Few films take as many risks and succeed as beautifully as Casino. It’s a complex and multilayered film about destruction and betrayal that is truly remarkable. It takes some of the basic formulas from Goodfellas and applies them to a different kind of story – this is about the guys who run Vegas, control the flow of money, and then fall from the heights of power due to lust, hubris, and greed. And it does so while exposing the seedy side of Las Vegas that is often ignored by other movies which only show opulence, neon signs, and people gambling on cards or slots.

Robert De Niro is fantastic as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a brilliant bookie who takes over the Tangiers hotel and casino with help from mob connections. He struggles with his drug-addicted con-artist trophy wife (Sharon Stone) and his friendship with loose-cannon mobster Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). The movie stretches over three decades and is one of the longest films Scorsese has made, but it never lags or runs out of steam. The director uses masterful editing and taut narration to keep the audience captivated until the very end.

Like many of his mob movies, Casino also has a lot to say about the nature of crime and its criminals. However, it does so in a way that is much more unified and clear than Goodfellas. And despite its epic scope, it’s still a film about the downfall of one man.