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Casino (1995) DVD Review
Casino (1995) DVD Credits:
Casino (1995) Directed by:
Martin Scorsese, Phil Marco
Casino (1995) Written by:
Nicholas Pileggi, Martin Scorsese
Casino (1995) Cast:
Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent
Casino (1995) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Casino (1995) DVD Release Date:
1st January 2006
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Casino (1995) Synopsis:

Sam Ace Rothstein, the consummate bookie who can change the odds merely by placing a bet, has risen through the ranks of the Midwestern mob to be picked by the bosses to front their entree into Vegas. Ace lives and breathes the odds. He eventually doubles the mob's take and changes the rules of how the casinos are run. But he can't control the odds when it comes to Ginger McKenna, the chip-hustling vamp who charms Ace and becomes his wife. His infatuation with Ginger turns to obsession as she rises with him to the upper crust of society, then turns to the bottle and pills for consolation in her gilded cage. The third member of this triangle of greed and obsession is Nicky Santoro, Ace's best friend and fellow graduate of the city streets. Together, they run the perfect operation, with Ace in charge and Nicky providing the muscle. But as Nicky expands his interests and each man gains power, their lives become entangled in a story of hot tempers, obstinacy, money, love and deception.

Casino (1995) DVD Review:

Martin Scorsese has a tendency to use the same actors numerous times, but there is only one special pair of actors he has used together with remarkable success each film. Casino is the last of the Robert De Niro/ Joe Pesci outings to date, and it is now ten years old. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary a new edition of the DVD has been released, promising better treatment and more features, and in most ways it fulfills these promises.

Following the success of the gangster film Goodfellas, Scorsese teamed up with writer Nicholas Pileggi to attempt another look at mobsters, this time with the focus being on two very different gangster friends attempting to make it big in Las Vegas. While Casino is definitely a longer and far more drawn out film, it is also a more complex film which focuses more on the characters rather than just the violent acts which the characters commit.

De Niro is Ace Rothstein, a Chicago mobster who heads to Vegas with his long-time friend, Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). Ace begins to find success and Nicky works behind the scenes doing all of the dirty work, guaranteeing many scenes in which Pesci shows his wicked temper, most memorable is the one involving a vice and a cheater’s head. Things go well for these two for a while, but as it always seems to happen in these films, things begin to go wrong. Sharon Stone enters the picture as Ginger, an uncontrollable force who becomes the femme fetale in Ace’s life. Even though she is remarkably unenthusiastic about their relationship, Ace falls deeper and deeper in love, which becomes a problem quickly. The business becomes a problem as well, and before long there are more holes being filled in the deserts of Nevada.

The film is set in 1973, which adds texture to the story both through the visuals and through the soundtrack, much in the same way music was used in Goodfellas. There is a great feel to cinematography, which is able to capture the glamour of Vegas in the early seventies, and it has been transferred wonderfully for the 10th Anniversary Edition. In many ways the style of Casino is one of Scorsese’s more polished attempts, even though this marked the beginning of his tendency towards films that last longer than they should.

The transfer of the film on this version is by far the best treatment that it has received since it was in theaters. There a great deal of wide shots that look great with the 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen presentation that the DVD has. Although it seems that this could have easily been a two-disc special edition, it has a double-sided disc instead, which I am normally not a fan of. In this case I am glad that all of the special features were not on the same side as the film, but still feel that the extra money should have been spent to make it a double disc package. Because there is nothing but the film and a commentary track which is not the traditional commentary track.
The extras on the second side of the disc include the following:
· Casino: The Story - A fascinating exploration of the script, the book, and how director Martin Scorsese collaborated with writer Nicholas Pileggi to bring the story and characters of Casino to life
· Casino: The Cast & Characters - Discover the real people behind the characters
· Casino: The Look - A revealing look at the unique style of the film
· Casino: After the Filming - A retrospective on why Casino has become a classic
· Vegas & the Mob - NBC News takes a look at Las Vegas’ rough beginnings
· Great Mob Writers: Nicholas Pileggi - The History Channel highlights the career of writer Nicholas Pileggi
· Moments with Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone, Nicholas Pileggi and more - Audio commentary with Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Barbara De Fina, Nicholas Pileggi, Rita Ryack, Frank Vincent, and Sharon Stone
· Deleted Scenes

The deleted scenes are about as useless as most deleted scenes, and the audio commentary is not a free flowing discussion between the cast and filmmakers, but is just audio clips from each of them inserted. While these are not very good, the rest of the features are very interesting and fairly well done. The disc menus are all very simple, all containing a black screen with the lights of Vegas and one of the character’s faces. It seems as though there could have been more attention given to these menus, but they serve the purpose just fine.

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Casino (1995) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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