Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1814 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-11-24
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 178 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Director Martin Scorsese reunites with members of his GoodFellas gang (writer Nicholas Pileggi; actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Frank Vincent) for a three-hour epic about the rise and fall of mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro), a character based on real-life gangster Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. (It's modeled after on Wiseguy and GoodFellas and Pileggi's true crime book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas.) Through Rothstein, the picture tells the story of how the Mafia seized, and finally lost control of, Las Vegas gambling. The first hour plays like a fascinating documentary, intricately detailing the inner workings of Vegas casinos. Sharon Stone is the stand out among the actors; she nabbed an Oscar nomination for her role as the voracious Ginger, the glitzy call girl who becomes Rothstein's wife. The film is not as fast paced or gripping as Scorsese's earlier gangster pictures (Mean Streets and GoodFellas), but it's still absorbing. And, hey--it's Scorsese! --Jim Emerson

Synopsis
Martin Scorsese, one of America's most influential filmmakers, returns to the world of mobsters, greed, and excess that he explored so compellingly in 1990's Goodfellas. Set in the 1970s and revelling in the minute details of how Las Vegas casinos operate, the film chronicles the rise and fall of casino manager Ace Rothstein (Robert De Niro). As the king of his domain, Ace efficiently runs the business and regularly sends lots of cold cash to his bosses. Helping him keep the casino's employees and customers honest is his best friend, Nicky (Joe Pesci), a violent sociopath. Although Ace aims to run a relatively respectable casino, the volatile Nicky wants to take over the entire gambling mecca, and when Ginger McKenna (Sharon Stone), a seasoned Vegas hustler, enters the picture, Ace and Nicky's friendship is complicated even further. As drugs and alcohol become a bigger part of Ginger's life, all three are eventually brought down by their own greed and blind ambition. Casino shares many similarities with Goodfellas, beginning with a script that was cowritten by Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi. Regulars De Niro and Pesci are first rate once again as the dissimilar companions, but it is Stone who steals the show with her gruelling, intense performance.

Customer Reviews

fabulous Bluray experience
Having the regular DVD, this transfer has got a colour vibrancy which is unmatched. Very few scratches, I believe this is a redone Bluray version , truly outstanding.

A must for Mob film lovers
Casino is no doubt one of the six best gangster movies ever made and Scorsese's underrated masterpiece. Once you start watching it you get stuck to your armchair and cannot take your eyes off the screen although the film is 180 minutes long. I have had it in most formats VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray. I see it again and again and never tire of it. De Niro, Pesci and Sharon Stone are just brilliant.

Unless you are sensitive to violence and American four-letter words you cannot miss it, but do not watch it with your kids until they are six-teen or older.

The soundtrack too is superb and with a charm all its own, from Angelina by Louis Prima to Bach's Matthaus Passion no better sounds could be found to wrap each and every scene.

Simply not up to scratch
Casino on blu-ray disc made my blood boil. The transfer is really poor considering the status/popularity of this film. OK, the colours do look vibrant in places and the picture can also look sharp (as if this was asking a lot!) but otherwise the picture is generally scratchy, dull, flat and absolutely nothing has been done to give this film's transfer the treatment that it, the fans and the blu-ray format deserve.
I had similar disappointments with films such as Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects and The Getaway, and these were all sent back. I have subsequently been limiting my purchases on blu-ray as a result. Don't get me wrong, there are many great blu-rays out there - Dr. No and Blade Runner to name but two but you really have to do your homework first and check that it is worth forking out the (extra) cash.
Come on - if you're trying to convert people to blu-ray disc format then stop reissuing older films with poor transfers. They're simply embarassing. Give Casino a good scrub up and I'll be the first in line to purchase it again!