Casino (1995)
Movie · 1995 · Crime, Drama · 2h 59m · R · English
Curator score: 8.6/10 (1.3M ratings)
Tagline: No one stays at the top forever.
In Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Ratings:
- Curator score: 8.6/10
- IMDb: 8.2/10
- Letterboxd: 4.21/5
- Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
- Metacritic: 73
- TMDB: 8.0/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Production: Universal Pictures, Syalis DA, Légende Films, Cappa/De Fina Productions
Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison, Vinny Vella, Oscar Goodman, Catherine Scorsese, Philip Suriano, Erika von Tagen, Frankie Avalon
Where to watch: Starz, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict: A glossy, vicious, and hugely entertaining mob epic that turns Las Vegas into a machine for greed, vanity, and self-destruction. It’s long and familiar in some Scorsese rhythms, but the performances, pace, and sheer scale make it a standout crime drama.
Best for: fans of sprawling crime sagas; viewers who like operatic violence and betrayal; people drawn to 1990s prestige filmmaking; audiences interested in the dark side of wealth and power
Skip if: you want a tight, lean gangster film; you dislike graphic violence and cruelty; you prefer subtle, low-key character studies; you’re tired of mob-movie mythology
Overview: Casino is a feverish portrait of greed dressed up as glamour. Scorsese uses the casino floor like a battlefield, where every smile, scheme, and favor is part of a larger con. The result is less a simple crime story than a study of systems: money, loyalty, marriage, and power all collapsing under their own excess.
Worth noting: The film’s pleasures are obvious and durable: De Niro’s controlled precision, Sharon Stone’s volatile magnetism, and Joe Pesci’s terrifying volatility. It’s a movie of unforgettable surfaces, from the pastel suits to the neon haze, but it keeps revealing the rot underneath. Even when it feels familiar, it’s executed with such confidence that the familiarity becomes part of the point.
Bottom line: What lingers most is the sadness beneath the swagger. The friendships are transactional, the romance is poisoned, and the whole empire is built on panic. Casino is one of the great American decline stories, and one of the most purely watchable ones.
Top Letterboxd reviews:
- Timcop: All things considered, these guys were kind of okay dads.
- Nick: As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a casino
- marcella: the most relatable scene from this movie is the one where de niro is PISSED OFF because his blueberry muffin barely had blueberries
- Muriel: robert de niro walking around smoking in colorful suits, sharon stone being a queen and joe pesci screaming and attacking people is very telling of what i love about cinema
- maria: joe pesci is a funny guy
Recommended similar titles:
- GoodFellas (1990 · Drama, Crime · 2h 25m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (3.3M ratings) · Where to watch: Philo)
The closest match in energy and scale: a propulsive mob rise-and-fall story with the same intoxicating mix of glamour, violence, and moral collapse.
- The Irishman (2019 · Crime, Drama, History · 3h 29m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (1.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads)
Another sprawling Scorsese crime chronicle, slower and more elegiac, but equally obsessed with loyalty, regret, and the cost of a life in crime.
- Mean Streets (1973 · Drama, Crime · 1h 52m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (129.5K ratings))
A foundational Scorsese gangster film that trades casino opulence for street-level chaos, guilt, and male camaraderie.
- The Departed (2006 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 2h 31m · R · Curator 9.5/10 (3M ratings) · Where to watch: MGM Plus)
If what you want is betrayal, paranoia, and ruthless criminal ecosystems, this is a sharp, crowd-pleasing companion piece.
- Once Upon a Time in America (1984 · Drama, Crime · 3h 49m · R · Curator 8.9/10 (693.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads)
A grand, tragic gangster epic about memory, friendship, and the long shadow of crime.
- The Godfather (1972 · Drama, Crime · 2h 55m · R · Curator 9.9/10 (4.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium)
The essential American crime saga, with the same interest in family, power, and the corrosion of ambition.
- The Godfather Part II (1974 · Drama, Crime · 3h 22m · R · Curator 9.9/10 (2.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium)
Expands the criminal empire into a larger history of ambition and decay, with a similarly mournful sense of consequence.
- A Bronx Tale (1993 · Drama, Crime · 2h 1m · R · Curator 8.9/10 (449.4K ratings) · Where to watch: AMC+, Kanopy, Philo)
A more intimate mob-world drama that balances neighborhood loyalty, father-son tension, and criminal seduction.
- Donnie Brasco (1997 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 7m · R · Curator 7.3/10 (622.1K ratings) · Where to watch: AMC, Philo)
A grounded, bruising look at mob life that emphasizes routine, loyalty, and the emotional cost of infiltration.
- Miller's Crossing (1990 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 1h 55m · R · Curator 8.0/10 (289.3K ratings))
Stylized gangster storytelling with sharp dialogue, shifting loyalties, and a coolly fatalistic tone.
- Carlito's Way (1993 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 24m · R · Curator 8.2/10 (435.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Starz, Philo)
A tragic crime story about trying to escape the life, with strong momentum and a melancholy undercurrent.
- The Untouchables (1987 · Crime, History, Thriller · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (654.2K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Peacock Premium, MGM Plus, Philo, Peacock Premium Plus)
For viewers who enjoy period crime spectacle, big personalities, and a heightened sense of law-versus-mob conflict.
Topics: crime drama, mob epic, Las Vegas, betrayal, greed, corruption, 1990s, violent, prestige cinema, voiceover
https://watchlist.tannermartz.com/apple/movie/casino/524
Casino (1995)
Movie · 1995 · Crime, Drama · 2h 59m · R · English
Curator score: 8.6/10 (1.3M ratings)
No one stays at the top forever.
Overview In Las Vegas, two best friends--a casino executive and a Mafia enforcer--compete for a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.6/10
IMDb: 8.2/10
Letterboxd: 4.21/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 79%
Metacritic: 73
TMDB: 8.0/10
Production Universal Pictures, Syalis DA, Légende Films, Cappa/De Fina Productions
Cast Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Alan King, Kevin Pollak, L.Q. Jones, Dick Smothers, Frank Vincent, John Bloom, Pasquale Cajano, Melissa Prophet, Bill Allison, Vinny Vella, Oscar Goodman, Catherine Scorsese, Philip Suriano, Erika von Tagen, Frankie Avalon
Where to watch Starz, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A glossy, vicious, and hugely entertaining mob epic that turns Las Vegas into a machine for greed, vanity, and self-destruction. It’s long and familiar in some Scorsese rhythms, but the performances, pace, and sheer scale make it a standout crime drama.
Best for
fans of sprawling crime sagas
viewers who like operatic violence and betrayal
people drawn to 1990s prestige filmmaking
audiences interested in the dark side of wealth and power
Skip if
you want a tight, lean gangster film
you dislike graphic violence and cruelty
you prefer subtle, low-key character studies
you’re tired of mob-movie mythology
Overview
Casino is a feverish portrait of greed dressed up as glamour. Scorsese uses the casino floor like a battlefield, where every smile, scheme, and favor is part of a larger con. The result is less a simple crime story than a study of systems: money, loyalty, marriage, and power all collapsing under their own excess.
Worth noting
The film’s pleasures are obvious and durable: De Niro’s controlled precision, Sharon Stone’s volatile magnetism, and Joe Pesci’s terrifying volatility. It’s a movie of unforgettable surfaces, from the pastel suits to the neon haze, but it keeps revealing the rot underneath. Even when it feels familiar, it’s executed with such confidence that the familiarity becomes part of the point.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the sadness beneath the swagger. The friendships are transactional, the romance is poisoned, and the whole empire is built on panic. Casino is one of the great American decline stories, and one of the most purely watchable ones.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Timcop (4.5★) · 11940 likes
All things considered, these guys were kind of okay dads.
Nick (4★) · 8207 likes
As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a casino
marcella (4.5★) · 7314 likes
the most relatable scene from this movie is the one where de niro is PISSED OFF because his blueberry muffin barely had blueberries
Muriel (5★) · 4913 likes
robert de niro walking around smoking in colorful suits, sharon stone being a queen and joe pesci screaming and attacking people is very telling of what i love about cinema
maria (4★) · 4780 likes
joe pesci is a funny guy
Recommended similar titles
1990 · Drama, Crime · 2h 25m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (3.3M ratings) · Where to watch: Philo
The closest match in energy and scale: a propulsive mob rise-and-fall story with the same intoxicating mix of glamour, violence, and moral collapse.
2019 · Crime, Drama, History · 3h 29m · R · Curator 8.4/10 (1.4M ratings) · Where to watch: Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Another sprawling Scorsese crime chronicle, slower and more elegiac, but equally obsessed with loyalty, regret, and the cost of a life in crime.
1973 · Drama, Crime · 1h 52m · R · Curator 9.8/10 (129.5K ratings)
A foundational Scorsese gangster film that trades casino opulence for street-level chaos, guilt, and male camaraderie.
2006 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 2h 31m · R · Curator 9.5/10 (3M ratings) · Where to watch: MGM Plus
If what you want is betrayal, paranoia, and ruthless criminal ecosystems, this is a sharp, crowd-pleasing companion piece.
1984 · Drama, Crime · 3h 49m · R · Curator 8.9/10 (693.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A grand, tragic gangster epic about memory, friendship, and the long shadow of crime.
1972 · Drama, Crime · 2h 55m · R · Curator 9.9/10 (4.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium
The essential American crime saga, with the same interest in family, power, and the corrosion of ambition.
1974 · Drama, Crime · 3h 22m · R · Curator 9.9/10 (2.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium
Expands the criminal empire into a larger history of ambition and decay, with a similarly mournful sense of consequence.
1993 · Drama, Crime · 2h 1m · R · Curator 8.9/10 (449.4K ratings) · Where to watch: AMC+, Kanopy, Philo
A more intimate mob-world drama that balances neighborhood loyalty, father-son tension, and criminal seduction.
1997 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 7m · R · Curator 7.3/10 (622.1K ratings) · Where to watch: AMC, Philo
A grounded, bruising look at mob life that emphasizes routine, loyalty, and the emotional cost of infiltration.
1990 · Drama, Thriller, Crime · 1h 55m · R · Curator 8.0/10 (289.3K ratings)
Stylized gangster storytelling with sharp dialogue, shifting loyalties, and a coolly fatalistic tone.
1993 · Crime, Drama, Thriller · 2h 24m · R · Curator 8.2/10 (435.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Starz, Philo
A tragic crime story about trying to escape the life, with strong momentum and a melancholy undercurrent.
1987 · Crime, History, Thriller · 1h 59m · R · Curator 7.6/10 (654.2K ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Peacock Premium, MGM Plus, Philo, Peacock Premium Plus
For viewers who enjoy period crime spectacle, big personalities, and a heightened sense of law-versus-mob conflict.
Topics
crime drama, mob epic, Las Vegas, betrayal, greed, corruption, 1990s, violent, prestige cinema, voiceover
Open Casino (1995) on Curator TV