Amazon.com Customer Reviews
Scorsese, DeNiro, Pesci, gangsters. Enough said. - Review written on February 15, 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5
1 customer found this review helpful.
The abbreviated review is here: This movie is about gangsters, is directed by Scorsese and stars DeNiro and Pesci. You need to see it, especially in HD-DVD format.
The extended review continues... Casino is not as critically acclaimed or part of the movie goer's conscious like Goodfellas (which is an excellent film) but it should be. It's about gangsters and Las Vegas before the big corporations sanitized Vegas and turned it into an adult version of Disney World.
It's "based on a true story", but only loosely. But does it matter? A great story told only the way Scorsese can tell it is entertainment at its best whether it's tightly based on a true story, loosely based on a true story, or is an original fictional screenplay.
My only warning is the movie had, at the time, the record number of f-bombs ever in a movie at over 420. I'm personally not offended by it but I watched it with my older Chinese in-laws, who were a little disturbed by the language. I just told them that's the way gangsters talk and the movie is just keepin' it real. Just know this tidbit when choosing your fellow viewers.
This Movie Rocks - Review written on February 13, 2008
Rating: 4 out of 5
This film is not as well known as Scorcese's other big gangster saga- GoodFellas, but it is actually a fantastic follow-up to the former. Instead of NYC, Scorcese sets this story of mafia mayhem in Las Vegas. There are two levels on which to watch a film like this. First is to delve into the fascinating story of the different personalities that make up the criminal world and how they inevitably clash. This is particularly fascinating with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci doing just that. The other level of enjoying this film is jumping on the fluid film ride Scorcese takes you on... constant graceful, majestic camera work that picks the viewer up in its hand and zooms you along... like being on its a Small Small World at Disneyland, but going much faster, and the message being... It's Too Small A World for both of us pal.. and moving a few clicks faster at least, accompanied by rock and classic jazz standards. This is not your grandmother's Vegas. Casino cheaters are dealt with swiftly and harshly and the endless desert landscape surrounding Vegas is not empty, but filled with people- all below ground. If you like Scorcese, you must watch this film. If you like Pesci, you will not be disappointed. If you like Vegas, this film offers a fascinating "possible" history of how your favourite casino came to be.
Sharon Stone is very disappointing in this film. Not a total disaster, but it is difficult to see what charm DeNiro's character found in her to give his life over to her. But this is a small fault in the film. This is a roller coaster ride with slow spots, but overall a great film ride for those who like a healthy quotient of violence and pathos.
Is it just me... - Review written on April 27, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
10 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
...or is this the darkest black comedy ever made? I just find Casino so amusing and funny that I hardly even notice the grim violence and harrowing drama. I also think that Casino is far, far superior to the over-rated Goodfellas. Even though it's longer, it passes in a breeze. Casino is just so colorful, multi-layered and intricate despite it's apparent simplicity. The film has three different characters narrating the story but none of it feels like exposition and it's never over-bearing.
Adapted from a true story, the film focuses on the fictional Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. The boss is Sam 'Ace' Rothstein, his wife, volatile hustler Ginger and his psychotic 'friend' Nicky Santoro. All they needed to do was to keep the cash-flow at the Casino steady to satisfy the bosses back home. But it was just never meant to be. And everything implodes at the end.
Casino is filled with dozens of sub-plots, tangent stories and brilliant side-characters. James Woods is especially funny as a lowlife con-man who can't even win a fight with a ten-year-old girl. Vinny Vella also amuses as long-suffering Artie Piscano. But it's Sharon Stone who walks away with the movie. Despite starring opposite loads of well-established male lead actors she owns Casino. She was absolutely robbed at the Academy Awards when they gave the Oscar to Susan Sarandon. Stone delivered a performance so authentic that it's truly unfair the amount of criticism she gets for her other, less-important films.
The violence will satisfy gore fans. In this lovely film we have a dope with his head in a vice (after getting icepicks in his balls), a truly brutal beating with baseball bats, some moron getting a pen shoved into his neck and a cheater getting his hand mashed by a hammer. Don't let this put you off, that was the old Vegas. Nowadays you just get told not to come back.
I know most people will call it sacrilege to condemn Goodfellas but Casino is just the better film of the two, plain and simple. Better lighting, far more impressive cinematography and more entertaining characters. It just has so much going for it that Goodfellas did not.
The 1080p HD DVD is absolutely stunning and is surely reference quality stuff. The Dolby Digital+ sound is also amazing and there are plenty of extras. A total must-have.
A good performance from Sharon - Review written on April 23, 2007
Rating: 3 out of 5
5 customers found this review helpful, 9 did not.
At 178 minutes long, I was expecting to be bored throughout this film, despite everyone raves about this film, along with Goodfellas. And although I did get a bit restless during it, I did find myself sucked into the film and actually trying to work out what was going to come next.
It starts off with a shocking scene, and then is told in retrospective (or so you think), from ten years previously. I certainly sat up straight up when the film started, as this is the scene you're not expecting. Although when it's repeated towards the end, it does tend to go OTT, by showing it from every angle, and showing the viewer what exactly happened.
Visually, the film is very bright, with the neon lights of the casino, and Robert De Niro's colour blinding suits (who puts pink & orange together?!) Honestly when he first walked onto the screen, I thought his wardrobe was made up by a colour-blind person, as most of his suits were OTT bright, or clashed severely. The brightness of the casino is so well done in HD, you almost start to feel like you're there, it's so real, and captures the bright lights of Vegas perfectly.
I thought Sharon Stone's role was the best out of the entire film, as her character goes through such a journey during the film, and the physical changes in her character are shocking. Her character of Ginger is an ex-hooker, who marries Robert De Niro's character, despite not loving him in the slightest. I think she was seeing dollar signs before her eyes. She becomes a mother, and also turns to drink, which ultimately, leads to a shocking end.
This film is definitely not for the fainthearted. There's a closeup scene of someone snorting cocaine, and Sharon's character, Ginger, snorts some in front of her daughter. The F word is said a grand total of 422 times, a bit unnecessary, including in the narration, which makes it a total of 2.4 times per MINUTE on average. The chain smoking is quite harsh as well, as Robert De Niro constantly had a cigarette in his hand in nearly every single scene. (I pity any non-smoking crew on set.) It was necessary to portray what it was like in those days, when smoking was considered classy, and not frowned upon as it is today. I expected there to be some continuity problems that accompanies a chain-smoking character but Robert always held his cigarettes the same distance from the lit end so that their lengths never appear to change.
This film impressed me, and I can imagine it looks so much better in HD, so it would definitely be better than the old regular DVD. But everyone lumping it along with Goodfellas doesn't bode well, cos everyone HAS to like Goodfellas it seems. It's definitely one to watch on HD, and with a TV that's more like a cinema screen would be good too!
Truly Amazing Picture Qualiy - Review written on January 10, 2007
Rating: 5 out of 5
19 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
The movie is without doubt a perfect union with mean streets and goodfellas. But let's face it, why do we click into a certian HD DVD on amazon, we know whether or not we like the movie, right? We want the goods on the picture quality! Let me tell you something even if you can't take the needed violence in this movie, get it. Even if you can't stand all the foul language, get it. Even if you think Sharon Stone got her acting degree out of a cereal box, get it! Let me tell you something, this three hour epic looks mind numbingly stunning. I literally sat in awe at the sheer beauty of it, I mean what could possibly show of HD DVD picture quality than vegas' bright lights and scorsese' masterful direction? Casino, that's what. Do yourself a favor and get this disc right now because if you don't; Nicky will come back with a bat and if you beat him with a bat, he'll come back with a knife and you beat him with a knife, he'll come back with a gun and if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him because he'll keep comin' back, and back until one of you is dead.