Talk:Casino (film)

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Contents

[edit] Epic Western

Removed:

Although it is set in the 20th century, Casino is at heart an epic Western movie with strong noir undercurrents.

Frankly, this is absurd. It is perhaps well-intentioned and thoughtful, but even if so, and I'm wrong about its absurdity, its still too POV in here. You can't call this an epic Western without taking a circuitous route of interpretation.

Perhaps calling it an epic Western outright is POV, but to say that calling it an epic Western is "absurd" just betrays a lack of understanding of the genre:
Epic Westerns draw from the Norse Saga technique. They tend to be long, sweeping, and complex, with often-shifting alliances. Characters are more deeply drawn than cheap shoot 'em up Westerns, sometimes acting as forces for good, sometime evil. Men are often caught in situations not of their own choosing, and must surmount fantastic difficulties. A common technique is someone who never wants to resort to violence, but is forced into it due to circumstances beyond his control.
Casino is certainly a Western; you have to be pretty myopic to miss this. It has all the elements of classic Western: the open range, the desert, endless possibilities which are thwarted by allegiances and greed, outlaws, renegades, guns, violence, murder, women, prostitutes, lawlessness, the fateful approach of "civilization". Like I said, you have to be pretty myopic to miss this much. In fact, I think Scorcese even mentions that it's an epic Western in the DVD. (I'll check...if he really does, this would be sufficient to include it with a reference.) And it's certainly an epic, spanning a lengthy time interval, involving numerous characters, complicated moral ambiguities, interconnected relationships, and certainly with a sweeping and overarching epic sensibility. You have to be pretty myopic to miss that it's an epic as well. It's an epic Western in the same way that Lawrence of Arabia and 2001 are epic Westerns, (although not set in typically Western time and place). Please note, "Western" does not just mean "mid 1800s, gunfights and saloons". "Western", like "epic", is a state of mind, and Casino inhabits the state of mind of both genres. So, I believe with some descriptive support and maybe some references to the DVD and explanation and a toning down of the POV should be enough to reinstate the claim. (The noir undercurrents are pretty obvious, too.) Revolver 18:22, 24 January 2006 (UTC)
From the article Western (genre): One of the results of genre studies is that some have argued that "Westerns" need not take place in the American West or even in the 19th Century, as the codes can be found in other types of movie. Hud, starring Paul Newman, and Akira Kurosawa's Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), are possible examples of these. Likewise, it has been pointed out that films set in the old American West, may not necessarily be considered "Westerns." Certainly, the "codes" of the epic Western are found in Casino. Revolver 18:42, 24 January 2006 (UTC)
I wasn't able to find a Scorsese quote using "epic Western", but in the DVD commentary he describes it as a story about the "West" and the "frontier". And the editor (I believe) all but says it's a Western: "Marty always wanted to do a Western, but he never would feel comfortable filming, you know, horses and cowboys." (paraphrase) Revolver 06:06, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Story behind the story?

Although the paragraphs removed on 17:15 20 January 2006 by James084 may be extraneous and not germaine to the film itself, it seems to be germaine to the topic. I found the information to be useful as it provided an insight to real life behind the story of the film. I would like to see it reinstated in an epilogue or linked if it is addressed elsewhere. Thoughts? Accurizer 14:12, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Language in Casino

My favourite part was where they were talking on the phone in what seemed like perfectly normal English but the subtitles showed that they were actually talking about something completely different. That would be interesting to see in the article if anyone knows. Mithridates 12:49, 28 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fiction or Non-Fiction

In the film, Nicky Santoro (who is based on Tony Spilotro), has a wife, Jennifer, and a son, Nicky Jr./Little Nicky. Did Tony Spilotro really have a wife and son? Or are Jennifer and Nicky Jr. fictional characters?

  • I read the true book that the semi-true movie is based on. He did have a wife and son, and while his marriage to his wife was a shambles, he was a devoted father who, like in the movie, would go home and make breakfast for his son every morning no matter where he was. That part of the movie was true.JeffStickney
Was Dominick Santoro in his twenties during the film? It's just that Nicky said about him "Leave the kid alone!". I thought Michael Spilotro was only 6 years younger than Tony Spilotro.
Yes, Michael was 6 years younger than Tony. I think when Nicky says "Leave the kid alone", he means "Leave my kid brother alone!".

[edit] Had Enough

What dis it exactly mean, "The Bosses had had enough of Nicky"? Was it because of his reckless criminal activities Rothstein warned him about, or did they just simply want to replace him with a better candidate?

Yeah, Nicky was bringing the casino too much attention from the cops...and if you know what's good for you, you'll stop asking such questions, otherwise we'll have to whack you too. Capishe? Clarityfiend 18:05, 20 August 2006 (UTC)
Ah! Hahahahahaha!! That's really funny!! But I'm really no harm. I just want to know about a movie, that's all. Anyway, you don't know who I am and where I live. Jienum 22:29, 2 September 2006 (UTC)
It was for several reasons. It was not necessarily because of his reckless criminal activities; that in and of itself wouldn't have done it, since he was a made man. Rather it was a combination of things; because some of his activities were unsanctioned by the bosses, like the attempted hit on Rosenthal's character, Sam "Ace" Rothstein, even though Rothstein wasn't a made guy, he was very valuable to them, and they couldn't allow to continue to Nicky Santoro take things like that into his own hands. They probably suspected that he was a loose cannon with delusions of grandeur of taking over the mob itself, thinking he may try to take out Aiuppa's character, Remo Gaggi, to head the Chicago mob himself, which if you remember when he threatened the banker in Sam's house, he told Sam that was his plan to "take over". Then, on top of that, he was sleeping with an associate's wife, which was a violation of the rules. In real life, there was speculation as well, which may hold plenty of truth, that Tony Spilotro's (character: Nicky Santoro) younger brother Michael had done some really bad things, and stepped on plenty of toes that the mob needed to take Michael out, but knew if they did, then Tony would retaliate, so they had to get rid of him too. ChÿnaDragön 22:31, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

Hey, take it to IMdB.com! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.248.164.237 (talk) 04:08, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] synopsis

This article should have an abbreviated synopsis prior in the article to the much more detailed one we have now. It's way too long to be a functional summary for someone wanting the gest of the movie. Compare with other movie articles in wikipedia.Loodog 18:36, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Rosenthal the Jew?

Why do the bosses refer to Sam Rothstein as "The Jew"? Was Frank Rosenthal a Jewish man, or were they using the word as an insult? Jienum 20:13, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

According to the Frank Rosenthal article, he wasn't ethnically Jewish, but was adopted by a Jewish couple. Clarityfiend 18:08, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Frank Cullotta on Casino?????

The trivia section states that Curly, the man who shoots John Nance in the brain, was played by Frank Cullotta. Is this true!? Jienum 19:37, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Yep! This is true! Look at Frank Cullotta's picture and watch that part again, and it's very clear! Cool, huh? He did, after all, consult on the film. I think, however, if I were Cullotta, I would have been too afraid to throw myself into the public eye that way.

[edit] Wikiproject California? Are you kidding?

The movie is set in Nevada. Aside from being filmed in Holywood (like most US movies), what does this have to do with California?JeffStickney 03:35, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fact/fiction section

I've just removed the paragraph about Nicky's brother being 'finished' before being buried (while both brothers were found to be buried alive in the real-life autopsy) - in the film, both characters are seen breathing as they are buried. Squeezeweasel 15:49, 27 December 2006 (UTC)

Actually, you (and the movie) are BOTH wrong. According to the autopsy reports on both brothers, there was a minute bit of sand found in their lungs, which initially led the media to speculate, incorrectly, that they were buried alive when the bodies were found on June 22, 1986 in an Enos, Indiana cornfield. However, during the investigation into other murders in 2005, nearly 20 years later, the murders of the Spilotro brothers are now thought to have taken place either in DuPage County, Illinois in Joey Aiuppa's hunting lodge, or in the basement of an Indiana home, where they were beaten and strangled before being buried in the cornfield.
The original autopsy reports indicate that the official cause of death came back as asphyxiation. According Nick Calabrese, turned informant by the Feds in the 2005 murder investigation (including 16 OTHER murders), he stated that the Spilotros were lured to the basement of a Bensenville, Indiana home with the story that Michael was about to be inducted into the Mafia. Once there, the two brothers subsequently were beaten with fists, feet and gun butts and finally strangled to death. The bodies were dumped in previously dug holes in the Indiana cornfield. So, according to Calabrese, they were dead before being buried. As to the sand in their lungs, it's anyone's guess as to how it got there, but the being buried alive part was purely speculation. But the official C.O.D. of asphyxiation plus the sand in their lungs is why the rumor got started, but their lungs were not full of sand, as would be expected if they were buried alive. Rather, they were strangled. ChÿnaDragön 22:31, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 'CAST' and 'Differences between Fact and Fiction Sections' Inaccuracies

In the "cast" section, it's stated that Artie Piscano's character, played by Vinny Vella, was based on Nick Civella, who at the time (in real life), was the Kansas City crime boss. However, in the "Fact vs. Fiction" section above, it's stated that Piscano's character was based on Carl DeLuna, Nick Civella's son-in-law, with which I concur is who Piscano's character is REALLY based on. This is a contradiction directly in the Wiki article that I'm surprised no one else has spotted yet, but clearly needs to be corrrected. Reasons why I believe Piscano's character was based on DeLuna and NOT Civella:

1 - A search of DeLuna's home produced records of Las Vegas trip expenses after a search warrant was executed in 1979, whereas Civella kept no such records, or if he did, they were never found.

2 - As boss of KC, Civella would probably not have been complaining to anyone at home about his expenses, since he was receiving the majority of the KC skim money, which was a substantial amount totalling between $40-80,000 split three ways among Chicago, Milwaukee, and Kansas City. DeLuna, however as underboss, wasn't receiving but a portion of his father-in-law's and uncle's take. If Civella was going to complain to anyone, it would have likely been Joey Aiuppa's character, Remo Gaggi, since Chicago received a bigger portion of the skim money than either KC or Milwaukee.

3 - Civella would certainly NOT have been complaining to his mother and/or an uncle about expenses, since both were dead at the time. Nick Civella would have been about 67 years old at the time, which would have made his mother and/or an uncle approximately 15-22 years older, and it is not known if Nick Civella even had any other relations involved with the KC mafia at all.

4 - DeLuna and both Civella brothers were indicted for casino skimming, along with in the late 70's and early 80's. However, Nick Civella was not arrested for this, since he was in prison at the time, and even though he was released in 1983, he died before the trials had begun.

Since I have not read the book, I can't say if the book names actual names, or character names, or how they even talk about Civella/DeLuna. Does anyone else have an opinion if Artie Piscano is supposed to be based on DeLuna or Civella, or a combination of the two? If the argument is made to where it IS indeed Civella on which Piscano's character is based, (which I doubt), then the "Fact vs. Fiction" section needs to be updated to reflect different facts: Civella was not actually convicted of skimming the casinos in the 70's or 80's, although he was originally named in the indictment, but died before they could prosecute him in 1983. Civella was already serving a four-year prison sentence on bribery charges when arrests were made due to FBI wire-taps where DeLuna was overheard discussing Nevado casino skimming operations with Carl "Cork" Civella (Nick's brother), but due to health reasons, Nick Civella was released to his family on March 1, 1983 and died less than two weeks later, on March 12th. DeLuna was convicted, however; along with his uncle and Nick's brother, Carl Civella and Charles D. Moretina (another KC mobster), in July, 1983.

I'll wait a week or two to see if anyone can make a good case as to why the "cast" section should stay the same, and the Fact/Fiction section should be changed with regards to the Civella/DeLuna issue I've posted or vice versa, and if no responses or arguments changed at that time, I'll change it, if someone else doesn't do it for me first. :) ChÿnaDragön 22:31, 9 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Character

Does anyone know who plays "Armstrong" the oldish guy. Sam Rothstein, when he tries to catch the cheaters, picks up the phone and asks for "Armstrong and Friday at pit two" and then Armstrong comes. He is the guy who uses the cattle-prod against the signaller.

Does anyone know what his name is or who he is?

Regards

Dep. Garcia ( Talk + | Help Desk | Complaints ) 13:33, 27 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino soundtrack cover.jpg

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[edit] WikiProject class rating

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Љ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.207.228.93 (talk) 20:13, 24 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino poster.jpg

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BetacommandBot (talk) 04:50, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino02.jpg

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[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino03.jpg

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[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino04.jpg

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[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Casino5.jpg

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