Sweeping epic about a couple of households in Las Vegas

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2001)

A sweeping epic of nuanced history, resolutely focused on DeNiro, his wife Sharon Stone, and his childhood friend Pesci. It fit like a jigsaw piece into my aggregate understanding of how organized crime worked in Las Vegas a few decades ago. I found it amusing that DeNiro plays a casino boss with all-encompassing power, just like Tony Curtis' character in "Forty Pounds of Trouble," a distinctly different movie in countless ways. Also amusing is Don Rickles' stone-faced portrayal of the casino manager--he hardly says a word, let alone a wisecrack.
The film is extremely violent from the opening minutes. It is also rather long (nearly three hours), but the cinematography is so beautiful--and one is always flinching, preparing for the next gruesome confrontation--that the time moves quickly. I wasn't impressed with Sharon Stone (I liked her more in "Total Recall," if you see what I mean) but this film made me want to rent more Scorcese and DeNiro movies.