if it isn't delivered he will kill one person a day until they pay him.  The mayor then decides to put Callahan in charge of investigating the case although he is reluctant to at first due to Callahan's rebelious nature.  

Later at a local diner, Callahan spots a bank robbery take place across the street and he kills two of the robbers and injures the last one, and he stands over him saying the immortal line "I know what you're thinking?  Did he fire six shots or only five?" to which he asks the robber "do I feel lucky? Well do ya, punk?" the robber relents from picking up his shotgun, but says to Callahan he's got to know, and Callahan pulls the trigger which clicks to reveal the chamber is empty, and he smiles as he walks off.

Callahan is later assigned a rookie partner, Chico Gonzalez (Reni Santoni) whom Callahan is wary of at first as he feels assigning someone so inexperienced will most likely get them killed.  Scorpio commits another murder as he has killed a young black boy, leaving the police to deduce that he might kill a catholic priest next (as he stated in his ransome note).  This soon leads to Callahan and Chico steaking out a rooftop at night to try and capture Scorpio, with whom they soon engage in a gunfight, but Scorpio escapes and kills a police officer disguise as a priest in the process.  Scorpio next up kidnaps, assaults and buries a girl alive, and he warns the police that he wishes to double his ransome to $200,000 or else he will kill the girl.  The mayor finally relents and insist that Callahan deliver the money to Scorpio to end the killings, to which Callahan reluctantly agrees to but he thinks that Scorpio will kill the girl regardless. 

Later that night Scorpio has Callahan run between various payphones throughout the city to ensure that he isn't being followed.  Callahan eventually faces Scorpio, who beats him up and sadistically tells him that he has changed his mind and he will kill the girl, prompting Callahan to stab Scorpio in the leg, who limps away and escapes again after a quick gunfight with Chico, who is injured as a result.  Chico soon after decides to resign his duties as his wife is concerned for his life, leaving Callahan to carry on investigating alone.  

Callahan however is soon given a new partner, who informs him that Scorpio has been seen in Kezar stadium, where Callahan later goes at night and finds Scorpio, shooting him in the leg, he tortures Scorpio by stepping on his wounded leg, who eventually relents and reveals where the girl is, but they are too late to save her.  Callahan is then soon outraged to learn from the DA that as Callahan unlawfully searched his home without a warrant and seized his rifle, that they cannot charge Scorpio.  

After this Callahan is ordered to stop following Scorpio, after the serial killer pays a thug to give him a severe beating, which he blames Callahan for publicly.  Scorpio's next move involves kidnapping a group of school children on a bus and he phones the mayor asking for a new ransome and a plane so he can leave the country.  The mayor requests Callahan deliver the ransome again, but Callahan refuses and sets off to hunt down Scorpio and stop him once and for all.

THOUGHTS 

Dirty Harry is without a doubt a real classic thriller, and it started a new trend in gritty cop films, in which we see Callahan is a real anti-hero, who to resort any measure to stop criminals.  The film itself was a long time in development and at one time it was actually originally cast for John Wayne who turned it down as he felt the script glorified violence.  Frank Sinatra was also cast in the role but he sustained an injury and was unable to do it, which left the role open for casting with Clint Eastwood not being the top choice, as Robert Mitchum and Burt Lancaster were both considered, who both turned down the part.  Eastwood was eventually cast in the part but insisted that the film was set in San Franciso and he was drawn to the part due to Callahan's concern for the victims of violent crime, and the film reflect the politics of the law at that time which saw the victims rights being trampled on. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!) 

Getting onto the performances, the cast are all on very good form.  

Starting with Clint Eastwood, who is perfect in his role as "Dirty Harry" or Inspector Callahan, the tough, hard headed cop who will take any measure necessary to ensure justice is served.  Callahan despite his tough and gritty nature still remains a decent cop however and he very much shows his concern for the victims as well as for his partner Chico.  Callahan also shows alot of contempt for the system especially when Scorpio is let go as there is insufficent evidence to press charges against him, which sees the criminals given more rights than the victims.  

Eastwood has plenty of memorable scenes in the film, starting with the scene where he speaks to the mayor who warns him about causing no trouble like he did the year before in the Fillmore District and the mayor says "I don't want any trouble like you did in the Filimore District. Is that clear? That's my policy".  So, Callahan replies "Well when a naked man runs after a women with the intent to commit rape, I shoot the bastard, that's my policy!" to which the mayor masks why he thinks that's and Callahan replies "well when I see a naked man with a butcher knife chase after a women with a hard-on, I hardly think he's out collecting for the red cross!".  

Then there is the famous scene where Callahan goes up to the robber at the start and says his famous line "I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or did he fire five? Well, to tell you the truth, I've forgotten in all this excitement. However since this a .44 magnum and it could blow your head clean off, you gotta ask yourself the question: "Do I feel lucky?".  Well do ya, punk?".  

Then there is the sene where Harry and his new partner, Chico are out on duty at night and Harry spies a young woman who get's undressed, and he is beaten up by some nearby thugs.  Later on, Harry talks a man out of jumping off a roof by saying "Can you give me your name and address?" and the would-be jumper asks "Why?" and Harry says "Its just a mess when they jump, you never know who's who?" and the jumper graons and says "I think Im gonna puke!" and Harry grabs and punches him and brings him down in a crane. So, after they are down Harry turns to Chico and says "Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry.  Every dirty job that comes along!".   

Then there is the scene where he tells Chico's wife that he had a wife himself once but she died and he understands why Chico wants to quit. So, in the scene, Harry says "I want you to tell Chico, that I understand him quitting, I think he's right. This is no life for you". Chico's wife then asks "Why do you stay in it then?" and Harry says "I don't know. I really don't". 

Later in the mayor's office, after Scorpio publicly blames his arranged beating on Callahan when he is shown bandaged up on TV. So, the police chief asks Harry "Have you been following this man?" and Harry says "Yeah, I've been follwing him on my own time but anyone can see I didn't do that to him!" and the chief asks how and Harry replies "Because he looks too damn good that's how!".   

Then there is the scene where Harry angrily confronts the mayor and the chief about paying Scorpio another ransom after kidnaps a school bus. So, the chief asks Harry "Callahan, will you take the money to him?" and Harry angrily says "When will you people stop messing around with this guy? He's gotta be stopped now!". The Mayor then angrily says "He's a got a busload of kids and I can't take that chance! I promised him he would not be molested and gave him my word and that's a direct order, Callahan!!". Harry however fed up finally says "Well, just get yourself another delivery boy" and walks out. 

And last of all is the scene where Harry finally catches up with Scorpio and shoots him in the shoulder and taunts him by saying "I now what you're thinking? Did he fire six shots or five?". So, Harry then asks the famous question "Do I feel lucky?" and he furiously asks "Well, do ya, PUNK??!!". Scorpio unlike the bank robber at the start of the film, does go for the gun and Harry finally shoots Scorpio dead once and for all before throwing his detective badge in the river. 

Andy Robinson is also really good as the killer, Scorpio, and he plays him quite creepily and he does cut an intimidating and sinister villain.  

Robinson's memorable scenes include when he bounces Callahan all around the city as Scorpio has kidnapped a gilr. So, Harry finally is brought to Scorpio, who eventually confronts him and beats him up, and he says "Don't you pass out, no don't you pass out, you rotten stinking oinker!" and he confesses "I've changed my mind, I'm going to let her die! I just wanted you to know that before I kill you!" but Chico soon turns up to save Harry.   

Another good scene is where Scorpio pays a thug to beat him up and as the thug beats him severely, the thugs asks "Are you sure you want the rest of it?" and Scorpio, who looks bloody and battered (and a bit like Quasi Modo!) says with contempt "Every last penny, you black son of a bitch!". So, the man then kicks him and then drags him outside and he says "This one's on the house!" and he kicks him again.  

Then there is possibly Robinson's most chilling moment is where he kidnaps the kids on the school trip and he starts off nicely by getting them to sing "Row row row your boat". However, as one of the kids asks where they are going, he soon turns nasty when one of the kids says they want to go home, and he hits the boys and says "What's the matter with you?!  Sing!  I'm gonna kill all your mothers!" and he signs manically "Row row row your boat gently down the stream! Merrily, merrily merrily, life is but a dream!!" before we see Harry turn up ahead ontop of a bridge.  

John Vernon is also really good in his role as the San Francisco mayor, who warns Callahan not to harm Scorpio in his attempts to deliver the ransome.

So, I will mention two of his scene, with the first being a meeting with Callahan and the mayor warns Harry "Callahan...I don't want anymore trouble like you did in the Filimore district, you understand? That's my policy". So, Harry then says "Well, when an adult male is chasing a woman with the intent to rape, I shoot the bastard, that's my policy!". So, Mayor then asks "How'd you establish that?" and then  Harry replies "When a naked man with a butcher knife and a hardon runs after a woman, I don't think he's collecting for the red cross!" and the mayor says "he's got a point!".  

Last of all is Reni Santoni is pretty good in his role as Chico, Callahan's rookie partner who get's some good lines, and after Callahan get's berated by the police chief, Chico says "So that's why they keep calling him Dirty Harry. He keeps getting the shit end of the stick!". 

DIRECTOR 

Moving onto the direction, Eastwood's long time collaborator, Don Siegel does a terrific job here and he keeps the pacing tight and the suspense high, and he stages some impressive action sequences, with the best one being the climactic chase sequence at the end as Callahan goes after Scorpio, as Callahan chases Scorpio on the school bus and eventually to a rock quarry. Siegel also makes good use of many locations in San Francisco such as the city hall, Dolores park and Kezar stadium where Harry tortures Scorpio. Eastwood himself directed one scene of the film also, which is the scene where Harry tries to talk down the jumper.  

SOUNDTRACK  

As for the soundtrack, I have to mention the film's notable score, which is by Argentine-American  composer, Lalo Schifrin, which has a very distinctive and funky feel, with its great use of percussion, piano and guitar, which incorporates some really good dramatic passages, not to mention some funky ones. Schifrin would go on to score three more of the Dirty Harry films except for the Enforcer in 1976, which was scored by Jerry Fielding.

FLAWS

As for the flaws, well yeah Dirty Harry does have some minor ones worth a mention. 

For starters, you could argue the plot is pretty thin and standard stuff with a serial killer on the loose in town and it takes one man to take him down. Its nothing particualrly new in itself although the angle of police brutality from Callahan does add an interesting spin on things to make it stand over what could have been a generic thriller. 

Another issue is to do with the law letting Scorpio go free after Callahan dishes out a brutal confession from Scorpio, despite the fact that Scorpio clearly murdered the girl he had kidnapped. They also have evidence of the simple fact that Scorpio also brutally assaulted Callahan himself prior to this and he had the scars to prove it! So, the idea of letting Scorpio walk only to let him kill again is pretty ridiculous, even the district attorney is naive to the notion of Scorpio killing again, yet Callahan has to remind him that he will for sure do it again. 

I also thought the idea of bouncing Callahan all around town was a bit strange from the stand point of just how was Scorpio keeping tabs on Callahan in the dark at night. I guess he was using binoculars to try and keep an eye on him in between drops but given Callahan has to also go on the subway, it was impossible for him to keep tabs on him at all times (although Scorpio does admit he couldn't keep tabs all the way I guess). 

It has to be said that despite Scorpio's brutal beating, he didn't look too bad after he got out of hospital, as he simply had a few scars and a bandage over his nose. Not only that but but earlier on, Scorpio checked into the emergency hospital for his knife wound but later Callahan shoots him in the leg with his magnum but given the power of his gun, its surprising the damage done wasn't even worse!  

Lastly, I cannot finish without mentioning the blood in the film, which looks ridiculous and completely unrealistic as it has a rather bizarre colour to it and doesn't resemble the natural colour of blood itself. This is most obvious in the scene with the bank robber and his bloody arm, which looks just like he's had some bright red paint spattered all over it! So, yeah the effects for the blood are far from perfect here and definitely one of the drawbacks of the film.

So, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Dirty Harry remains a great classic crime thriller with Eastwood playing one of the most memorable figures in modern pop culture in Harry Callahan and he is perfect at playing the anit-hero. The supporting cast are also good with Andy Robinson being very good also as the creepy villain, Scorpio and John Vernon as the ineffective city mayor. The score of Lalo Schifrin is also very memorable with its use of atmospheric strings and guitar and Siegel's direction is pretty solid overall. So, despite any minor flaws, the film is still a classic and well worth watching as well as a great intro to one of cinema's most memorable characters.

So, I will rate Dirty Harry

9 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another post next month.

Until then its bye for now punks! 

Casino Review Revisited Part 4 - "Dollars! Always the f***** dollars!"

 

 

 

 

So, its time for the first post of the year, which leads me to wish you all a belated Happy New Year and the post will be yet another revisit of my review of Casino, the acclaimed crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese. So, this will be the usual revisit where I will add in a few extra details to sections but I won't add a vast amount as this review is already pretty big! 

So, after all this time, how does Casino fair after 31 years??? Well, let's find out...  

And the usual warning is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the story starts back in the 1970s where Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) is a sports handicapper who is associated with the mob, is sent to Las Vegas and asked to run the Tangiers casino, which is funded by the Teamsters (the American labour union).  At first Sam refuses but is soon persuaded into doing it by one of the mob's associates and head of the Teamsters union, Andy Stone (Alan King).

Once Sam takes over the casino he uses his expert innovations and experience in book making and gambling to double the casino's profits.  The mob who are running the casino in the background, at the same time are doing a skim on the casino's profits, and the bosses send out Sam's friend and Caporegime Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) and his crew to Las Vegas, in order to protect the mob's interests in the casino.

However as things progress Nicky lets himself known in town and around the casinos, and before he knows it, he is banned from the casino or any casino in Las Vegas.  Meanwhile this happens Sam starts seeing a female hustler, Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone) whom he falls in love with, however Ginger doesn't feel that way about Sam.  Regardless of that, Sam persuades Ginger into marrying him and promises to set her up for live by giving her a joint account where she will have over 2 million dollars to her name.

After they marry, things start to crumble as Ginger still hangs around with her ex-boyfriend and pimp Lester Diamond (James Woods).  On finding this out Sam sends Nicky's men to beat up Lester, which horrifies Ginger who then resents Sam for his actions, and she starts to confide in Nicky, although she isn't aware of his involvement in the incident.

While this is all going on, Sam although he is running the casino, he hasn't officially filed for a licence, and he has been re-naming his job title in order to avoid attracting attention toward this.  But soon after Sam fires one of his employees Don Ward (John Bloom) for incompetence, Don's brother Patt Webb (L.Q. Jones) comes to see Sam about it and asks that he hire Don back, but Sam refuses.  Webb though however is a county commissioner and he soon finds out through the newspapers that Sam has stated he is "the boss" of the Tangiers in Las Vegas, he then asks that an investigation take place to see if Sam has filed for a licence or not.

This leads to further complications as on the day of Sam's trial hearing for presenting his case to petition for a licence, he is denied in the hearing, which leaves Sam outraged.  Sam also soon after deliberately raises as much media attention about his case as possible by going on TV, with a live show from the Tangiers, which has guest stars etc.  The mob realise that this is pissing off friends of theirs in business, send Andy Stone to talk to Sam, who tells him he should quit the job, but Sam insists he can't, but rather he wishes that Nicky would take a break and leave for a while.  On hearing this, Nicky is furious and sets up a meeting out in the desert with Sam, where he confronts him and tells him never to go over his head again.

By this time, Nicky has brought alot of heat on himself with the Las Vegas police force who were once co-operative with the casino officials and mob associates, are now so pissed off they want to nail him for anything they can.  Nicky is also determined to plant his own flag out in Vegas and to go after everything, the skim, the casino, his old bosses back home including Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano) who is the most powerful boss in the crime family.  But Nicky in bringing heat on himself, he allows himself to become sloppy and disorganised, as he and his crew get all hopped up on drink and cocaine.

Sam's relationship with Ginger has also deteriorated really badly as well by then, as by this time she has become an alcoholic.  Ginger also goes to Nicky for help in order to try and get her money that she and Sam placed in the bank, and at this time they begin having an affair behind Sam's back.  Sam however soon finds out, and is horrified as he knows if word of the affair gets back to the mob bosses, they will be all killed, as its bad for business.

And its from here things inevitably go further downhill for the trio as the FBI close in and tighten their grip on the Mafia run casino and everyone else involved....

THOUGHTS ON FILM & CHARACTERS 

The comparisons here in Casino to Martin Scorsese's other crime classic, Goodfellas is undeniable as they both depict the American Mafia during the 1960's and 70's and feature relatively similar types of characters. However Goodfellas at the time of its release received great acclaim but Casino on the other hand was not given the same level of praise on its release and was seen as just another retread of Goodfellas.

But in retrospect I would have to actually say that Casino manages to equal Goodfellas for quality, as its scope is much wider than Goodfellas and it has a more epic feel. Goodfellas might succeed more when it comes to the character studies and showing Henry Hill and his wife Karen as a likeable if flawed couple whereas with Casino, the characters are largely unlikable with Sam Rothstein and Ginger trapped in a toxic relationship. 

As for the background of the film, its highlighted at the start as being based on true events rather than an actual true story although in this case it amounts to the same thing really, the only difference is the characters have been given different names compared to the real life people involved.  

As for the mob its pretty much a well known fact that the mob had ties with the casinos back in those days, but despite being the obvious, as usual Scorsese takes this subject matter and turns it into a gripping and highly entertaining film.  Like he did in Goodfellas, Scorsese heavily uses the narrative in the film here, and he constantly has Sam and Nicky narrate the film, and there is even a short passage with Frank Vincent narrating too (who plays one of Nicky's crime associates, Frank Marino).  And it never hinders the film, in fact it really plays a crucial part in the film and keeps the story flowing nicely.

WARNING: BIG SPOILER IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH!

And one of the neatest touches in the narrative is the scene where Nicky finally meets his demise in the cornfields at the end and as his crew mate Frank Marino hits him with a baseball bat, Nicky's narration cuts off with an "aghhh!".  It also helps to have Pesci in the film right up until the end as he carries a fair amount of the film's energy, like he did in Goodfellas, so it was great that he is in it throughout.  

Character wise, Casino rarely has any sympathetic characters in it at all, in fact they are all mostly fairly despicable, and Sam himself is such an arrogant obsessive control freak, that its hard to like him.  However Sam is not without his redeeming qualities, as he clearly loved Ginger, and he wanted his marriage to work, and you do feel a bit of sympathy for him when he realises how he could never reach her, and how the weight of managing the casino takes it toll on him. Sam also comes across as a good father to his daughter, Sammie, and this is clearly shown in a couple of scenes.

Ginger is far less likeable, as she too is massively self-absorbed in her own greed and marries Sam merely as a forced convenience so she can eventually get her hands on his money.  And in a way that's probably one of the film's lesser aspects is that Sam and Ginger's relationship is a forced one, and Sam's love is very much unrequited, unlike in Goodfellas where Henry and Karen Hill both loved each other as a couple, despite their differences.

Ironically, the character that is easier to empathise with is the one character you probably shouldn't and this is Nicky, and its probably more because he is a married man with a family, and he has a son, little Nicky, and we see Nicky's humanity come out in certain scenes in the film, particularly where he makes breakfast for his son every morning, no matter what he was up to.

As a bad guy, while he is pretty vicious, and he has his fair share of vicious scenes in Casino, Nicky also displays some shreds of decency, one being where he has one of the rival mob guy's beaten to a pulp, as the guy refuses to talk, Nicky has the man's head stuck in a vise, where he pleads with the man and says "don't make me do this, come on, don't make me be a bad guy".  And that's difference between Tommy in Goodfellas and Nicky in Casino, Tommy is a psychopath with zero conscience or compassion whereas Nicky is a sociopath with a small sense of conscience and empathy. 

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section contains very strong language and spoilers!) 

OK, so this is a big section ahead!!  

Performance wise, Casino is pretty much top drawer as the cast are all on terrific form. This is going to be tough to narrow down, so I will try and keep the notable scenes to just five per actor max (which is not easy either!!).

Starting with Robert De Niro who gives a great performance as Sam Rothstein, who was in reality based on Franky "Lefty" Rosenthal, who was a sports better for the mob.  De Niro's take on Sam is that he is an arrogant asshole, who bosses around everyone in the film, hires and fires staff at the drop of a hat, and while he is quite controlling of Ginger at times, you do realise he does love her, and that he is driven crazy by her.

And De Niro naturally has his share of great scenes in the film, starting with the one where Sam dishes a strong warning to a couple of cheaters at the casino, who are caught out by him and the security guards.

So, in the scene, one of the cheater's is zapped by a cattle prod and forcefully taken into a basement room where some of the security guards hold down the cheater's hands on the table and another one comes at him with a buzz saw.

And Ace narrates "Turns out this guy and his fuckin pals had been knocking this place dead for years.  It was time to make an example of these pricks, to show them that the party was over".  So, Ace signals for the guard with buzzsaw to turn it off and he approaches the cheater and asks him "I'm just curious. I saw you shuffling your checks with your right hand. Can you do that with both hands?" and the cheater says "No".  Sam then asks "You can't do it with both hands?" and the cheater says "No, sir" and Sam asks him "Can you do it with your left hand?" and the cheater nervously says "Well..I...never tried" and Sam asks "So, you're a righty?" and the cheater says "Y...yeah".  Sam then signals to one of the guards, who repeatedly bangs a large hammer on the cheater's hand, who screams out in agony and Sam then says "Now, you're gonna have to learn with your right hand".

This is then followed by moment where the other cheating winner (who is wearing a fake wig and glasses) is taken to the basement and he sees what they have done to his partner.  So, Sam says to the winner "All right, I'm gonna give you a choice. You can either have the money and the hammer or you can walk out of here. You can't have both. What do you want?" and the winner nervously says "I just wanna get out of here".  Sam then warns him "And don't forget to tell your friends what happens if they fuck up around here. You understand?".  The winner then says "I'm sorry, I made a bad mistake" and Sam angrily says "You're fuckin' right you made a bad mistake! 'Cause if you come back here, if we catch either one of ya, we're gonna break your fuckin' heads and you won't walk out of here! You see that fuckin' saw? We're gonna use it. We don't fuck around in this place. You got it?! Get outta here!" and the winner, relieved says "Thank you".

Another good scene from De Niro is when Sam confronts one of his incompetent members of staff, Don Ward, a real Texan cowboy, who failed to act on three of their slot machines being rigged.

So, in the scene Sam angrily asks Don "Four reels, sevens across on three $15,000 jackpots. Do you have any idea what the odds are?!" and Don says "Shoot, its gotta be in the millions. Maybe more".  Sam then asks "Three fuckin' jackpots in 20 minutes? Why didn't you pull the machines? Why didn't you call me?!" and Don says "Well, it happened so quick...3 guys won, I didn't have a chance" and Sam, growing even more annoyed asks him "You didn't see the scam?!  You didn't see what was going on?!".  Don then says "There's no way to determine that, Sam..." but Sam angrily says "Yes there is!  An infallible way, they WON!" and Don says "Well, its a casino!  People gotta win sometimes!".

Sam, however is growing more and more angry with Don and he says "Ward, you're pissing me off. Now you're insulting my intelligence; what you think I am, a fuckin' idiot? You know goddamn well that someone had to get into those machines and set those fuckin' reels. The probability of one four-reel machine is a million and a half to one; the probability of three machines in a row; it's in the billions! It cannot happen, would not happen, you fuckin' momo! What's the matter with you? Didn't you see you were being set up on the second win?!!".  Don then tells Sam "I really think you're over-reacting..." but Sam has had it with Don and he furiously tells him "Listen, you fuckin' yokel, I've had it with you. I've been carrying your ass in this place ever since I got here! Get your ass and get your things and get out of here!".  Don offended then says "You might regret this, Mr Rothstein.  This is not the way to treat people!" and Sam furiousy says "Listen, if you didn't know you were being scammed you're too fuckin' dumb to keep this job, if you did know, you were in on it. Either way, YOU'RE OUT! Get out!".

Then there is the scene where Sam and Nicky confront each other out in the desert after Nicky has heard of Sam's conversation with Andy Stone as Sam suggested that Nicky take a break and leave town to let him run the casino quietly.

So, in the scene, Nicky storms up to Sam and angrily asks him "Where the fuck do you get off talking to people about me behind my back, going over my head?!" and Sam asks "What people?" and Nicky says "What, you think I wasn't gonna find out?" and Sam says "I don't know what you're talking about, Nick".  And Nicky angrily says how Sam said he was bringing heat down on him and he feels he is trying order him out of town but Sam tries to reason with him and says "I didn't do anything, I mean, I didn't order you or anybody. I only told Andy Stone that you had a lot of heat on you and that was a problem".  Nicky then furiously asks Sam "You want me to get out of my own fuckin town?!" and Sam tells him "Yeah I said l-let the bullshit blow over for a while, so I can run the casino. Anything goes wrong with the casino it's my ass, it's not yours, it's my ass!".  

Nicky then furiously tells Sam that he is what counts out in Vegas not Sam's clubs or TV shows and he angrily asks what the hell is doing on TV anyway.  So, Sam says "I'm only on TV because I got to be able to hang around the casino. You understand that, you know that, come on".  Nicky however furiously refutes this and says "You WANTED to go on TV!" and Sam says "Yeah I did want to go on TV. That way I have a forum, I can fight back. I'm known. People see me. They know they can't fuck around with me like they could if I was an unknown, that's right, yeah!".  And as Nicky says "You're making a big fucking sceptical of yourself!" Sam says "Me? I wouldn't even be in this situation if it wasn't for you! You brought down so much fuckin heat on me, I mean every time I meet somebody the big question is "do I know you?!!".  Nicky angrily then tells Sam that he only exists out in Vegas because of him and if it wasn't from him any old wise guy would "take a piece of your Jew ass!" and he warns him never to go over his head again and storms off and drives away, leaving Sam alone.

Then there is the scene where Sam confronts Ginger when he catches her late at night on the phone to someone where in a hushed voice she says to the other person she's had it with Sam and wants him killed.  So, Sam on hearing stands behind Ginger and asks her "You wanna get rid of me?  Go ahead! Get rid of me!".  Sam then grabs the phone and says "Hello?" but Ginger furiously then struggles with Sam and she yells "YES! I FUCKING HATE YOU!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! YES!  I WANNA KILL YOU!  I HATE YOUR FUCKING GUTS!!".  Sam then drags Ginger by her hands and shouts "You hate me guts???!! I want you to come with me now!!!" and he throws her into the bedroom as he shouts "I want you out of here!  I want you out of here!!".

Sam then throws a bag at Ginger and shouts "There!  Take your fucking bag and get out of here!" and Ginger shouts back "I'll go but I want my money right now!  The arrangement is over!" and Sam raging shouts "No kidding! NO KIDDING!!!".  Ginger then shouts "You can't just put me in the street!  I need some cash right now!" and Sam yells at her "You haven't been straight with me ever since I met you! You never even loved me in the first place! I need eyes in the back of my head with you, you fuckin' bitch!!!". And Ginger screams back "LOVE YOU?!  HOW I COULD LOVE YOU?! YOU TREAT ME LIKE I'M YOUR FUCKING DOG!!" and she throws some shoes at him and Sam, going out the room to gather some money shouts back "YOU'RE LOWER THAN A DOG!!".  Sam then comes back and throws the money at Ginger and shouts "Here! Here! Is this enough money? Will it last you two fuckin' days? Take it! Greedy bitch. Take the fuckin' money!!". 

And as Ginger leaves with her suitcase and some money she says to Sam "I'm taking Amy" and Sam angrily tells her "You're not taking Amy!" and Ginger says "I am!" and Sam angrily says to her "You're stoned!  You're a junkie!  Get out of here!".  Ginger shouts back "I'm not!  She's my daughter too!" but Sam forcibly opens the door and pushes her out and shouts "Send my lawyers a letter, god-fucking-damn you!".

However a little later, as Sam lies alone in his bed, smoking a cigarette, we hear a car pull up outside and Ginger comes back into the house and lies down next to Sam and she reaches out to him, seeking forgiveness and after a moment, takes her hand.  And Sam narrates "The funny thing was, after all that, I didn't want her to go. She was the mother of my kid. I loved her. And later, I realized I didn't want to give her the money... because if I did, I knew I'd never see her again".

And lastly there is the final scene where (SPOILER OF SORTS!!) Sam is in San Diego as a handicapper once again, making money for local people.  And Sam, wearing a large pair of glasses (a la Dennis Nordon's!) narrates "But in the end, I wound up right back where I started. I could still pick winners, and I could still make money for all kinds of people back home. And why mess up a good thing? And that's that".  Sam then takes off his glasses and he gazes contemplatively off to the distance before we fade out to the credits.

Joe Pesci next up is superb as the mobster, Nicky Santoro (based on real life capo Tony "The Ant" Spilotro) and given that Spilotro was actually a family man in real life, this allows for Pesci to play the character with a little more humanity than he did with Tommy De Vito in Goodfellas.  And this makes Nicky's character that bit more interesting and three dimensional given that Tommy was just a flat out, yet colourful, psychopath.  Yet with Nicky there are times where you can actually empathise with him a little despite his criminal behaviour.

Joe Pesci himself was also perfectly cast in this role on a physical basis because unlike his role of Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, which was based on Tommy DeSimone, who was in fact 6ft 2" in reality, Tony "The Ant" Spilotro was only 5ft 2" tall and Joe himself was 5ft 4". So in the end it all worked out nicely casting Joe in the role. 

And Joe naturally also has his share of great scenes and even moments of narration, which are throughout the film just like De Niro's are.  So, this also will be tough to nail down just a few scenes for Joe here.

But to start off, there is the scene where Sam has one of Nicky's men, a cowboy, ejected from the casino for being rude to Sam and for refusing not take his feet off a poker table he is sitting at and put his shoes back on.  So, in the aftermath Nicky makes a call to Sam to find out what happened.

So, Nicky in the scene speaks to Sam on the phone and asks "Ace, what happened over there? I mean, did you know that guy you threw out was with me?" and Sam tells he didn't know that but he tells Nicky that the cowboy refused to take his feet off the table and he insulted him by telling him to go fuck himself. So, Nicky furiously turns to the cowboy and asks him angrily "You called my friend a faggot?!  You tell him to go fuck himself?!" and he hits the cowboy in the face with the receiver and he shouts at him "You big fucking hick..!".  Nicky then warns the cowboy "You go over there right now and you apologize. You better hope he lets you back in. If you ever get out of line over there again, I'll smash your fucking head so hard you won't be able to get that cowboy hat on! You hear me? Fucking hick!".

Nicky then goes back to Sam on the phone and tells him "Sammy, listen. This guy obviously doesn't know who he was talking to, you understand? He doesn't know that, uh, we're dear friends. I mean, he's already very sorry. But, uh, if you could do me a favor to let him back in, I swear to you he'll never get out of line again. I promise you that".  Sam then tells Nicky that he will let him back in but if does it again he will never set foot in the casino again.  Nicky then says to Sam "Alright, thanks, pal".

Nicky then hangs up the phone and turns to the humbled cowboy and with disgust says to him "You took your boots off? You put your feet on the table... you shit-kicking, stinky, horse-manure-smelling motherfucker you! You fuck me up over there, I'll stick you in a hole in the fucking desert! You understand?!!".  Nicky then slaps the cowboy and shouts at him "Go over there and apologise!" and he kicks the cowboy in the ass and shouts "Get over there!". 

Another good scene is when Nicky chastises a gambler, who owes Nicky money and he says to the gambler "You call yourself a man? You know you're a lyin' lowlife, motherfuckin' gamblin' degenerate prick?! You know that's what you are? Two small kids at home. I gave you money to pay the fuckin' rent...and buy groceries, put the heat on. Your wife called Frankie and told him the fuckin' heat's off. And you didn't gamble that fuckin' money?! No?! You didn't?!".  And the gambler quietly says "No, I didn't..." prompting Nicky to yell at him "Don't fuck with me, Al! Don't make a fuck outta me. You wanna embarrass me and make a fool outta me? You didn't gamble? Tell me you gambled
the fuckin' money... I'll give you the fuckin' money to put the fuckin' heat on! Did you gamble?!! Huh?!!".  The gambler then ashamedly nods his head and Nicky looks at him, disgusted, starts to count some money "Fuckin' degenerate. Fuckin' kids at home. Here!" and he gives the gambler some money Get the fuck outta here!".  And as the gambler says thanks and leaves, Nicky shouts after him "Let me find out you fucked up. I'll leave you where I find you!".

Then there is the scene where Nicky and his crew beat up and torture a new rising star mobster, Tony Dogs (Carl Ciarfilo) who shot up one of the Chicago outfit boss's places. So in the scene after brutally beating up Dogs for two days and nights, Nicky finally has to resort to putting Dogs head in a vice.

So, in the scene, Nicky narrates "To tell you the truth, I had to admire this guy.  He was one of the toughest Irish men I'd ever met. For two days and two fuckin' nights, we beat the shit out of this guy. I mean, we even stuck ice-picks in his balls!". And we see Nicky's men drag a bloodied and battered Dogs into a warehouse room where they lay him down on a table with a vice on it and they place his in between the opened vice.

And Nicky says to Dogs "Listen to me Anthony. I got your head in a fuckin' vise. I'll squash your head like a fuckin' grapefruit if you don't give me a name. Don't make me have to do this, please. Don't make me be a bad guy, come on!". However, Dogs with what little breath he has left, remains defiant and says weakly "Fuck you!" and Nicky shakes his head in disbelief and says "This motherfucker, you believe this?!  Two fucking days and nights?!!".  So, Nicky tightens the vice and he shouts out loud "Fuck me?!  You motherfucker?!  Fuck my mother?!!" and as the vice tightens on Dog's head, one of his eyes suddenly pops out of its socket and the Nicky and his men look away in disgust.

So, Nicky finally yells "Give me a fuckin name!!" and Dogs finally gives in and says "Charlie M" and Nicky asks "Charlie M???" and Dogs painfully says "Charlie M!".  So, this prompts Nicky to explode "YOU MAKE ME POP YOUR EYE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING HEAD, TO PROTECT THAT PIECE OF SHIT???!! CHARLIE M???!! YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKER!!!". Dogs finally can't take the pain anymore and finally cries out "Kill me, you fuck!  Kill me!!" and Nicky turns to Frank and says "Frankie!  Do him a fuckin favour!" so Frankie takes his knife and cuts Dogs's throat and Nicky walks out and mutters to himself "Charlie M!".

Then there is the scene where Nicky meets with Ace's banker, Charlie as he wants his money back that he invested in Charlie's bank.  So, as Charlie tells Nicky "I told you Nicky when you started this, that you would have to accept some kind of loss" and Nicky smiles and says "Yeah.  I think I want my money back" and Charlie laughs a little nervously and asks "What are you gonna do?  Strongarm me?".

So, Nicky explains to Charlie "I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and, uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll... crack your fuckin' head wide-open in front of everybody in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your fuckin' head open again. 'Cause I'm fuckin' stupid. I don't give a fuck about jail. That's my business. That's what I do!  And we both know what you do, don't we, Charlie? You fuck people out of money and get away with it!".

And as Charlie tries to quickly leave and says "You can't talk to me like that!" Nicky grabs Charlie threateningly and says "Hey, you fat Irish prick! You put my fucking money to sleep. You go get my fucking money or I'll put your fucking brain to sleep!".  And Charlie, frightened looks at Sam and says "Sam...!" and Nicky tells him "Never fucking mind, Sam!  This is personal!  I'll be there in the morning!  You can try me, Fatso!  You fucking try me!" and Charlie exits down the stairs and Nicky turns to Sam and asks him "You think he got the point?!".

Then there is the scene (going over my five scene limit here!) where Nicky discovers that the FBI have a wiretap in his office (known as the Gold Rush) so in return, Nicky decides to buy a load of expensive surveillance gear to keep tabs on them!

So, in the scene Nicky looks through his binoculars and he narrates "Peek-a-boo, you fucks, you!" and he says to the feds out the window "I see you, you motherfuckers!". So, Nicky continues to narrate "If they're gonna watch me?  Fuck em!  I'm gonna watch 'em right back! I spent a few bucks. Top dollar. Who gives a shit?! I got the latest anti-buggin' equipment from the same places that sell to the fuckin' C.I.A. I had special police frequency radios, F.B.I. De-scramblers, cameras that see in the dark. And because of that, the miserable sons of bitches never caught me doin' anything I couldn't handle!". 

And last of all is the scene where Nicky confronts Sam out in the desert after he has heard of Sam's conversation with Andy Stone when Sam suggested that Nicky get's out of town for a while, so Sam can run the casino quietly.

So, in the scene, Nicky drives his car into the desert where Sam is waiting for him and Nicky get's out and storms up to Sam and angrily asks him "Where the fuck do you get off, talking about me behind my back, going over my head?!".  Sam then says "I don't even know what you're talking about, Nick" and Nicky angrily says "No? You said I'm bringing heat on YOU? I gotta listen to people because of your fuckin shit? You're orderin me out? You better get your own fuckin army pal!".

And Sam tells Nicky that he suggested that Nicky get out of town for a while to let things blow over but Nicky furiously shouts at Sam "Oh I don't know whether you know this or not, but you only have your fuckin casino because I made that possible!! I'm what counts out here, not your fuckin country clubs or your fuckin TV shows! And what the fuck are you doing on TV anyhow?!! You know I get calls from back home every fuckin day, they think you went bat shit!".  And Sam tries to explain he's only TV, so he can hang around the casino but Nicky shouts "Your fuckin ass! You coulda had the food and beverage job without going on television. You WANTED to go on TV!".  

Sam then finishes by saying "When you asked me if you could come out here, what did I tell you? I mean you asked me and I know you were gonna come out no matter what I said, but what did I tell you? Do you remember what I told you?!". Nicky however interrupts him and says "Back- Back up, back up a fuckin' minute here. One minute. I asked you? When the fuck did I ever ask you if I could come out here? Get this through your head, you Jew motherfucker you!  You only exist out here because of ME!!! That's the only reason. Without me, you, PERSONALLY, every fuckin' wise guy skell (slang for a petty criminal) around'll take a piece of your fuckin' Jew ass!! Then where you gonna go?! You're fuckin' warned! Don't ever go over my fuckin' head again! You motherfucker, you!!" and he storms off back to his car and drives off. 

Then there is the scene at Nicky's restaurant where a stoned Ginger sits and Sam storms in to confront her over leaving their daughter, tied up to her bed at home. So, in the scene Nicky tries to calm down Sam and says "Sam, just don't make a scene" but Sam furiously says "I wanna talk to that Irish bitch!" and Nicky then warns him "Hey! Be fuckin nice, calm! Be nice, be calm, don't fuck up in here!". 

So, after Ginger is taken back home and rows with Sam, she returns to Nicky's restaurant where Nicky anxiously asks her about what she said to him. So, Ginger says "Why don't you just kill him?!" and Nicky shakes his head and says "Shut the fuck up! You don't know what you're talking about...". Ginger then insists "Then just kill him and get it over with!" and Nicky yells "Oh, don't be a smart ass! I know the guy 35 years and I'm gonna whack him OVER YOU??! Motherfucker! I knew this! I knew it!". Ginger then asks "What about my money?" and Nicky shouts ever louder "How the fuck am I gonna get your money now?! You think he's gonna give you money? Look what you DID to this guy! If you only you kept your fucking mouth shut...aawww what is the use, I should never gotten involved!!". Ginger then furiously attacks Nicky, who drags her out the back of the restaurant and she threatens tearfully to go to th FBI.

So, Nicky heads back and looks at his scratches and says to Frankie "Look at this motherfucker!" and he says to Frankie "I fucked up, Frankie! I fucked up good this time!". Frankie then says "What could you do? I mean she threw herself at you, didn't she?" and Nicky looking scared for once says "I'm in a bad spot here, you know that? A bad fuckin spot!" and he puts his head in his hands.  

Last of all is the scene where Nicky and his brother, Dominic, go out into the cornfield and meet with Frankie and the other guys but are soon ambushed and beaten brutally with bats. So, in the scene, Nicky narrates "It took a while for everything to calm down but the bosses later wanted me to go back to Vegas. Dollars, always the fuckin dollars! But it was still way too hot to go anywhere near Vegas. So, the bosses had me and my brother Dominic meet out in the fields, I mean what is right is right and they don't give a fuck about..." and Frankie suddenly hits Nicky with a baseball bat and Nicky shouts "Aghhh!!". 

Sharon Stone next up, perhaps gives her best career performance here as Ginger, Sam's wife, who is a well known Vegas hustler and former prostitute.  However after they marry, its not long before their marriage goes downhill as Ginger becomes an drug addled, alcoholic, emotional wreck.

And Sharon has her own share of good scenes, such as the one where after Sam has Ginger's ex-boyfriend and former pimp, Lester Diamond (James Woods) beaten up, she complains about it to Nicky at his trailer (who unbeknownst to Ginger, arranged the beating).

So, in the scene, Ginger angrily tells Nicky about what happened and she says of Sam "He's such a prick! He had some guy from the hotel beat him up. He didn't want to do it himself. Oh, no, he didn't want to get his own hands dirty. So why did he have to do that, huh? Tell me!". Nicky tries to explain "You gotta understand it. He doesn't know if this guy is shaking you down..." but Ginger says "No. No. I told him all about this guy before we ever got married. This is no fucking surprise!".  And as Nicky tries to tell Ginger that Sam loves her and he's crazy about her, Ginger says "Come on! I went into this with my eyes open, you know. I knew the bottom could drop out at any time. You don't think I'm gonna go into a situation like this... if I don't think I'm gonna get covered on the back end!".

Nicky however then suggests that Ginger try and reconcile with Sam and go slow but Ginger angrily says to Nicky re: Lester "He could have killed him!! Okay? He could've killed him. He didn't have to hit him. It's not like I'm sleeping with the guy.He makes me sneak around to see my own friends. What the fuck is that all about?!" and Nicky says "I guess its because he loves you, he's jealous and he worries" but Ginger nearly crying says "Like he gives a fuck what I do!".  So, Nicky tells Ginger "Look, I'll try and find out what the hell's going on when I see him.  I'll talk to him" and Ginger then hugs Nicky and tearfully says to him "Thanks for putting up with me".  And Nicky takes Ginger's glass of whisky and he tells her "Take it easy with this shit!  This can only make matters worse!  You're a beautiful girl. I've seen a lot of girls get shot to hell from this" and Ginger through her tears says "You're so nice" and Nicky says "Come on, I don't wanna see you unhappy".

Then there is the scene where Sam catches Ginger on the phoning, talking to someone about the possibility of having him killed. So, Ginger says to the person on the other end (presumably Nicky) "I want to have him killed. Yes, I want him killed. I've fuckin' had it. So are you with me on this???".  Sam then breaks the silence and he asks Ginger "You want to get rid of me? Here I am. Go ahead. Get rid of me!".

So, as Sam grabs the phone and tries to speak to the person on the line, Ginger struggles with him and she yells "Yes, I do! I FUCKING HATE YOU!! I can't take it anymore!  Yes, I want to kill you! I HATE YOUR FUCKING GUTS!!!".  So, Sam drags into the bedroom and throws her bag at her and shouts "Take your fucking bag and get out of here!" and Ginger yells back "I'll go now but I want my money!  I need some cash!  You can't just put me into the street!!!".  So, Sam yells at her how she never loved him in the first place and he needs eyes in the back of his head and Ginger yells back "LOVE YOU?!! HOW COULD I LOVE YOU??!! YOU TREAT ME LIKE I'M YOUR FUCKING DOG!!" and Sam tells her "You're LOWER than a dog!!" and Ginger shouts back "Fuck you!!".

So, as Sam gives Ginger some money and he tells her to get out, Ginger at the door says to him that she will take their daughter "I'm taking Amy" and Sam firmly says "You're not taking, Amy!" and Ginger shouts "I am!  I'm waking her and I'm taking her right now!".  Sam furiously tells her "You're stoned! You're a junkie!  Get out of here!" and Ginger shouts "I am not!  She's my daughter too!!" but Sam then shoves her out the front door and shouts back "Send my lawyers a letter, god-fuckin-damn you!!".  And then we hear Ginger yell "You're not getting away with this! You're not gonna cheat me out of my end!" and we see her outside shout "Fucker!!" and she storms off to her car.

Another great and also even funny moment from Sharon is when Sam takes a stoned Ginger back home from Nicky's restaurant where she was, not long after Ginger had left Amy at home, tied to her bed.  So, Sam asks Ginger re: Nicky "So, you need approval from him to go home now?" and Ginger with a look of contempt asks Sam angrily "So what? So who fucking blew you in the parking lot before you came in, huh?!".  Sam however looks disgusted at her and says "You make me sick, you fuckin...once a hooker, always a hooker!" and thing prompts Ginger to yell furiously back "Oh, fuck you!  Fuck you, Sam Rothstein!!  FUCK YOU!!" and she storms out and slams the door.  

Then there is perhaps Sharon's best scene in the film where a crazed Ginger comes back the following morning in her car where she drives up onto the front garden and she yells at the top of voice at Sam.  So, as Ginger rams the car repeatedly at the rear of Sam's car in the driveway, she screams out "You come down here right now! Get down here and talk to me, goddamn it! Don't fucking ignore me, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!  I MEAN IT!!! You come down here right now! Get down here and talk to me, goddamn it!!! Fuck you!!! Goddamn you, come out here! I'm gonna drive your fucking car through the living room!!!".  Ginger then get's out of the car and she falls down as she yells "You fucking coward! You motherfucker, you! Come out here and talk to me, you fucker!!!".

Sam finally and rather tentatively walks out and he says to Ginger "Will you stop it?!  You're drunk!  You're on drugs!" but Ginger screams "I am not!!" and Sam warns her "You're gonna be sorry if you don't stop it! The whole neighborhood..." however Ginger, absolutely livid screams "DON'T YOU THREATEN ME!!! DON'T YOU THREATEN ME!!!! You are not threatening me anymore! You fuck! You fuck! I'm sick of you! I AM fucking Nicky Santoro! I am! He's my new sponsor! How about that, you fuckhead?!!".

However the police then show up, responding to the disturbance and they ask what is going on and Ginger tells them that she just wants to go inside to get a few things as she has been wearing the same clothes for two days.  So, as the cops ask Sam if he can let her in, he responds "I'm afraid to let her in the house!" prompting Ginger to furiously pick up some grass and leaves from lawn and throw them at Sam "Fucker!! You ought to be afraid, the way you fucking treat me!".  Sam however reasons with the cops and says to them "If she calms down, I will let her in for five minutes, if you gentlemen escort her out, if she might not want to leave".  So, Ginger asks the cops "Can I go in?!  Can I go in?!" and they yes and Ginger says "Fine!" and as she brushes past Sam, she yells at him "Fuck you!".

James Woods is also excellent in his role as Lester Diamond, the sleazy pimp, who is Ginger's ex-boyfriend (and pimp!) who Ginger can't seem to turn away from much to Sam's annoyance.

And Woods has some good moments in the film but I will only mention two of his scenes and they come one after the other where Ginger and Lester, along with her daughter, Amy, go off to Beverly Hills together and Sam soon finds out and talks to Lester on the phone.

So, after Lester finishes talking to Sam, he goes over to Ginger and says to her "He's got two million in the box, am I right? You let him keep your jewels. We take the cash and the only other thing he cares about. Huh?" and he indicates Amy and says "Her majesty. We go to Europe. You dye your hair...".  Amy interrupts Lester and says "I don't want to go to Europe" and Lester says "We're going to Europe. Let the adults talk!" and he continues to say to Ginger "You dye your hair. You get plastic surgery like we talked about. You're the mother. How much you think he'll pay to get this kid back?" Amy interrupts again and Lester finally snaps and says "Shut your mouth!".  Amy however simply says "YOU shut up!" and Lester angrily says "You want me to come over there? I'll smack your face! Don't give me your shit!" and to Ginger "This has always been a dream, but now we're going".

Ginger however is not impressed by Lester's delusions of grandeur as she knows Sam is onto them and she says to Lester "Lester he called you here. He just called you right here" and Lester says "I know, I just talked to him" and Ginger, agitated, says "That means he's probably sending some guys over here, right now".  Lester however brushes off Ginger's concerns and says "It means he's sitting by the phone, like a dumb bell...waiting for me to call him back!".  Ginger then snaps "He's sitting by the phone just waiting for you to call! WHAT DO YOU THINK WE'RE GONNA DO?!! HE'S PROBABLY GOT GUYS OUTSIDE THE FUCKING HOUSE!!!".

Then in the next scene, Ginger get's off the phone with Nicky, who tells her to stay put and keep calm and he will call her back in an hour.  So, after this Ginger goes back to the car, where Amy is winding up a riled Lester, who angrily says to Ginger "You're not gonna drive! Don't even think you're gonna drive. I'm gonna drive. I'm not gonna drive with some crazy woman! Get on the passenger side! And I'm sending this kid to Bolivia in a box!!". 

Frank Vincent (who sadly passed away last year) is also very good in his smaller role as Frankie Marino (based on real life gangster Frank Cullotta) Nicky's right hand man and he too also previously appeared in Goodfellas (as the gangster, Billy Batts).   

So, I will only mention of two of Frank's scenes for time (as this post is long enough as it is!) starting with the scene where Frankie meets with two Irana diamond merchants and they haggle over the price they will take for diamonds that Nicky's crew had stolen.

So, one of the Iranians says there are flaws in the diamond he is examining and Frankie protests and tells him "You better clean your fuckin loupe because there's now flaws in this diamond!" and Frankie states the amount he wants "40,000 for the whole package".  However the dealer then suddenly says in English "20,000 and that's my final offer!" and Frankie says to the other Iranian "All of a suddeny he talks English!  Let's talk Turkey here! How about 25,000???". 

And secondly there is the scene where Frankie meets with Nicky's boss, Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano) who is concerned that Nicky might be having an affair with Ginger, so he asks Frankie if he has heard anything about it.

So, Remo in the scene asks Frankie "The little guy, he wouldn't be fucking the Jew's wife, would he?  Cos if he is...its a problem!".  So, before Frankie answers, the screen freeze frames and we hear for the first time Frankie narrate "What could I say? I knew if I gave them the wrong answer, I mean, Nicky, Ginger, Ace - all of them could have wound up getting killed. Because there's one thing about these old timers: they don't like any fucking around with the other guys' wives. It's bad for business. So I lied, even though I knew that by lying to Gaggi, I could wind up getting killed too!".

And it then unfreezes and Frankie says "No, I haven't seen anything like that" and Remo asks "Are you sure?" and Frankie says "I'm positive.  Remo, things are very fucked up down there" and Remo says "I know, that's why I'm asking" and Remo then tells him to keep an eye on Nicky and finishes saying "Frankie, you're a good boy" and Frankie says "Thanks, Remo".

WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP!!!

And last of all is the film's most brutal scene where Nicky and his brother, Dominic, meet with Frankie out in a cornfield where he and Dominic are suddenly attacked and brutally beaten to a pulp by Frankie and other men with baseball bats. And in the scene, Frankie beats Nicky and shouts at him "Tough guy, huh?! You and you're fuckin brother! Well NO MORE!! You fucking scumbag! Watch!!" and he proceeds to beat Dominic brutally near to death and after they are done, Frankie says "OK, strip him!" before he proceeds on to beat up Nicky.     

Don Rickles, a well established American comedian, also puts in a fine performance playing the straight man for once, as Billy Sherbert the casino manager.

So, I will only mention two of his scenes again starting with the one where Billy eyes one of the cheating players at the casino having his winnings counted.  So, Billy walks up to him and smiles warmly and says "Hiya. That's a lot of money to be counting out in public. Why don't I take him... over to the office and verify it? A little privacy. And by the way... send over a nice bottle of champagne on ice!". So, Billy offers his hand to the cheater and says "By the way, I'm Billy Sherbert, the casino manager" and the cheater says "I have a plane to catch to Cleveland. Can I get my winnings?" only for him to be lead back to the basement room where he finds his cheating partner with a broken hand and Sam to give him an ultimatum.

Then there is the scene where, Billy is forced to call Sam when Nicky unexpectedly turns up at the casino (after he has been banned from all the casinos in Vegas due to his criminal activities). So, Billy says to Sam on the phone, who is at home in bed "Sam we got a problem. The little guy. Nobody told him he was eighty-sixed from the joint. We turned our heads and made out we didn't know who he was. He's over at the 21 table with his nose wide open. He took money out of his own kick. His nose is open for about 10,000. Now he's really pissed!". 

L.Q. Jones is also very good in his role as County Commissioner, Pat Webb, who's brother-in-law, Don Ward, was fired by Sam for his incompetence at the casino.

And I will mention two of Jones's scenes aswell, starting with his main one where Webb meets with Sam at the casino and tries to smooth out what happened with Don.  So, Webb says to Sam "I come here personally to kind of smooth over...any fracas about a certain matter. See, uh, maybe you didn't know it... but Don Ward is a very well-liked man in this town. He's got lots of friends. Nice family and their money go back many, many years. Now friends vote. Family and money votes. That's important to me and you. And if you'll think about our little problem along them lines...and you'll forgive me for sayin' it...maybe he did not deserve to be fired".

Sam however insists that Don is weak and incompetent and cannot be trusted to be hired back to work at the casino and Webb even admits that Don is not much use and he says "You got me there. Ol Don is as useless as tits on a boar!". However after Sam refuses Webb's plea to hire Don back, even in a lesser role, Webb warns Sam "Mr. Rothstein, your people never will understand...the way it works out here. You're all just our guests. But you act like you're at home. Let me tell you something, partner. You ain't home. But that's where we're gonna send you if it harelips the governor. Thank you for your time".  And Sam shakes Webb's hand at the end and says "Sorry" and Webb looks at him and says "You bet!".

And secondly there is the scene where Webb reads a newspaper headline stating that Sam is the new boss at the Tangiers Casino.  So, Webb asks two gaming control board advisors of Sam "Has that man even filed for his gaming licence yet??" and one of the advisors says "I don't know. We'll need to check the files".  So, Webb finishes by saying "Well, without gettin your shorts in a knot, could you do that and check closely. Cos, we may have to kick a kike's ass outta town".  

Alan King also is pretty good in his role as Andy Stone, head of the Teamsters pension fund, who is respected figure but secretly is working with the Mafia and he acts as a go-between the bosses and Sam.

I will only mention one of King's scenes and its the one where Sam has a private meeting with Andy after Remo advises Andy to tell Sam that maybe he should quit his job at the casino.

So, as they begin to chat, Sam says to Andy "First of all, what they did is totally unconstitutional, we are already on the list for the supreme court..." but Andy interrupts him angrily and says "These guys don't give a fuck about the Supreme Court and all this bullshit! They want you to walk away!". Sam however refuses to do so and says "Walk away?! How can I walk away? Andy, do you realise how much is at stake?!". Andy then warns Sam "The old man said maybe your friend should give in. When the old man says "maybe," that's like a papal bull. Not only should you quit, you should run!". Sam however suggests why doesn't Nicky take a break and get out of Vegas for a while to let things blow over but Andy tells him "They ain't sending Nicky nowhere" and then "I would forget about the manouever. I would just get out!".

And last of all is Pasquale Cajano as Remo Gaggi, who is also very good in his role as the aged yet very powerful Chicago mob boss, who is in charge of Nicky and the others.

So, I will mention just two of his scenes, starting with the one where Remo meets with Frankie and voices his concern over the rumours of Nicky sleeping with Ginger.  So, in this scene Remo asks Frankie "Frankie, I want to ask you something. It's private. But I want you to tell me the truth" and Frankie says "I always tell you the truth, Remo".  So, Remo asks "Frankie... the little guy... he wouldn't be fucking the Jew's wife, would he? Because if he is, it's a problem".

So, Frankie narrates that if he admitted that Nicky was, it could end up getting them all killed, so he lies to Remo and says no. Remo then asks "Are you sure?" and Frankie says "I'm positive. Remo, things are very fucked up down there" and Remo says "I know. That's why I'm asking.You see, my main concern is Nicky.  I want to know if he's doing all right, if he's okay" and Frankie says "He's good, he's fine".  And Remo says "I want you to keep an eye on Nicky. Do it for me" and Frankie says "No problem" and Remo says "I wouldn't want to be jeopardizing anything for our friends. Understand?" and Frankie says "I understand" and Remo pats Frankie's hand and says "Frankie, you're a good boy".

And secondly there is the scene where the bosses all have a private meeting in the back of the courthouse, whilst they are on trial, they decide Andy Stone's fate.  So, three of the four bosses say that Andy is OK and he won't talk but one of them finally asks Remo and what he thinks and Remo sighs and says "Look...why take a chance?  At least that's the way I feel about it".

Well, that's that MASSIVE section over with! 

DIRECTOR 

Ok, so FINALLY moving onto the director's paragraph, Martin Scorsese once again does a terrific job here, as he really does manage to succeed in making Casino feel like an epic film as it surely is that at almost three hours in length (2 hours and 58 minutes to be exact!). And yeah OK there might be some slow scenes here and there but for the most part, Scorsese does a great job with pacing given the film's length. Scorsese also shot at the Riviera casino in Las Vegas at night time and used the defunct Landmark Hotel as the entrance to double as the Tangiers casino. 

Scorsese also once again show's his great technical skill as a filmmaker, which is seen in scenes such as the one where Sam waits nervously out in the desert for Nicky to meet with him and we see Nicky's car drive pass in Sam's sunglasses.  Then there are the scene where Scorsese neatly uses dissolves to show the passing of time, such as where Sam and Andy Stone have a private meeting in a car and also when Andy finishes his meeting with Remo at one point outside Remo's car.  And of course there is also the scene where Nicky beats up on someone but he is burned out from taking too much cocaine and it cuts to an extreme close up of cocaine being sucked up through a straw.

So, overall the film is filled with Scorsese's wonderful technical touches and it certainly stands as one of his very best films. 

SOUNDTRACK   

Moving onto the music in Casino, which again plays a integral part of the film, and Scorsese makes great use of old classic tracks from bands such as The Rolling Stones "Can't you hear me knocking?" Devo's "Whip it", Roxy Music "Music is the drug", Fleetwood Mac "Go your own way" and "Toad by "Cream".  Not to mention one of my favourite tracks used in the film "Walk on the wild side" by Jimmy Smith in the scene where Nicky murders the real-estate agent, Anna Scott.  And last of all of course is The Animals "House of the Rising Sun", which acts perfectly as a moral foreboding as the events of the film unravel in its climax.

FLAWS & HISTORICAL LICENCE

As for flaws...yes OK Casino still does have a few niggles here and there and given its based on true events even with different named charaters, its still has a few inaccuracies compared to real life, which are worth mentioning.

To start off, I think a problem I had with the film was to do with the melodrama of Sam and Ginger's marriage as there are times where it drags the pace of the film down a little, not to mention the tensions between them both regarding Lester Diamond, Ginger's former boyfriend and pimp.  Particularly the scene where Sam and Ginger get married and Ginger after speaks on the phone to Lester and also where Ginger lies in bed, wallowing in self pity after Sam has Lester beaten up.  Both of these scenes are a bit tedious for me personally and drag down the pacing.

Another issue was to do with the whole idea of Artie Piscano (who was based on real life Kansis City underboss, Carl DeLuna) as an underboss for the Chicago mob as he is totally incompetent and it begs the question: how in the hell did he end up being promoted to being an underboss in the first place if he so inept???!!  I mean the guy basically messed up the whole operation for everybody involved in the casino by blabbing about his troubles in monitoring the bosses's casino skim (as the workers at the casino were stealing) to his mother and brother while the FBI had tapped his store and listened in on everything he said.

So, in the end when the mob bosses get decide to whack anyone involved and who might talk against them, it all (well in part anyway) boils down to their incompetence in putting Artie in charge of ensuring nobody inteferred with the skim in the first place!  So, if they had put someone else in his place more "capable" then just maybe this wouldn't have happened. In the end, the mob bosses sunk themselves with their decision to put Piscano in charge!

In reality however, DeLuna's home was raided by the FBI and they discovered in his basement a number of cryptic notes that along with wiretaps linked the Mafia to the illegal control of the casinos in Las Vegas. DeLuna himself did not die of a heart attack in front of his wife as Artie Piscano was depicted as doing but instead was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and later died in 2008. 

I also found that Sam's love for Ginger was at times pretty blind to say the least that he would even imagine that he could trust her, as he says to her at one point in the film "I have to trust you with my life!".  Yet, Ginger is clearly a pretty sleazy, untrustworthy character as it is, so how could Sam possibly expect to trust her int he first place?!  As the film progresses however, Sam quickly wisens up to the fact that Ginger simply cannot be trusted.

In reality, Sam's real life figure Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal had married Ginger's real life counterpart, Geri McGee, who was in actual fact a cocktail waitress and showgirl and not a prostitute as depicted in the film and her former partner was Lenny Marmor, whom she was previously married to and he was not a pimp. Franky was also said to have beaten up Geri on several occassions, which was not depicted in the film between Sam and Ginger, so perhaps the reality was again very different in that Geri may have been a more sympathetic figure in reality than Ginger was, as she wanted to escape the controlling and volatile nature of her husband in Franky. 

Getting back to the film though there are also one or two unintentionally laughable moments, such as the one where Ginger visits Nicky at his trailer and the two of them discuss how Sam has changed. And as Ginger becomes upset, Nicky comforts her and they soon begin to kiss and in a laughable moment, Nicky pushes Ginger's head down to his lap, so she can blow him.  Its one of the rare silly, laughable moments in the film for me personally.

Then there is the scene where Sam decides to put himself on TV in an effort to strengthen his case to try and get a second chance at a hearing to apply for his gaming licence.  However this is also a pretty silly scene and surely in the end, it won't really make any difference as to him getting a chance to appeal his denied request for a gaming licence. However at weird as it may seem, this was in fact based on reality as Franky Rosenthal did indeed create his on TV show to boost his profile and have a go at the gaming control board, which was called the The Frank Rosenthal Show. The show only lasted two episodes at the time and was cancelled but there was a brief spell after the film was released that saw it might be revived but it eventually didn't go through. 

Another troublesome aspect of the film is the brutal scene where Nickie and his brother are beaten near to death and buried out in a cornfield, which is naturally pretty disturbing to watch. However, in reality, Spilotro and his brother's (Michael) death were not confirmed to have happened there but Michael's car was found abandoned at a model, suggesting they have been killed elsewhere. 

Another thing that is also curious in the film is just how they never once mention where all the characters come from, which the History Buff's channel video on the film brought up as all they mention are the words "back home" when it comes to their original location. However in reality the Mafia crew and Franky all came from Chicago and the family themselves were know as the "Outfit" but it seems strange that they didn't want to even mention this in the film!

And finally there is that moment where the FBI stop off their plane on Sam's private golf course, as they have run out of fuel, surveilling Nicky and his crew as they play golf. So, the FBI agents are seen running past Sam, who is having a meeting with two gaming board associates. This is a pretty silly scene in itself but it surprisingly enough did happen as agents were forced to make an emergency landing but it was due to the plane having mechanical issues and not fuel and it was even caught on the news at the time. 

However, to conclude regarding any inaccuracies, the film does acquit itself in a way because at the start is states in the titles "This film is based on true events" so its not actually saying it was a true story in itself but to be fair, Casino is relatively accurate to the events that happened during that time.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So in summary, Casino still remains one of Martin Scorsese's finest films and for me it is just pipped by Goodfellas out of Scorsese's two Mafia dramas, but Casino to its credit does have bigger scope and is more ambitious and it succeeds on both those fronts.  The film also has top performances from its cast, particularly the three leads of Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone, as all three of them deliver exceptionally good performances.  Scorsese's direction is also top rate and he also again makes great use of his soundtrack via a collection of music artists from the 1950's, 60's and 70's.

And yeah OK there are some minor pacing issues here especially to do with the awkward love triangle of Sam, Ginger and Lester, which initially is a bit tedious and the film to a certain extent does take one or two liberties with the truth but nothing too drastic overall as it does do a fairly good job at depicting the true events of the time.

However all that aside, this is still a great film that warrants repeated viewings and is almost on equal footing to Goodfellas with only a few scenes slowing it down and dragging slightly down just a bit below its level. 

So, I will rate Casino:

9.5 out of 10 

So, that's it for now and I will be back with another post before the end of the month.

Until then its bye for now!