Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Spoiler-free premise
A skilled gambling operator is sent to Las Vegas to run a casino for organized crime.
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Chicago bookmaker Sam 'Ace' Rothstein is sent by organized crime to manage Las Vegas's Tangiers casino. His marriage to hustler Ginger McKenna and friendship with volatile enforcer Nicky Santoro entangle casino control with jealousy, violence, and federal scrutiny.
Why it belongs
Martin Scorsese maps Las Vegas as a system of money, surveillance, costume, and mob discipline, then watches personal appetite corrode it.
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Under Martin Scorsese, De Niro, Stone, and Pesci embody incompatible forms of control. Voice-over duets, casino tracking shots, count rooms, changing suits, surveillance ceilings, pop music, and desert violence explain both business efficiency and collapse.