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Page SA
Monday,
November 27, 1995


Scorsese's 'Casino' breaks even

By Joshua Rich,
Daily Film Editor
In Martin Scorsese's "Casino," Robert
De Niro plays another shade of the char-
acterthathasbecome so familiarto movie
audiences for more than 20 years. Here,
he is Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a big-time
midwest gambler and bookmaker who is
thrust into the dog-eat-dog world of 1970s
Las Vegas to run the Tangiers-acasino.
As we have found De Niro so many
times in the past, his Ace is a down-to-
the-bone Mafioso; a high-class hoodlum
who grins with golden teeth and diamond
eyes as he orders his enemies' heads to be
crushed in a vise. Just as much, though, he
is an emotionally weak and pitiable man,
often torn between the numerous benefits
of his despicable profession, and an in-
fatuation with his slickandbeautiful wife.
One of the many things that is always
impressive about De Niro is his ability
to express the subtle themes in a film or
the feelings in his character with noth-
ing more than a grimace or a smile.
Especially since his wildly reserved
performance in Scorsese's earlier "Taxi
FT mm - -- -- --- -- *1

Casino
Directed by Martin
Scorsese; with Robert De
Niro, Sharon Stone and
Joe Pesci
At Briarwood and Showcase
Driver" (1976), his has become a highly
restrained form ofacting. He commands
our attention with slight facial expres-
sions and the occasional impassioned
monologue. And it's a good thing that
De Niro - along with his talented
acting cohorts - thus maintains our
interest in this chaotic, audacious, 170-
minute gangster epic.
Scorsese would have you believe that
"Casino" is not only about mobsters or
the Mafia; he'll say that he is showing us
a slice of life that exemplifies and paral-
lels the rapid transformation ofLas Vegas
- from frontier village to Mafia gam-
bling haven to tourist Mecca-since the
early '70s. But don't believe all of this;
the genius director is only partly right.
While the respective predicaments
of Ace and his desert paradise change
significantly during the movie's time
frame, it is, as is usually the case, the
gangsters that reign in this film. After
all is done, our most vivid memories
hearken back to bloody assassinations,
broken fingers and bleeding eyeballs,
fat Italian and Jewish old men in gold
chains driving Cadillacs, and the pesky
FBI men who spy on them all. It really
isn't anything we haven't seen before.
Running a Vegas casino is like heaven
to Ace, who can legally gamble without
ever getting pinched - casinos, after
all, are gigantic operations that take
people's money faster than your aver-
age street mugger. Even more appeal-

ing is the life-sustaining support of a
group ofmidwestern Mafiabosses (who,
in one of the film's more comical pre-
mises, manage things from the back
room of a Kansas City produce stand).
In return, they only demand about
$100,000 per month, skimmed off the
top of the Tangiers' earnings.
While he falls in love with, and marries
Ginger (Sharon Stone), the biggest whore/
drug dealer/hustler in the whole sleazy
town, Ace is gradually brought down out
of his gambler's paradise. Like the spice
she is named for, Ginger is an intriguing
The action and
accompanying
plotestablishing
nartiyon is so
draw-out that,
after watching for
over an hour, we
are still confused.
mix of tastes and emotions -- she is
seductive yet ruthless, stubborn yet en-
tirely out-of-control. She destroys Ace
with her constant refusal to love her hus-
band more than the bottles of alcohol and
pills to which she easily becomes ad-
dicted.
As the typical psychopathic hitman,
Joe Pesci's Nicky Santoro doesn't help
matters much either. He wrecks havoc
in anyjoint he sets foot. Initially banned
from all casinos for engineering elabo-
rate cheating scams, Nicky quickly be-
comes the top strong-arm and mob boss
in Vegas - a town infested by many
lowlifes, but run by none. Unfortunately
for him, that seems to be the way it

Stone and De Niro cash in their chips in "Casino."

should and will always stay.
Written by Scorsese and his
"GoodFellas"( 1990) collaborator, Nicho-
las Pileggi (again based on his recently-
released book), "Casino" is a sweeping
drama that, while contained within the
exciting yet imprisoning confines of the
grand house of games, strives and
struggles to be so much more. The action
and accompanying plot-establishing nar-
ration ofthis semi-true story is so dry and
drawn-out that, after watching for over an
hour, we are still confused. Even worse,
we are almost completely bored. Contin-
ued for another two hours, this action-
narration mishmash is just too long. It's
too much to grasp.
Nevertheless, the acting and crafting
of "Casino" shines, as expected.
Captained by the always infallible De
Niro (who is arguably miscast as the
Jewish gangster, while Scorsese's other
favorite actor, Harvey Keitel,may have
been a better choice), the motley crew
of characters undoubtedly nresents one

fine performance after another. Actors
from the likes of creepy James Woods
to crass Don Rickles to comical Dick
Smothers - along with the always
crazy and dopey Pesci - triumph
through and through.
Most impressive, however, is Stone
-more exquisite than ever-who, like
Brad Pitt in this year's "Seven," proves
that she can perform well beyond her
alluring face and figure. While Stone
may not be the greatest of actresses,
Ginger is by far the most challenging
persona she has yet adopted. And she
does a solid, wholly convincing job of
making us comprehend every move she
makes. It is certainly a far cry from her
simple breakthrough part as the under-
pants-less sex-killer in "Basic Instinct"
(1992).
As usual, Scorsese is dead-on in his
use of cinematography and production
design to convey some of his movie's
more important themes. He provides us
with many illuminating images: Evil

characters are almost always filmed in the
shadows; bright neon lights flashing on
heaps of cash easily convey the enticing
nature of this man-made nirvana; tortured
bodies explode as some of the many '70s
tunes on the film's elaborate soundtrack
build to a crescendo; the colorful and
shamelessly gaudy costumes are as excit-
ing and shocking as the people who wear
them.
Always one to command the very best
from any actor, Scorsese gets truly lucky
in this case. While the acting and his
filmmaking skills are as finely tuned and.
wondrous as ever, the story at the heart of
his movie flails around and finally falls far
short of expectations.
In no way can "Casino" be put in a high
class with this great director's past master-
pieces. Of course, that is certainly a lofty
goal for one movie to aspire to reach.
Instead, this may be more appropriately
remembered as the film on which Scorsese
ventured to Vegas and ultimately broke
even.

"Marty, I love ya, but I already played
dis guy In tree udder movies o' yours."

Jimmy Smith
Damn!
Verve Records
So this is how it must have felt to
be living when Michelangelo was
still painting. To be able to look at
the work (or more to the point, lis-
ten) of an already established artist
who is still putting out work today
is a great thing. With his new al-
bum, "Damn!" harp-bop and proto-
funk organ legend Jimmy Smith is
proving that genius never submits
to the ravages of age.
Smith is credited with bringing
about a one-man renaissance of the
Hammond B-3 organ. His sound,
phrasing and overall funky sensi-
bilities were a key factor in starting
funk in the jazz world as well as
bringing the sound to the ears of
today's more current funksters.
Opening the album with the James
Brown opus "Papa's Got A Brand
New Bag" Smith demonstrates how
strong his roots are planted in the
soul-funk loam. Assembling a group
of young lion horns behind him,
most notably trumpeter Roy
Hargrove, Smith establishes the fa-
mous Brown in-the-pocket sound
while putting the fluid harp bop
sound in his solos. Throwing the
unmistakable Hammond sound over

a horn vamp, Smith combines the
taste of jazz with the crunchy funk
flavor.
Shifting into more of a jazz vein
for Horace Silver's "Sister Sadie"
Smith plays his usual best, with the
tenor players turning in great solos
that sound like they fell off a Sonny
Rollins record. He moves totally
into the jazz vein with Dizzy's
"Woody 'n' You" with all parties
involved playing in seamless,
straight-ahead jazz style. Smith
shows his erudite abilities by man-
aging to comp behind the group ef-
fectively, without getting in the
way, as many lesser organists tend
to. Tunes like "This Here" (more of
big band-style tune, by Gene
Ammons, a swing saxophonist of

the late Bird era) and "The One
Before This" display this skill in
the straight jazz feeling.
Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon
Man" slightly disappoints. It has a
well arranged tight horn part that
sounds a bit overproduced at times.
The overall feel is deft and smooth,
but it seems like Smith's naturally
raucous style is encroached upon.
In defense of the horn section,

their version of Bird's "Scrapple
From The Apple" fits together; they
play Bird's serpentine melody line
in unison with ease and grace. No
lack of skill here.
On of the more amazing things on
the album is the sidemen. In par-
ticular the drummer, the great and
powerful Art Taylor. Taylor is know
mostly for his hard bop work with
his band, Taylor's Wailers. The

epitome of the soulful bop drum-
mer, Taylor kicks out the thick
backbeats that put the unk in funk
with surprising facility. It's kind
of like hearing your seventy year
old English professor sing a Wil-
son Pickett tune in the middle of an
exam. You may have always sus-
pected he had it in him, but it's a
hell of a thing to hear.
This review could not be more of

a love letter. Smith has not lost an
iota of his legendary powers over
the years. His potent mixture ofjazz,
soul, gospel and a generous helping
of the funk makes a listening experi-
ence that can please all of the people
all of the time. Damn right, "Damn!"
- James P. Miller
See RECORDS, Page 8A

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Centralized Selection Process

for 1996-97
ant Staff Q0s

Jlmny Smith is still one cool cat.

Iror a:. n Meetings
These meetis are aaexcellent
oportunity t arcrt the
resident stf tions and the
application procedures.
Application materials will be available.
Sunday, December 3, 1995
2:00p.m,- 4:00p.m.
1210 Chemistry Building
all staff positions will be reviewed
Tuesday, December 5, 1995
4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.
Chrysler Auditorium, North Campus
01! staff positicr revieed
Wedriesday ernb ,1995
8allroom, IchignLeague
at! staffpositiorts 1Jbeviewed
Thursday, January 11, 1996
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Auditorium 3, MLB
all staff positions will be reviewed

ms

Head Liirarian (il.)
Head Resident (HR)
Henderson House Resident Director
Minority Peer Advisor (MPA)
Minority Peer Advisor Assistant (MPAA)
Pilot Resident Fellow (RF)
Resident Advisor (RA) - including
21st Century Resident Advisor
(21st C RA) and
Women in Science & Engineering Resident
Advisor (WISE RA)
Resident Computer System Consultant (RCSC)
Resident Director (RD) - including
21st Century Resident Director
(21st C RD)
10,000 ients;
-o

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Concourse Lounge, Markley
Friday, January 12, 1996
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Ostafin Room, West Quad
Information Meetings
for Head Librarian (HL)

cid


1995

1r foinmat on Meetings.
for Studaft ef Color
One of University Hosig's goals is to
have a diverse staff. These sesions
help you learn w hat itis like to bea
student of color taff. Come e
the perspectives of our current staff

ty
C'
a novel experience
InformAtion Meetings
for Gay MaleLesbian, and
Bixuat Studerts
Current staff members will share their
experiences of being Gay M 1e, Lesbian,
or Bisexual while serving in their Residence
Education staff oosition. Aolication

noo0n t tip.m.
Bernzanger litbraryi, East quad
Qualifications:
Candidates for all positions
must...
...have a 2.50 CPA or departmental
good standing at the time of application,
.. .have completed 48 undergraduate
credit hours by the end of the 1996
Winter term
rave completed 4 ts on a college
or uiniversify: campus by t end of the
1996 Winter term,
...earegistered student at the
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
campus durtin the period of employ-
went, and
...be enrolled for at least 6 graduate or

- ~i.. .


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