Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino was a fantastic example of the American’s screenwriting and film-making abilities.
With the help of Nicholas Pileggi, and inspired by Pileggi’s book, Casino does a brilliant job of transferring the true story of Frank Rosenthal to film.
In the movie, Rosenthal is represented by the character Sam Rothstein, played by Robert De Niro, who (according to the man himself) is about a 7/10 for accuracy.
In real life, Rosenthal was a Las Vegas casino executive and organised crime associate in the 1970s and the film is based around him.
Joe Pesci’s character, Nicky Santoro, is based on real-life mobster and Rosenthal’s childhood friend, Anthony Spilotro, who met a similarly grisly fate to his onscreen counterpart.
Pesci’s murder in the film is also based on real-life events and he and his brother Michael disappeared June 14, 1986 and their bodies were not found for more than a week later, buried 5 feet in wet earth.
Joining these two was Sharon Stone (in a Golden Globe winning performance) playing Ginger McKenna; Sam’s girlfriend and later wife, who’s based on Rosenthal’s ex-wife Geri McGee.
Nearly the entire movie is based on reality from Sam being called in front of the gambling commission for operating a casino without a license, to the car bomb in the opening that almost gets him killed. Every scene is based on events that actually happened to Rosenthal, Spilotro or McGee throughout their time in 1970s Las Vegas, drawing from historical events including the assassination of a casino executive in Costa Rica and Ginger’s death at the end of the movie.
Below a short slideshow of scenes in the movie that are all based on reality, no matter how fantastic they mean seem! And if the slideshow gets you in the mood, why not stop by and play some online casino games on Betfair!
