April 8, 2026
SIFF, Festa Italiana, and Greg Olson Productions Present
MARTIN SCORSESE
MAESTRO OF CINEMA
Casino (1995) Martin Scorsese: I think I learn more in a movie or a story when I see what a person does wrong and what happens to them because of that. What interested me about Las Vegas was the idea of excess, no limits. People become successful there like in no other city. There’s been a spread of new casinos all around America, which reflects desperation, when people think that with one throw of the dice their whole life will be changed. It was the beat of Vegas, the idea of Vegas, especially in the seventies. In the fifties and sixties, Vegas was for people who liked to gamble. But later you have Sinatra and the Rat Pack and all. And it gains swagger. Listen, you don’t like it, don’t come here. You can’t take the heat, get out. Fine. In Casino there’s no such thing as law, there’s nothing. It just goes. And then they self-implode. Sam Rothstien (Robert De Niro) becomes a pillar of the community, he’s given a plaque, and he says, “Anywhere else I’d be arrested for what I’m doing. Here, they give me awards.” This is the only place he can use his gambling expertise in a legitimate way, and become part off the WASP community. But as Nicky (Joe Pesci) tells him in the desert, “I’m what’s real out here. Not your country clubs and your TV show. I’m what’s real: the dirt, the gutter, and the blood. That’s what it’s all about.” The structure of the film changed a lot as we worked on the editing. Sequences are composed of many shots, and we had almost 300 sequences, all the scenes pinned to the wall as we worked, it took eleven months. This is where Thelma Schoonmaker came in very strongly. She had to hold the whole film in her head, all the footage, and take charge of where to place elements. Thelma and I used to edit documentaries years ago, so she’s very good at that. We decided to put the money-skimming passage up front. The viewer should be moved by the music. Ultimately, it’s a tragedy. It’s the frailty of being human. I want to push audiences’ emotional empathy with certain types of characters who are normally considered villains. Certain songs and music pieces, when you play them with the picture, change everything. So it’s very, very delicate. In GoodFellas the sound is more Phil Spector, while Casino is more Stones, especially “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking?”, which is a key song in the film. Louis Prima has to be in there, but for the majestic destruction of the old buildings it has to be Bach. The old Vegas is being replaced by something seductive, kiddie-friendly, but it’s there to work on the core America, the family. While the kids watch the Pirate ride, we’ll take your money. While I was making Casino I was very angry at the extraordinary place that Vegas was. All that greed seemed like a reflection of Hollywood at the time, a reflection of American culture. It’s people doing themselves in by their own pride and losing paradise Thanks to The New Yorker poet, film curator and teacher Tova Gannana for her film essay. Greg Olson Productions is sponsored by Inn at the Market.
Directed by: Martin Scorsese Screenplay by: Nichols Pileggi and Martin Scorsese from Pileggi’s book Cinematography by: Robert Richardson Edited by: Thelma Schoonmaker Music Curation by: Martin Scorsese Production Design by: Dante Ferretti Costume Design by: Rita Ryack and John Dunn THE PLAYERS: Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro James Woods as Lester Diamond Frank Vincent as Frank Marino Pasquale Cajano as Remo Gaggi Kevin Pollak as Phillip Green Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert Vinny Vella as Artie Piscano Alan King as Andy Stone L. Q. Jones as Pat Webb Dick Smothers as Senator