Review of Casino

Introduction

After the critical success of Goodfellas, director Martin Scorcese returned to the gangster genre with Casino, which reunited him with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and added Sharon Stone and James Woods to a strong cast.

The film follows the story of Sam `Ace` Rothstein (De Niro), who is sent to Las Vegas to run the Tangiers casino, which the Mob have bought via the Teamsters Union pension fund. Rothstein got his nickname by being an ace gambler who rarely loses and it doesn`t take long for the casino to start generating serious money. However, things never go smoothly, and the arrival of Ace`s long-time friend, the gangster Nicholas `Nicky` Santoro (Pesci) who sees Vegas as an opportunity to muscle in and make himself rich.

Santoro`s behaviour starts to interest the authorities, who investigate his links with Rothstein, who is also having problems with his wife Ginger (Stone) and things start to fall apart as the net closes in.

Video

The video is presented in 2.35:1 non-anamorphic widescreen, which is of reasonably good quality, despite the resolution limitations of the format. There is no dirt or grain on the print, which has a reasonable amount of detail, and is quite crisp. Colours are well reproduced and the image is stable.

Visually, the film is a treat with superb sets and locations, giving the film a very authentic feel. Obviously a great deal of the movie takes place in the Tangiers which is very well filmed, and this professionalism is repeated at all locations. The film fits into the period nicely, with clothing, décor and vehicles all very well presented, although De Niro`s colourful suits are a blast from the past that are better forgotten.

Another visual aspect that is equally memorable, but for other reasons, is the violence - which follows in the footsteps of Goodfellas and is very brutal and graphic and will have you wincing at times.

Audio

The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and is of a high standard throughout the film. The story is told both by use of a narrative and traditional live action, and there is plenty of use of period music, which is well reproduced, with all channels blasting into action. During the live action scenes, there is plenty of atmospheric noise, particularly in the casino.

The dialogue is set a little low, but a small adjustment to my amplifier brought it up to a more satisfactory level. A word of warning though – if you don`t like swearing, you`ll not like this, there is frequent strong language throughout the film.

Features

Nothing of any interest I`m afraid: a trailer, production notes and cast/filmmaker notes are all that is on offer.

The disc is packaged in a black Amaray case, which contains an insert detailing the chapter breaks.

Conclusion

Casino is a very good movie, which is very well made and superbly acted by an excellent cast. Despite the long running time, only a couple of scene drag, and you don`t realise that you`ve been watching for nearly three hours when the credits roll.

The three main leads, De Niro, Stone and Pesci, provide exceptional performances and there are numerous outstanding scenes – when De Niro and Pesci face each other in the desert just typifies the power and depth of their performances.

An interesting story is well told through use of narration and live action and the script is superb, although the frequent swearing will not be to everyone`s taste. Neither will the violence, which is very strong in places – but this is a gangster movie and gangsters don`t mince their words or actions.

The non-anamorphic picture is ok, but I would have obviously preferred the extra resolution of an anamorphic print, the sound is good but the extras disappointing.

Overall, a good film and a mediocre disc, which is crying out for a special edition.