The whole point of films, particularly Hollywood blockbusters, is to provide an element of escapism to the viewer. Whether this is taking them through an action packed adventure, a courtroom thriller or a whirlwind romance, the watcher is instantly transported from their cinema seat or sofa into the world of the protagonist.
One particular genre that relies on glitz, glamour, intelligence and vast amounts of money to catch viewers’ attention is the casino movie. After something of a ‘golden age’, with plenty of big name actors and directors creating big budget casino movies, there haven’t been any solid films about gambling and casinos for a while now and there don’t seem to be many in the pipeline.
What has gone wrong?
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Characters like James Bond really set the scene for future casino films in the 50s and 60s, swanning around in luxury destinations whilst enjoying vodka Martinis and playing high stakes poker against the villain. The late 60s and 70s were where films about gambling really started to take off. From James Caan playing an upstanding citizen with a secret gambling addiction in 1974’s The Gambler (a film which warranted an unwelcome remake in 2014 starring a wooden Mark Wahlberg) to Steve McQueen playing an up and coming poker shark in 1965’s The Cincinnati Kid, casino gambling was painted as a 100mph lifestyle, full of drama, vice and of course money. Casino films have continued in this vein, with a few exceptions.
The 80s saw one of the most memorable casino films in Rain Man, where an exploitative car salesman discovers that he has an autistic older brother who can count cards with incredible skill. The film is touching in parts, a notable diversion from the standard casino movie, but it still has the element of greed and subversion that seems to be the norm in the traditional casino movie. The 2006 film 21, based on the true story of the MIT poker team, had elements of the hard lifestyle associated with gambling, but focused more on the human element of cheating and its consequences within casinos.
A hidden gem from 1995 is Martin Scorcese’s thriller, Casino, which sees Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci reunited for the third time since Raging Bull and Goodfellas for a rampage across Sin City and the surrounding desert. The ultraviolence and crime give Las Vegas a gritty edge which is missing in other casino movies, but captures what may have been an accurate image of casino gaming in the 60s and 70s.
The 2000s saw some instant classics, including the Ocean’s series, 21 and The Hangover, all of which portray modern Las Vegas with a more ‘family friendly’ edge. This also could be the reason for the slowdown in Casino flicks. Las Vegas still retains the glamorous image, but it is open to almost everyone. Cheap hotel rooms mixed with package breaks make Las Vegas and casino gaming available to the every man and this is where Hollywood loses interest.
If anyone can gamble in a sterile environment, where is the excitement? Card counting is all but outlawed, organised crime has been kicked out and degenerates like Mark Wahlberg are barred from the casino if they show the slightest signs of addiction.