Netflix is removing a 1995 gangster movie starring Sharon Stone and Robert De Niro from its platform next month. Helmed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese, the movie showcases the rise and decline of Las Vegas’ mafia-run casino empire, with characters inspired by real people.
Casino leaves Netflix in June
Casino will depart from Netflix’s streaming library on Monday, June 1 (via What’s on Netflix).
The movie is based on Nicholas Pileggi’s 1995 novel, Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. He based the book on real people, including Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, a popular professional gambler and bookmaker at the time.
Although Pileggi had completed his book, he hadn’t published it until a month before the movie came out. Moreover, he worked with Scorsese to write the movie’s screenplay. This marked their second collaboration after 1990’s Goodfellas, which was based on Pileggi’s previous novel, Wiseguy.
Casino centers on Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a gambler chosen by the mafia gang called the Chicago Outfit. Soon after his arrival, the casino became very profitable. Later, his friend Nicky Santoro joins to help protect the business, but his personal agendas put the casino in trouble. Meanwhile, the former falls in love and marries a conwoman named Ginger. Over the years, Ace, Nicky, and Ginger’s lives begin to collapse, leading to the downfall of the Mafia-run casinos in the city.
The cast features Sharon Stone as Ginger, Robert De Niro as Ace, Joe Pesci as Nicky, James Woods as Lester, Don Rickles as Billy, and Alan King as Andy, among others.
Universal Pictures handled the movie’s distribution and released it in the United States on November 22. It was well-received by nearly everyone. Made on a reported budget of roughly $40-$50 million, Casino earned $116.1 million globally.
On Rotten Tomatoes, over 250K users have scored the movie an average of 93%, while 73 critics have given it 79%. Furthermore, it also earned an Oscar nomination for Sharon Stone.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on ComingSoon.
