Casino (1995) Film Review – A masterpiece not to be missed
There are many films that represent the Gambling with prejudice, but the 1995 classic Casino is one of the few examples in which he makes it A complete and omnic -comprehensive portraitnull The film shows all aspects of industry and blends them perfectly, while it highlights the contradictions. It does not pass much before the viewer realizes how vices, corruption, economic interests, political agenda, dark practices and violence dominate the scene. The plot takes place in a fictitious casino of Las Vegas. Both the city and the casino are presented as volatile ecosystems, where there are two masks, predators and prey. As you will see, nobody can fit perfectly in one of the two categories. The reason for this is the ruthless law that money goes and goes, but always ends up towards the same hands.
Introduction of the film Casino
This story, skillfully told, It is based on real events, it is very important to specify it, about the film Casinonull The director is Martin Scorsese, also co-writer of the subject, together with Nicholas Pileggi. The latter is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the news. Pileggi showed him in the criminal world in three best sellers, the most famous of which is “Wiseguy: life in a mafia family”. This is an essay on the life of an infiltrate in the mafia and informer of the FBI, brought to the screen and always directed by Scorsese in 1990, with the title of “Those good guys”.
Five years later, Pileggi and Scorsese return to collaborate, on another essay by the journalist: “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas”. And so, The film Casino saw the light in 1995.
The protagonists, their counterpart in real life and the actors who interpret them
Casino It is a film in which many characters appear. Although the time on stage is well divided, we will focus on the crucial ones for the plot:
- Sam “Ace” Rothstein, played by Robert De Niro, is a ex handicappers In charge of checking the operations inside a Casino di Las Vegas, called Tangiers. The casino is secretly controlled by an Italian criminal association Based in Chicago, which uses it as a coverage and for money laundering from illegal activities. The character is based on Frank Rosenthal, to which the mafia relied on in the 70s to manage three las vegas casinos.
- Ginger McKenna, wife of Sam Rothstein, played by Sharon Stone. She is represented as a scam that knows how to move skillfully In Las Vegas, and uses a myriad of expedients to subtract money from unsuspected players. Him’s counterpart in real life is Frank Rosenthal’s wife, Geri Mcgee.
- Nicky Santoro is a fickle mafia, brilliantly played by Joe Pesci. The task of him is of Make sure Sam Rothstein continues to make money for the family, without interference by the authorities, or other criminal gangs. santoro’s character and methods are not in line with the rigid mafia requirement of keeping a low profile, and in the end causes so many problems that they are killed by the allies themselves. the character is inspired by the criminal anthony spilotro.
The relationships between the characters are quite complicated, and it is not easy to orient themselves. It could be said that Sam Rothstein is the protagonist, but the other two do not fall into the definition of antagonist. Furthermore, one cannot establish who the shoulder is, because the story suggests that Ginger and Nicky are both predominant For the plot.
The location and the weather – the where and when in the film Casino
The film tells of events that occurred between the 70s and 80s. Given that We did not find anachronisms in the film, we can say with reasonable certainty that the representation reflects the vibrant Las Vegas of the time with accuracy.
The real story involves the three casinos of Las Vegas that Frank Rosenthal has managed on behalf of the Italian mafia, for more than a decade. These are the Stardust, the Fremont and the Hacienda. Two of these have been demolished, one still exists. To simplify the plot, The writers created the Tangiers fictitious casino, where most of the action takes place.
Anyway, The film is shot in a real casinonull According to Barbara De Fina, producer and ex -wife of Martin Scorsese, the cost for the construction of a set was the same compared to using a real casino. So, starting from scratch was useless. Filming was made within the Riviera, which was then demolished in 2015, after a bankruptcy declaration and a change of ownership. If at this point you have wanted to bet, we recommend the list of the best online casino real money.
The events – The plot in short
The plot revolves around the progressive deterioration of relationships between the main characters. The film is an example of how one Perfect money machine can be ruined from the greed, from unfair and the tendency to measure happiness with the money. In a sense, this is a dramatic film, rather than a documentary on gambling.
However, a cruel city like Las Vegas provides the perfect background For a story of this type. Casino’s operations revealed in the film provide an adequate context to history. In fact, this context contributes perfectly to the dramatic effect. However, in the next paragraphs, we will focus more on the way the Gambling industry is represented in the film.
The representation of the Gambling
The subject of the film describes events that took place before the advent of digital. There was already video surveillance, but many functions were still performed by humans. The casino is represented as a playground, in which there are a myriad of employees, among which the responsibilities are divided, all committed to defending the interests of the casino. However, this is only the facade, because it is in the rear, as you can imagine, that things are interesting. Therefore we will describe some scenes in detail. Be careful, there will be spoilers!
Gambling and crime
In the film, a mafia enrolled in a union uses the money of the pension fund to finance the purchase of the tangiers casino. A huge loan is granted to a figurehead, which uses it to buy its property and therefore manage it from CEO. Obviously, the mafia boss is always pulling. The casino operates under the close supervision of Sam Rothstein, a man chosen by the criminal union and described as one who “He ate, slept and dreamed of gambling”.
Being the manager, Rothstein’s only responsibility is to make sure the casino continues a earn an obscene amount of moneynull When the cash are taken away from the table, towards the cassieri cad, and then in the saccrematura room, the real proportions of the operation are revealed with brutal honesty. How it is said:
‘… they had so much money that they could build a house with $ 100 tickets.’
The skimming room is where profits are counted, and it is a room in which The greatest managers cannot enter even. The purpose of the whole affair is to deviate large sums of submerged money, directly in the hands of the mafia, unbeknownst to the tax authorities. In addition, Rothstein works without regular license, and given him in the Gambling, he will never have one.
In any case, he manages to continue his work for two reasons. The first is a escapade that allows anyone to work while waiting for the license to be released, the second, It is the laziness of the city administration, that he wits requests for licenses for decades without evading them.
Roles and hierarchy inside the casino
As the protagonist says, “in Las Vegas everyone must control all the others”. This is particularly true because the casino is full of employees who are unaware with illegal affairs. In fact, you realize that The employees are as many as there are playersnull The hierarchy scale seems too long: Dealer, Boxmen, Floormen, Pit Boss, Turnists, the Casino manager, Sam Rothstein, and in the end “The eye in the sky”, which everything sees. In addition, in addition to the surveillance chamber and the presence between the tables, there are ex Bari who know all the tricks, and observe all the tables of hidden, looking for suspicious activities.
In addition, they have an interesting way of dealing with scammers. They are all indicators of a great commitment for the casino to always win against those who try to beat the counter. However, there are moments of confusion, of which we will speak later, that can bring out the worst from the calmer of men.
Pamper the VIPs
When the film goes on, we arrive at a scene in which the VIPs of the local community are explained. In a nutshell, political personalities with enough power in the city is all offered by the casino. However, this is an acceptable cost. In another scene, those who really scare management is explained. A High Roller Baccarat player with fairly finance to close the casino wins $ 2 million.
A private flight is made available to him, which however returns to the airport immediately after take -off for not specified technical problems. It is just an excuse, to bring the man back to the casino, and to reserve a whole plan of the hotel. Being unable to keep away from the green tables, he returns to the casino e loses the whole winning, another million.
‘In the casino, the fundamental rule is to continue playing customers, and then bring them back. The more they play, the more forgiveness. And in the end, we earn. ‘ Ace Rothstein
Take care of the cheating
While the VIPs are always welcome, there is another group of people who end up straight on the black list. Obviously, let’s talk about the cheating. In the film, Sam Rothstein discovers two people playing blackjack in pairs. After a fast and well -deducted diversion, both are brought to the back where the guards beat one of the two. A choice is proposed to the other: Go to be sore with money, or go to your legs.
It is not the only moment in which violence is shown, however. In another scene, a player abruptly refuses the management of the management to leave the table. In response, Sam Rothstein asks the security guards to throw out the man out, and gives him precise indications on how the gesture should be theatrical. It is clear that It is the message that is important.
Randomness and bias
There are a couple of scenes in which it emerges clear that “the casino always wins”. In the first, The protagonist meticulously inspects a pair of dice with a measurement tool, before approving them to use. It happens in front of a crowd, which awaits the decision around a table. The reason for this inspection is not revealed by the narrative or a dialogue.
However, some details give us a clue, given the rich dish and the number of people he assists, it seems that the protagonist has interrupted a game. We can only guess, if the check has been routine or caused by suspicious winnings. The scene probably wants to only underline the competence of the protagonist, rather than describing a delicate situation.
In another scene, Rothstein is furious for a strange coincidence. On three different 4 -rollers slot machines, the jackpots were won in less than 20 minutes, which makes you suspect that they were tampered with. The boss points out that the second winning should have triggered an alarm bell, and rabiously blames a supervisor for not having turned off the slots before. Rothstein therefore fires the supervisor, citing the motivation that it is incompetent or involved in the scam.
In this situation, the character shows that he does not believe in coincidences and refuses to accept that they are random events. So, we can suggest that he fell victim to the Fallacia of the bettornull However, Rothstein is influenced by the obligation to Make sure the probability is against the player At any time, and is forced to keep the ball from the casino side. Having said that, his frustration can also be explained by the fact that nobody likes to lose sums of six zeros money.
Where to watch the film Casino online
There are two possibilities to see the film Casino. It can be found on the services of Online streaming, or rent/buy filmnull Since the research can be difficult, we will facilitate life by providing you with the list of the most important legal sites where you can find the film.
- Netflix Uk – allows you to see the movie directly online.
- Google Play Shop – you can rent or buy the fIlm ‘casIno’
- Amazon – you can rent or buy in hd.
- Apple iTunes – allows you to rent or buy the whole movie.
Final verdict on the film Casino (1995)
If you haven’t seen “Casino” yet, take two hours to see it. You will not be disappointednull The film deals with a great story, with moments of gambling. The atmosphere of the location and casino activities are presented with good accuracy. There are some exaggerations, but these do not undermine the credibility of the painful truth about the gambling business in those days. We also recommend other films on the world of bets in our blognull Good vision!
FAQ
In closing, we planned to answer some frequent questions about the film. Continue reading for short and clear answers on the topics covered during our article.
