Movie Review for Casino

Summary: 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.

                         Reviews of Casino
By Philip Martin of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (7/0)
            ...minor Scorsese ... but in every other sense it is a major film.

By Marjorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            Casino reminds you in too many ways of the brilliance of GoodFellas, and in a way that dooms Casi...

By Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times (7/0)
            Martin Scorsese's fascinating new film Casino knows a lot about the Mafia's relationship with Las...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Garish, rhythmic and intoxicating.

By Scott Weinberg of DVD Clinic (7/0)
            Scorsese and Pileggi might be traveling over similar ground here, but they do it so well and so e...

By Keith H. Brown of Edinburgh U Film Society (7/0)
            Scorsese and co. will never make a bad film, only another one.

                         Reviews of Casino
By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            Production values are brilliant, and as the drug-addict-hooker Sharon Stone gives her best perfor...

By Christopher Null of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Clocking in at three long hours, Casino is an entertaining and engrossing film, but just drags a ...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            It overstays its welcome.

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (7/0)
            The film is full of missed opportunities.

By Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            Martin Scorsese is a master filmmaker, so skilled in the manipulation of imagery he might be the ...

By Kevin N. Laforest of Montreal Film Journal (7/0)
            Not as flawless as Goodfellas, but still great.

                         Reviews of Casino
By Michael Dequina of Mr. Brown's Movies (7/0)
            Scorsese leaves his indelible signature on every frame.

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            The result? Plot plethora.

By Cynthia Fuchs of Philadelphia City Paper (7/0)
            Scorsese and company do what they do very well -- they've got it down. It's a system unto itself.

By James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk (7/0)
            Martin Scorsese is the most enthralling, intense and dedicated director working in film today. Hi...

By Mark R. Leeper of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
            The whole package is a riveting account and a well-told story.

By Ted Prigge of rec.arts.movies.reviews (7/0)
            Engrossing from start to finish.

                         Reviews of Casino
By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            In every way -- from the fantastic sets, rich dialogue, and unapologetic violence to the well-por...

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            Fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the mob's control of LasVegas in the 1970s.

By Janet Maslin of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Of all the bravura visual effects in Martin Scorsese's dazzlingly stylish Casino, it's a glimpse ...

By Kim Williamson of Boxoffice Magazine (6/1) No reference
            Casino is left king-high by a wobbily high-heeled Sharon Stone and by an especially inept script ...

By Madeleine Williams of Cinematter (6/1) No reference
            Finely detailed analysis of the mob-controlled casinos in the 70s, but it lacks the soul of Scors...

By Chris Hicks of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            This bloated three-hour misfire this is a major fumble.

                         Reviews of Casino
By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            After coming out gangbusters in its first and finest hour, the 180-minute movie loses all its chi...

By Hal Hinson of Washington Post (3/4) No reference
            Scorsese may be flailing here, but Scorsese flailing is more formidable than most directors at th...

By Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle (6/1) Not Reachable
            It's an ambitious film, but also a scattered, unfocused one.

Movie Distributors

Production Companies
Cappa Productions

Movie Studios
Universal Pictures