Better than Goodfellas! (Seriously)

Rating: Null/10 (17 July 2000)

1995's Casino saw Martin Scorcese continue his masterful exploration of the American underworld, calling on the talents of Messrs De Niro and Pesci to portray the corrupt background of Las Vegas in the seventies.
De Niro and Scorcese, when working together, always come up with the goods (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The King of Comedy), although their previous collaboration, Cape Fear, was a slight dissapointment in comparison.

Casino tells the story of the rise of Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro) to the top of the gaming community in Las Vegas, albeit with the help of the Mob and resident psychopath/long-time friend Nicky Santoro (Pesci), as well as concentrating on his rocky relationship with Vegas hustler Ginger (Sharon Stone). Between the heists, the stunning cinematography, seamless editing and sumptuously glamorous visuals, Casino is seriously compulsive filmmaking. De Niro and company are all on peak form, creating believable and fascinating three-dimensional characters. Scorsese's direction is smooth, confident and incisive, using a terrific array of shots and technical tricks to take us through the real deceptive nature of Vegas. The film is often hilarious due to the animated trauma of the characters (see Santoro's furious reaction to Tony Doggs spilling the beans about his boss) as they try to deal with the trials and tribulations of being first-rate gangsters.
The critics were shockingly unkind to Casino, saying that it was a poor man's Goodfellas. I wonder what everyone's reaction to Casino would have been if it had come out first and not Goodfellas. The truth is is that Casino, while lacking the strong narrative of Goodfellas, is in many ways a stronger film in terms of acting, direction and in terms of being simply more entertaining. Goodfellas is very professionally made, but at its peak, Casino really does impress more, especially in its more dramatic moments. De Niro and Pesci are given more room to explore their characters, and Sharon Stone is just brilliant, proving that there is more to her than the trashy exploitation of Basic Instinct and the awful Sliver. Also this film has probably the best soundtrack of any film made in the 90's. Just check out the stylish use of the Stones' classic Can't You Hear Me Knocking as Pesci introduces his gang of "desperadoes".