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Casino Blu-ray
Universal Studios | 1995 | 178 mins | Rated R | Oct 14, 2008
Casino(1995)Crime | Drama | Thriller     Sam "Ace" Rothstein, the consummate bookie who can change the odds merely by placing a bet, has risen through the ranks of the Midwestern mob to be picked by the bosses to front their entree into Vegas. Ace lives and breathes the odds. He eventually doubles the mob's take and changes the rules of how the casinos are run. But he can't control the odds when it comes to Ginger McKenna, the chip-hustling vamp who charms Ace and becomes his wife. His infatuation with Ginger turns to obsession as she rises with him to the upper crust of society, then turns to the bottle and pills for consolation in her gilded cage. The third member of this triangle of greed and obsession is Nicky Santoro, Ace's best friend and fellow graduate of the city streets. Together, they run the perfect operation, with Ace in charge and Nicky providing the muscle. But as Nicky expands his interests and each man gains power, their lives become entangled in a story of hot tempers, obstinacy, money, love and deception. For more details about Casino on Blu-ray, see the Casino Blu-ray Review Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles Director: Martin Scorsese Casino Blu-ray, Video Quality  The transfer to 1080p is superb, with rich colors, fine detail and film-like resolution. There may be some digital noise reduction applied to dark areas but this does not adversely impact black level or create pixelation. For the most part, grain and film anomalies are visible (more in the daylight shots than dark scenes, which adds to the suspicion of selective DNR use). But the approach allows much of the original source material to transfer perfectly to Blu-ray. Skin color is spot-on. The textures and colors of the '70s era wardrobe and flashing lights of Vegas appear colorful and vibrant. Facial expressions and landscapes are characterized by ultrarealistic definition. Watch the scene showing the desert meeting between Ace and Nicky, which Nicky calls after Ace suggests to the bosses back home that Nicky should lay low. The detail and depth is fantastic, showing geologic striations in the distant mountains and remarkable definition in the desert shrubbery. The visual impact of this scene is rarely achieved in the history of motion picture. Cinematographer Richardson clearly has an affinity for dramatic desert footage. He also made Oliver Stone's vision come to life in the desert scene of The Doors. Even beyond microdetail in the picture, the macrodetail--color, lighting and framing--is executed with the touch of a master painter. Watch the aerial shot following Nicky's car as it races toward the meeting destination. The motion and sand particulate is smooth and despite the brightness of the scene, no area of the picture is blown out. The racing car is even captured in a close-up reflection in Ace's sunglasses as it leaves a trail of dust across the desert. Scorsese and Richardson sought to make the clouds of sand a visual element of the scene and it works to perfection. As Nicky storms back to his car and pulls a u-turn, he gooses the wheels as he speeds off, sending a small dust storm slowly settling over Ace. A similar approach is used in many dark, indoor scenes, where cigarette smoke becomes a glowing, vibrant entity in the picture. Watch the bar scene early in the film, where Nicky reacts violently to a man who insults Ace. The lighting and use of slow-motion is as dramatic as the action. Spot lighting is used to make the smoke glow and highlight its shifting forms and evanescence. After the slow motion is applied in postproduction, the smoke takes on an even more ominous quality. Scorsese uses this visual filter to alter the tone of the scene and lend more impact to an already powerhouse performance by his actors. It comes off with a foreboding, noirish quality. In fact, most of the indoor shots have a film noir quality and make use of dramatic lighting. Another example of this is the spot lighting used on hands and tables as the characters sit and talk. Watch the meeting between Nicky's sidekick Frankie (Frank Vincent) and mob boss Remo Gaggi (Pasquale Cajano). Remo's hands are glowing white as he motions during the conversation. The effect adds artistry and balance to the picture, and is reproduced with stunning resolution on Blu-ray. Casino Blu-ray, Audio Quality  The most impressive audio feature of Casino is its soundtrack. From the Georges Delerue theme to blues legends B.B. King and Muddy Waters to pop radio staples Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Roxy Music to jazz powerhouses Ramsey Lewis, Eddie Harris and Les McCann, the music is mostly high energy and almost nonstop. Casino boasts yet another DTS-HD Master Audio encode and these consistently sound bloated in the treble. The audio is not bad by any analysis, but it's not a faithful reproduction of the source material. Still, vocals, guitar, bass and drums are solid and anchored across the front three channels. The surrounds are used sparingly for reverb or echo effects. Gunshots and explosions are underwhelming, but other sound effects like car engines and planes are a bit more convincing. Dialog sounds crisp, with good faithfulness to the timbre of the actors' voices. The LFE channel is also used sparingly, except during Scorsese's trademark camera bulb-popping scenes, meant to symbolize the harsh eye of public scrutiny. Watch the scene where Ace is inducted into the Las Vegas Country Club. Each pop of the vintage camera light bulbs yields a succinct blast from the subwoofer to deliver more impact, as if the photos are physically hitting Ace like a fist or bat. The bass is fairly tight during this scene, but may vary from system to system. The effect will not sound good on systems with loose or boomy bass. The same effect is used during Ace's wedding reception. It's worth noting that Scorsese uses the dramatic bulb-popping effect in several other films, including King of Comedy and Raging Bull. While the LFE channel is impressively used for the effect, it sounds anemic elsewhere in the soundtrack where it should be more prominent, particularly in explosions. Casino Blu-ray, News and Updates• Today on Blu-ray - October 14th - October 14, 2008 As a franchise, Indiana Jones is one of the most successful ever brought to the silver screen, so it was of little surprise that Paramount decided to green-light another installment in the popular series. Almost 20 years after he went on his "Last Crusade", Harrison ... • Three Gangster Films Announced for Blu-ray - August 15, 2008 Universal Studios Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring three gangster themed films to Blu-ray on October 14th, both individually and as part of an 'Ultimate Gangster Collection'. The films include Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster', Martin Scorsese's ... Casino Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
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