Can you believe it’s 20 years since Casino was released?

Based on American author Nicholas Pileggi’s book of the same name, the movie’s thrill and appeal stems from the knowledge that it has its origin in reality. Casino was in fact the second collaboration between director Martin Scorcese and Pillegi, who also co-wrote the screenplay, following the pair’s 1990 hit Goodfellas.

 

 

What’s the story?

Casino tells the story of Sam “Ace” Rothstein when he finds himself in charge of the fictional Tangiers casino in Las Vegas. If you’ve never been to Las Vegas, you can visit this online casino guide to find a good casino to play from home with real money.

The movie starts with a bang; literally, an explosion that sends Ace flying through the air. From there we go back to discover what incidents had led him to this explosive situation.

Casino portrays De Niro’s top gambling handicapper as a man obsessed with numbers. Initially starting off with sports-gambling, his unique talent soon piques the interest of the mob that puts him in charge of casinos. When he starts smuggling casino profits, an over-enthusiastic Joe Pesci is on the job of tracing the entire web, giving the audience an addictive insight into the working of the Mafia world.

Ace begins as a calculated man who prefers to avoid unnecessary trouble, but soon invites it upon himself when he decides to get married to Ginger, a high class escort. However, he soon figures out that Ginger has been in love with a pimp ever since she was a teenager.

Ace believes he can win her over in time and promises to provide her with life-long security, money, cars and furs. But it takes more than that to control a girl like Ginger.

Ace’s second mistake is his friendship with Nicky (Joe Pesci); a thief and a murderer. When he is suspected of being associated with the mob, Ace soon gets dragged along, while Ace’s relationship with Ginger worsens.

He worries about their daughter and their fights keep on increasing as he tries to pull the reins on Ginger. As she heads to Nicky for counseling, things take another unexpected turn.

 

Who’s in it?

In his eighth collaboration with director Scorsese, Robert De Niro is brilliant with his portrayal of the brooding Ace. In one of her best performances to date, Sharon Stone is captivating with her portrayal of Ginger, meeting Ace’s fury with her own fierce retaliations, holding back her actual motives from the audience right until the very end.

Joe Pesci steals every scene he’s in, while James Woods impresses as Lester Diamond.

 

What’s your favourite moment in Casino? Let us know below…