Transporting you straight to the heart of casino life, lots of movies perfectly capture the soul of casino culture. Casinos always have the aura of possibility, where literally anything could happen! Setting the stage for drama and intrigue, and always with a hint of glamour – let’s go on a cinematic journey through some famous movie casino environments.
“Casino” – The Quintessential Casino Drama
Still arguably the most famous movie in this genre, Martin Scorsese’s “Casino” is a golden classic. This movie was actually inspired by true events, set in the 1970s when casinos were owned and managed by the local mob. Full of drama, with complicated romances, cheating casino patrons and the FBI, Scorsese had journalist friends who had inside knowledge of what was going on in the Chicago mob scene. This movie is different from other casino movies because the casino itself is the centrepiece, not just a backdrop to set the stage for other dramatic events. Sadly, both casinos depicted in this movie have been demolished. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci play complex and engaging characters, drawing us into thrilling yet murky underworld of mobs and casinos.
“Ocean’s Eleven” – Glamour and High Stakes Heists
We dive back into the glitzy world of Las Vegas with this movie, straight into the legendary Caesars Palace for “The Hangover”. A bold and dazzlingly funny movie, this one features a stag night in Las Vegas where everything that could possibly go wrong – goes wrong! Starring Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Justin Bartha, this comedy of errors may not immediately seem like a gambling movie until Alan (played by Zach) learns to count cards and makes a stack of money at the blackjack table so that they can get the groom to the altar in time. Exploring the theme of unpredictability in both Vegas and the narrative of the film, they push the concept ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’ to the limits!
A rip-roaring adventure, “Ocean’s Eleven” features George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts as they plot an outrgeous casino heist in Las Vegas. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie tells the story of Danny Ocean’s plans to stage a heist in 3 casinos simultaneously and rob them all. Ocean’s Eleven is audacious (it grossed over $450 million globally), and had a huge influence on the public perception of casinos as glamorous and adventurous places. In order to authentically portray Las Vegas, it was filmed there! Lots of famous Las Vegas locations were featured, most notably the Bellagio Casino and Hotel, and the film crew got permission to actually film inside some of the casinos, giving the movie an aura of authenticity and drawing the audience into the world of casino drama.
“Rounders” – The Gritty World of High-Stakes Poker
Featuring a fresh-faced Matt Damon alongside Edward Norton, this film dives straight into the intense world of poker. With naturally gifted players and cheating ex-cons, this movie follows the fast-paced journey toward the famous World Series of Poker. Portraying poker as a skillful and psychological game, and contrasted against the complexity of human friendships and relationships, Rounders explores complex topics around the choices we can make in life and how far we are willing to go to make our dreams a reality. This film hugely contributed to the popularity of poker, portraying it as passionate and adrenaline-fuelled game that is only for those that can handle the drama, the tension and the bluffing. The casino location perfectly sets the stage for this gritty world of high-stakes poker.
“The Hangover” – Comedy in the Casino World
“21” – The Allure of Blackjack and Card Counting
Here’s another film based on a true story – six MIT men who train to become experts in card counting and win millions of dollars in Las Vegas casinos. They all have different motives, which makes for a dramatic journey through many different blackjack casinos, secret trips to Las Vegas and the elaborate hand signals used to roll through casino after casino winning an absurd amount of money. Inspired by a best-selling book called ‘Bringing Down The House’, this film explores the intellectual side of casino games and the potential pitfalls of cheating.
Conclusion:
There is huge diversity in the way that all these films represent the world of casinos – from glamor and glitz to the darker, more complex and gritty aspects. Each movie is it’s own window into the fascinating world of casinos, and whether it is the central aspect of the movie or just a backdrop for a meladramatic story unfolding, there is a casino movie out there for everyone!
