The Story Behind Las Vegas

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2011)

This Martin Scorsese film,Casino,depicts Las Vegas--it has a glittering, glamorous face, as well as a brutal, cruel one.It is based on the non- fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese.
The movie stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci as Ace Rothstein and Nicky Santoro respectively, mobsters who move to Las Vegas to make their mark, live and work in this paradoxical world. Seen through their eyes, each as a foil to the other, the details of mob involvement in the casinos of the 1970's and '80's are revealed. Ace is the smooth operator of the Tangiers casino, while Nicky is his boyhood friend and tough strongman, robbing and shaking down the locals. However, they each have a tragic flaw--Ace falls in love with a hustler, Ginger,played by Sharon Stone, and Nicky falls into an ever-deepening spiral of drugs and violence.
The movie is definitely one of the best made about the mob.It definitely ranks up there with The Godfather and another Scorsese film,Goodfellas. Excellent story and acting are both characteristics of the movie.The story was great in the sense that it focuses on the excesses of language, of violence, of ambition in the life-styles of the rich and infamous which makes the movie smart from start to finish.Also,great performances were given by the lead stars De Niro,Stone and Pesci. Finally,it reveals to us what is Las Vegas all about - inside and out. A movie that deserves a 10/10 rating!!!!