Casino [HD] DVD

Casino
The inner-workings of a corrupt Las Vegas casino are exposed in Martin Scorsese's story of crime and punishment. The film chronicles the lives and times of three characters: "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro), a bookmaking wizard; Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci), a Mafia underboss and longtime best friend to Ace; and Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone, in a role she was born to play), a leggy ex-prostitute with a fondness for jewelry and a penchant for playing the field. Ace plays by the rules (albeit Vegas rules, which, as he reminds the audience in voiceover, would make him a criminal in any other state), while Nicky and Ginger lie, cheat, and steal their respective ways to the top. The film's first hour and a half details their rise to power, while the second half follows their downfall as the FBI, corrupt government officials, and angry mob bosses pick apart their Camelot piece by piece. ~ Jeremy Beday, All Movie Guide

Cast Robert De Niro as Sam (Ace) Rothstein Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro James Woods as Lester Diamond Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert Alan King as Andy Stone Kevin Pollak as Phillip Green Joe Bob Briggs as Don Ward Dick Smothers as Senator

Crew Jack Gammon Taylor, Jr. - Art Director Joseph P. Reidy - Associate Producer Ellen Lewis - Casting Rita Ryack - Costume Designer John Dunn - Costume Designer Phil Marco - First Assistant Director Joseph P. Reidy - First Assistant Director Martin Scorsese - Director Thelma Schoonmaker - Editor Dante Ferretti - Production Designer Philip Pfeiffer - Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel - Cinematographer Robert Richardson - Cinematographer Barbara de Fina - Producer Daniel Ross - Set Designer Steven Schwartz - Set Designer Rick Simpson - Set Designer Charles M. Wilborn - Sound/Sound Designer Mario Roberts - Stunts J.P. Romano - Stunts Martin Scorsese - Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi - Screenwriter Hoagy Carmichael - Featured Music Nicholas Pileggi - Book Author

Casino
The explosive beginning of Saul Bass's customarily brilliant opening credits sequence seems to bode well for Martin Scorsese's epic portrait of 1970s Las Vegas, Casino (1995). Weaving a tale about the town, as well as ill-fated mobsters "Ace" Rothstein (based on actual Vegas-ite Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal) and Nicky Santoro, the first hour merges documentary-style detail (including copious narration) with Scorsese's signature technical flair to depict how the Mob skimmed millions from the casinos. As Rothstein's success unravels, Scorsese unstintingly reveals the viciousness of the old school Vegas powerbrokers (including more gruesome violence than any previous Scorsese work), yet the virtuoso final montage and unsettling coda suggest that the new Disney-fied Vegas robbed the city of its success-fantasy soul. Notwithstanding the bravura visuals and attention to 1970s period detail, and despite a career-best performance from Sharon Stone as Rothstein's hustler-drug addict wife, most reviews noted that the reunion of director Scorsese with writer Nicholas Pileggi and stars Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci paled in comparison to 1990's Goodfellas. The De Niro-Pesci opposition was too familiar, as was the overlong story of Rothstein's rise and fall. Stone scored the film's sole Oscar nomination and won the Golden Globe for Best Actress. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
 

Martin Scorsese: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) Sharon Stone: Academy, Best Actress (nominated) Sharon Stone: Golden Globe, Best Actress - Drama (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, Spanish, French Subtitle Options: Spanish, French Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: Casino: the story - go behind the scenes for a fascinating exploration of the script, the book and how director Martin Scorsese collaborated with writer Nicholas Pileggi to bring the story and characters to life Casino: the cast and characters Casino: the look Casino: after the filming Moments with Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone, Nicholas Pileggi and more! Deleted scenes DVD Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1: Cinemascope MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: Content Length: 179 min