Casino (1995)
★★★★½ — Casino (1995)
Martin Scorsese's Casino (1995) arrived five years after Goodfellas and drew on many of the same ingredients: a Nicholas Pileggi non-fiction book (co-adapted for the screen by Pileggi and Scorsese himself), Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and a narrator-driven chronicle of organised crime's inner workings. Where Goodfellas traced the rise of a mid-level mobster, Casino zooms out to the bigger picture of how the mob ran Las Vegas through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, using the real-life figures of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and Anthony Spilotro as its models. Shot largely on location in Las Vegas and produced with a $50 million budget, it was a co-production between Universal and French partners Syalis DA and Légende Films, reflecting the European financing arrangements Scorsese frequently worked with during this period. Sharon Stone's performance as Ginger McKenna became her career-defining role and earned her a Golden Globe win.
I went in thinking I’d seen it all before, Goodfellas, The Godfather, LA Confidential but Casino still managed to surprise me. Scorsese brings that same electric energy, but sets it in a glitzy, seedy Vegas that feels like a character in itself. De Niro is great, Sharon Stone is phenomenal, but Joe Pesci absolutely steals the show. Unhinged, volatile, magnetic, every scene he’s in crackles with tension. It’s long, sure, but it earns every minute. Brutal, stylish, and endlessly rewatchable. One of Scorsese’s best.
Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1995 | Watched: 2025-04-15
Where to watch (UK)
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Martin Scorsese: Italianamerican (1974) · The King of Comedy (1982) · Gangs of New York (2002) · Cape Fear (1991)
More with Robert De Niro: The Untouchables (1987) · The King of Comedy (1982) · Shark Tale (2004) · Little Fockers (2010)
More from France: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Letter from Siberia (1957) · Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Here and Elsewhere (1976)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More crime: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Angst (1983) · Stolen Face (1952) · Cairo Station (1958)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)
