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Casino

178 minutes

Explore this movie

The Rewatchables episode

aired January 25, 2022

Roger Ebert's review

Ebert’s four-star review is discussed alongside Siskel’s disagreement.

In the discussion (2)
  • Ebert awarded Casino four stars.
  • Siskel’s less enthusiastic response is contrasted.

Casting What-Ifs

Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Melanie Griffith, Traci Lords, and Sharon Stone’s audition history are discussed.

In the discussion (6)
  • Madonna says the role came down to her and Sharon Stone.
  • Nicole Kidman was considered.
  • Melanie Griffith was considered.
  • Traci Lords reportedly gave an impressive audition.
  • Sharon Stone’s repeatedly canceled auditions and Scorsese’s personal appeal are recounted.
  • The panel prefers Stone to the alternatives.

Recasting Couch

Diane Lane, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Scarlett Johansson are proposed around Nicky’s wife and Ginger.

In the discussion (4)
  • Diane Lane is proposed for Nicky’s wife.
  • Madonna is proposed for Nicky’s wife after losing the Ginger role.
  • Lady Gaga is proposed for Ginger.
  • Match Point-era Scarlett Johansson is proposed for Ginger.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Research covers real people, costumes, a murder attempt, profanity, improv, sets, ribs, cigarettes, restaurants, and high rollers.

In the discussion (15)
  • Frank Cullotta served as technical adviser and appeared as a hitman.
  • The costume budget was one million dollars, with 70 De Niro outfits and 40 Stone outfits.
  • Joe Pesci’s then-wife Claudia Haro was later convicted in an attempted-murder scheme against another ex-husband.
  • The film uses the F-word 435 times.
  • James Woods improvised dialogue and the detail that Lester was with a prostitute using cocaine during the wedding call.
  • The count-room set was constructed because productions are not allowed into a real count room.
  • Frank Rosenthal’s television-show guests included Sinatra, Hope, Liberace, O. J. Simpson, and Rickles.
  • Pesci suffered a rib injury during the cornfield sequence.
  • De Niro maintained cigarette length for continuity.
  • Piero’s restaurant stood in for the Leaning Tower.
  • Future Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman appears as an attorney.
  • Nobu Matsuhisa plays Ichikawa.
  • Akio Kashiwagi’s casino debts and murder are discussed.
  • Ace’s house was later bought by Suge Knight.
  • Frank Rosenthal’s later nightclub, online-betting, and family life are summarized.

Picking Nits

Lester, security deposits, girlfriends, commission relatives, shootings, deposits, jewelry, and trust in Ginger produce distinct nitpicks.

In the discussion (8)
  • Ace not killing Lester is questioned.
  • Giving Ginger sole access to a two-million-dollar security deposit is questioned.
  • Ace’s lack of another girlfriend before Ginger is questioned.
  • Nicky not killing the county commissioner’s relative is debated.
  • The physical staging of public shootings is questioned.
  • Ginger withdrawing the deposit while police watch is questioned.
  • The film’s jewelry includes pieces from the wrong decades.
  • Ace trusting Ginger with everything is identified as the story’s core practical problem.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

The pen victim, car bomb, and Frank Vincent’s alignment drive the questions.

In the discussion (3)
  • Did the man stabbed repeatedly with the pen die?
  • Who planted the bomb in Ace’s car?
  • Why does Frank Vincent’s character turn on Nicky?