No other movie has captured the opulence of Las Vegas better than Casino. It also is one of the few movies that reveals what Vegas was really about in its early days—not just partying and weekend getaways. This movie lays bare the city’s history with organized crime while capturing its glitz and glamour, crowded casino floors, and neon signs.
The movie lays out the Mafia’s deep relationship with Las Vegas and its casinos, and how the mob made millions of dollars skimming off untaxed casino profits. It plays like a documentary, with narration from Rothstein and others. It is based on the book Casino by Nicholas Pileggi, who had full access to a man who ran not one but four casinos for the mob and whose true story inspired much of the film.
At almost three hours long, it is one of the longest films ever made by Martin Scorsese but it never lags or runs out of steam. His masterful editing and taut narration keep the story riveting right to the end.
Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci give dazzling performances as the casino moguls Ace and Nicky. Both are smart and tough and very different from each other. Ace is a pretty good guy who is honest for a mobster, while Nicky is more of a nut-job who lets anger govern most of his decisions. Often, their stories run parallel to each other but occasionally they are in scenes together.