Right, so this is me getting lazier by the minute, right??? ;-) Yep its time for another revisitional post and as I recently re-watched the subject of this post, I figured it was time for yet another slight re-write and the subject is of course Martin Scorsese's acclaimed crime drama, Casino.
In fact this re-write was inspired by a recent Youtube video I watched on the excellent channel, History Buffs, in which they look at films and analyse just how historically accurate (or inaccurate) they are. So, I was keen to give this one another look.
So, after 24 years, how does Casino stack up?? Well, let's take yet another look and find out....
And yes, the usual warning will 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
It is of course impossible not to compare Casino to Martin Scorsese's other crime classic, Goodfellas given that 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 is in fact the stronger film 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 unlikeable with Sam Rothstein and Ginger trapped in a toxic relationship.
As for the background of the film, it was always 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 obssessive 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 unrequieted, 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 morely 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!)
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 buzzsaw.
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.
Next up is Joe Pesci, who 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 wise here!
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 reciever 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" and he 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.
Next up is Sharon Stone who here 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".
Sheesh! That's a big section over with!
DIRECTOR AND MUSIC
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 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 directorial efforts (of which there have been plenty!).
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 (Warning: this section may contain spoilers as well as some historical inaccuracies!)
As for flaws...yes OK Casino still does have a few niggles here and there.
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 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.
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. Now, I don't know if this happened in reality but it sure was a pretty comical, daft moment in the film, particularly as Nicky is just playing golf! Is it really worth surveilling him to that extent???!!
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 just eclipses Goodfellas out of Scorsese's two Mafia dramas, as it is a film that has much 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 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.
So, after 24 years, Casino is still a great crime drama and one of the best of its kind and it still remains an absolute must-see film.
OK, so that's it for now and I will be back sometime soon with another post of some sort!
Till then its bye for now!
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