January 25, 2022
'Casino'
That's the truth about The Rewatchables. We're the only winners. The listeners don't stand a chance. The Ringer's Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey revisit Martin Scorsese's 1995 film 'Casino,' starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone.
Cast
Robert De Niro as Sam 'Ace' Rothstein
Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro
Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna
James Woods as Lester Diamond
Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert
Kevin Pollak as Philip Green
Alan King as Andy Stone
Frank Vincent as Frank Marino
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Martin Scorsese, Nicholas Pileggi
Notes
- Budget: $43 million; grossed $116.1 million worldwide ($70 million overseas). Opened 5th at the box office, same weekend as 'Toy Story'.
- Heat came out just 3 weeks later – De Niro had 'Casino' and Heat within 3 weeks, two leads, two of his best performances of the decade.
- Only 1 Oscar nomination: Sharon Stone for Best Actress (lost to Susan Sarandon for Dead Man Walking). 1995 was the Braveheart year.
- Not beloved when it came out – people felt 'Goodfellas hangover.' Took years to grow on cable/DVD/Blu-ray.
- Scorsese himself said the movie 'doesn't have any plot, it's not about plot.'
- Based on Nicholas Pileggi's non-fiction book 'Casino': Love and Honor in Las Vegas (1995). Ace Rothstein = Lefty Rosenthal, Nicky Santoro = Anthony 'Ant' Spilotro, Ginger = Geri McGee, the Tangiers = the Stardust.
- Lefty Rosenthal ran 4 casinos (Stardust, Fremont, Marina, Hacienda) for the Chicago Outfit, not just 1. Died in 2008 at age 79.
- Costume budget: $1 million. De Niro had 70 costumes, Sharon Stone had 40. Both kept everything after filming.
- 'Casino' floor scenes shot between 1:00 and 4:00 AM. Shot over 21 weeks.
- F-word count: 435.
- Sharon Stone's casting: her first two auditions with Scorsese were cancelled, she turned down a third attempt, then Scorsese tracked her down at a restaurant. He asked her to watch Valley of the Dolls and Joan of Arc before filming.
- Madonna was in contention for Ginger – 'It was a Martin Scorsese film and it was between me and Sharon Stone.' Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, and Michelle Pfeiffer were also considered.
- Most of James Woods's lines were improvised, including the idea that Lester would be with a prostitute doing cocaine during the phone call after the wedding.
- The head-in-a-vice scene was created as a sacrifice expecting the MPA to cut it, but they made no objection so Scorsese left it in.
- Pesci's wife Claudia Haro played Trudy; later convicted of attempted murder for hiring a hitman against her other ex-husband.
- Nobu Matsuhisa (the famous sushi restaurateur) played Ichikawa, based on Akio Kashiwagi who was murdered by the Yakuza.
- Oscar Goodman, the real-life attorney to Lefty Rosenthal, played the attorney in the movie; later became mayor of Las Vegas in 1999.
- Ace's house was bought in 1996 by Suge Knight.
- Gene Siskel gave one of the most negative reviews – big disagreement between Siskel and Ebert on this one.
- 'Casino'/Heat was the tail end of peak De Niro. Scorsese didn't work with De Niro again until The Irishman, 25 years later.
Categories
Roger Ebert's review
Quote from Rog's review:
“Unlike his other mafia movies, Scorsese's Casino is as concerned with history as with plot and character.”
- Sean notes Ebert's friendship with Scorsese may have been a factor – the 4-star rating was surprising given most critical responses were lukewarm.
- Bill agrees with 4 stars but would have also accepted 3.5. Gene Siskel strongly disagreed.
Most re-watchable scene
- Winner: the 'everybody watching everybody' / cheaters justice sequence – the card counters, the taser, the hammer, 'Look what they did to my hand, man.'
- Other candidates: Ace explaining how Vegas works (the first big montage about the skim, the count room, the money going to Chicago), the Ichikawa gambling scenes, Sharon Stone's first scene throwing chips.
What aged the best?
- Sharon Stone's performance – 'one of the great performances of the decade by an actress.' One of one casting; nobody else could have played Ginger.
- James Woods as Lester Diamond – only in 3-4 scenes but arguably the biggest scumbag in movie history. His message to Scorsese: 'Anytime, any place, any part, any fee.'
- De Niro and Pesci improvising everything – Scorsese would just tell them where to start and where to end.
- Pesci and Frank Vincent drinking scenes (buddies this time, after being adversaries in 'Goodfellas' – 'Billy Bats gets his revenge').
- Casting Don Rickles, Alan King, Dick Smothers, Kevin Pollak – especially Rickles, who doesn't make a single joke.
- The look of the old Vegas Strip – how Scorsese recreated 1973 Vegas in 1995.
- Scorsese's music choices (overall A-minus): Heart of Stone, Love is the Drug, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, Ain't Superstitious.
What aged the worst?
- The 3-hour runtime – could have cut one of the Stone/De Niro fights (there are about 3).
- De Niro playing a Jewish guy – the most Italian actor ever playing Ace Rothstein.
- The Gimme Shelter karaoke montage – re-using Stones songs felt repetitive after 'Goodfellas'.
- Ace's car explosion – you can see it's a mannequin (didn't anticipate the Blu-ray/HD era).
- Some shootings look implausible (Pesci shooting Anna Scott while cradling her head; Alan King getting shot 6+ times but his head looking fine).
Casting what-ifs
- Madonna was in contention for Ginger – 'It was a Martin Scorsese film and it was between me and Sharon Stone.'
- Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, and Michelle Pfeiffer were also considered.
- Tracy Lords gave an audition that 'seriously impressed' Scorsese.
- Modern equivalents discussed: Margot Robbie, Sydney Sweeney, Scarlett Johansson (Match Point era), Lady Gaga.
Best "heat check" performance
- Winner: James Woods as Lester Diamond.
- Other nominees: Don Rickles, Catherine Scorsese (Scorsese's mom in the wiretap scene), Frank Vincent.
Best "that guy"
- LQ Jones as Pat Webb the county commissioner – Bill never knew his name, always thought of him as 'that guy who looks like Sam Elliott.'
- Joe Bob Briggs as Donnie (the incompetent slot machine guy).
Re-casting couch
Nicky's wife (Melissa Prophet) – could have been a famous actress or someone on the way up. Madonna suggested as alternative for this smaller role.
Apex Mountain
- Kevin Pollak: this and 'The Usual Suspects' in the same year (1995).
- 1981 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (the car with the steel plate in the floor).
- Blackjack scenes in movies.
- Scumbag ex-boyfriend characters: Star 80 (Eric Roberts) is the gold standard.
- De Niro: no – his apex is Raging Bull or 'Goodfellas'. Pesci: no – his apex is 'Goodfellas'.
Picking nits
- Why didn't Ace just kill Lester? He has a homicidal maniac best friend.
- Why give Ginger the actual key to $2 million as a 'test'?
- Ace's car explosion uses a visible mannequin.
- Would the bank really have let Ginger walk out with $2 million with cops right there?
Best (or worst!) life lessons from the movie
- 'When you love someone, you've got to trust them. There's no other way. You've got to give them the key to everything that's yours.'
- 'It's in the desert, where a lot of those problems are solved.'
- If you're a control freak, don't date the hot grifter who's not in love with you.
- Don't put $2 million in a security deposit box with her as the only key as a 'test.'
- Never date anyone with an ex named Lester.
Sequel, prequel, prestige TV or untouchable?
- Would be 'the greatest prestige Netflix show possible' if you spent $300 million on it.
- A 'Fredo Goes to Vegas' show (between Godfather 1 and 2) was pitched as a great idea.
What memorabilia would you want (or not want!) from the movie?
Ace's house, the John Barrymore robe, the dice-weighing machine, the first diamond brooch given to Sharon Stone, the aluminum bats from the cornfield, the pen Pesci stabs someone with.
Who won the movie?
- Sharon Stone – she's the thing that makes this movie different from other Scorsese gangster movies. Small list of people who could have played this part.
- Scorsese himself also considered – '99 out of 100 other people direct this movie and it's pretty blah.'