The MPAA shockingly gave the film an R rating on appeal with no objections and the scene was left in the film. Scorsese had included the scene as a decoy, ready to sacrifice a removal to distract from the other segments of the film such as bat beatings and a record number of spoken expletives which would seem less gratuitous in comparison to the scene. The master had learned his lesson for Casino, perhaps Martin Scorsese's goriest film featuring the legendary “head in the vice” scene in which an Irish gangster under torture interrogation from Nicky Santoro ( Joe Pesci) has his head tightened within a vise until his eye pops out. The final scene of Taxi Driver famously toned down the color of its blood to distance itself from an X. Goodfellas almost received the distinction when the rating was new and received a re-edit for its language, violence, and drug use. It is fortunate that 'Casino' is available on Archives.Martin Scorsese’s mission to explore the consequences of American violence has given his films near NC-17 and X ratings numerous times.

I enjoyed this film and thinking about Scorsese's films again. This film captures the hardness of Sin City and, as does much of Scorsese's work, has a metaphysical, religious feel below the surface. Violence, sexuality and greed come together to the accompaniment of Scorcese's lavish and apt musical background of songs from the era. Sharon Stone gives a strong performance as his wife, Ginger, while Joe Pesci portrays Rothstein's lifelong friend, the violent and unstable Santoro.

Robert De Niro stars as 'Ace' Rothstein, the gambler with Mafia connections who runs a large Vegas casino, the Tangiers. It also has well developed characters although they are all unsympathetic, even vile. The movie is full of violence and criminality. Although lengthy, the film maintains tension and interest throughout as it shows the sordid nature of the business just below all the glitz. 'Casino' offers a close look at Las Vegas gambling during the years through the 1980s when organized crime was rampant.

Both films center on money and materialism. Both films are about the greed, glitter, and violence of Las Vegas, with 'Showgirls' involved with glamour and stripping and 'Casino' involved with gambling. 'Showgirls' was a critical and commercial failure although its reputation has increased somewhat in recent years while 'Casino' is a masterpiece. I took the opportunity to watch 'Casino' here on Archives after watching another 1995 film 'Showgirls' set in Las Vegas. I have long been admirer of Martin Scorsese even though there are many of his films I haven't seen.

Casino 1995 clips