Cinema Revisited: Casino (1995)

Directed by Martin Scorsese. Cast: Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollark, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, John Bloom. Released November 22, 1995. Running time: 178 minutes.

Brutally violent, dramatically layered, edited with speed and precision, alternating between a stationary and a hand-held camera, and using snippets of popular songs whose lyrics have nothing to do with the scene, but still somehow enhance it, "Casino" is a masterpiece of filmmaking.

Scorsese followed up his 1990 masterpiece "GoodFellas" with this tough, uncompromising story about the glitz of Las Vegas covering the very real corruption that lurks immediately beneath the facade. Set during the 1970s and 1980s and loosely based on a few actual people and events, the story deals with Ace Rothstein (Robert DeNiro) and Nick Santoro (Joe Pesci), two racketeers that arrive in Las Vegas and make an impact. Rothstein is steady, measured, corrupt but pragmatic in his approach. Santoro is an unglued hothead who caves in to impulse. Sharon Stone practically steals the film from both of these fine actors with her career-defining performance as Rothstein's drug-addled, alcoholic wife. It is likely James Woods' best work. And, Scorsese casts many comedians, such as Dick Smothers, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, and Don Rickles in non-comic, serious roles, and each rises to the occasion.

There is no plot to Casino. It is tightly episodic with a lot of action and violence, but there is no linear narrative. Its structure is more random, with Scorsese allowing a great deal of creative input from his cast. DeNiro and Pesci improvised nearly all of the dialog in their scenes together. L.Q. Jones, a veteran character actor, was allowed to re-write his scenes to add greater authenticity.

It is remarkable that "Casino" runs nearly 3 hours in length, its pacing so rapid it seems nearly an hour shorter. Scorsese's whooshing camera fades, his dwelling on violence so gruesome it is as shocking as any extreme horror movie, and his ability to take a seconds-long snippet from a pop hit of the 60s or 70s, and effectively build up a scene, are all elements that add layers to the film's cinematic structure. One is nearly breathless at the conclusion

This is not to say that "Casino" is a general film that would be attractive to any mainstream viewer. The violence is extreme. Men are beaten with shovels and buried alive in the desert. Another has his head put in a vise and squeezed until an eye pops out. The technology available as recent as 1995 allows for these scene to look gruesomely realistic and unsettling to even the most jaded viewer.

This is Martin Scorsese's niche. His deviations beyond the theme of violent outsiders -- including "Kundun," "The Age of Innocence," and "The Last Temptation of Christ" -- are usually less interesting than his bonafide classics like "GoodFellas," "Mean Streets," and "Taxi Driver," all of which also feature Robert DeNiro (whose own films are nearly always less interesting if Scorsese is not at the helm).

Of course the power and impact of Francis Ford Coppola's "Godfather" films obviously inspired Scorsese's work (although Coppolla is a peer, not a mentor). But, arguably, Scorsese's approach uses this concept of crime drama as a basis to build upon with grittier characters and more extreme violence. And, Scorsese's work as more of an inspiration to David Chase's HBO series "The Sopranos," with its non-linear collection of episodes and often graphic brutality.

"Casino" is a consistently brilliant example of top-flight American filmmaking during the modern era.