Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon stole funds from Native American casinos all while twisting laws for their convenience. This fictionalized retelling of a true story stars Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff, a corrupt Washington D.C. To be included, movies had to have important scenes take place in a casino, and the film had to have at least a 6.0 on IMDb or a 65 on Metacritic. OLBG researched the history of casinos on screen and put together a list of 20 of the best casino films. Throughout the next several decades, directors like Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Soderbergh tried their hand at movies about the appeal of gambling and the casinos that supported the lifestyle. Classic film “Casablanca” features a casino as part of Rick Blaine’s nightclub.

Hollywood’s own obsession with casinos has a long history as well. Gambling itself had a reputation as a vice that could lead to other bad habits. In the United States, towns like Las Vegas and Reno in Nevada, and Atlantic City in New Jersey, became known for casinos and the infamous ties held to organized crime. It offered guests the opportunity to gamble during theatrical production intermissions.īy the 19th century, casinos appeared all over Europe. The Casino di Venezia, which opened in 1638 in Venice, is the world’s oldest casino, though it was originally known as Theatre Saint Moses. While gambling has been around for centuries, casinos began popping up in Italy in the 17th century. It doesn't fit with the other four.The flashing lights, the sirens, the hum of conversation, and the thrill of placing a bet are all part of the allure of casinos. The Departed is a terrific movie, but it really doesn't feel as personal as his other crime films. Goodfellas is easily the most entertaining one, but all of them are, in the end, pretty sad movies about lost friends and ruined lives.

He starts out so wild and edgy with Mean Streets, and ends up so serene and refined with The Irishman. And they all have DeNiro, Scorsese's most iconic collaborator, which adds a layer of meta-ness to the theme of friendship through the ages.Īlso, personally speaking, I think watching those movies in sequence really shows how he has improved as a filmmaker over the years. If there is a unifying theme that I see, it's maybe 'toxic friendship'. With the exception of The Departed, his crime movies seem to have lead characters whose age at the end of the film roughly corresponds with Scorsese's age when he made it: I don't know if they really qualify is a coherent series of films.īut I do think it's that it's a really fascinating way to track the evolution of Scorsese as a filmmaker, and a human being, by watching his crime movies.

Movie casino and movies like it