Which do you prefer?
0 voters
Both are masterpieces in my mind and scorsese directed them really well but which one is better?
Im going to go with Goodfellas, i think it had a better story.
I’ve always felt Casino is not only better paced, but the more stunning movie to look at.
My brief explanation for now. Will probably go into more detail some other time.
i know what you mean i loved the white lighting in casino
Goodfellas has been in my top ten, but Casino hasn’t. However, nowadays I always feel more like watching Casino because I’ve watched Goodfellas a billion times. So Casino is a little more fresh for me. Plus, it is definitely a visually stunning film. I might go with Casino. But I hate to have to compare the two films.
I prefer Casino. I hate the fact that people usually dismiss it as a sequel to Goodfellas. They’re two completely different movies.
I love how Scorsese combines narrative and documentary film techniques. The use of voice over in the film is the best EVER. There are a few moments that I love in the voice over. One is how the film has been narrated completely by Ace and Nicky but then Frankie takes over for a few seconds. And then there’s the time when Ace is talking in voice over which fades out while Nicky talks to Frankie about killing Ace. And then the part where Nicky is talking in voice over but is cut short by a baseball bat to the back.
I also always thought that the film could sort of be a metaphor for Hollywood. How filmmakers like Scorsese had all this power in the 70’s and could make films however they wanted, but today it “looks like Disneyland” with all the tentpole pictures being released. And the ending with Ace could be about Scorsese’s place in Hollywood today. He survived because he “could still pick winners and make money.”
[quote=“mr blonde_22”]
i know what you mean i loved the white lighting in casino
[/quote]
The white lights are awesome. It makes the characters look like gods. Like when De Niro is talking to the guys who were cheating in the Casino and his hands are glowing. Or whenever the film cuts to the bosses in Kansas City. Or when Pesci is killing the guy with the pen. It’s like the white glow shows up when the characters are flexing their powers.
It also has something to do with the Director of Photography, Robert Richardson. It’s kind of a trademark of his. He also did the lighting for Kill Bill and the white glow shows up a couple of times there as well. Like when Beatrix is training with Pai Mei.
yeh the use of joint narratives is excellent it gives you 2 sides too the story, like when ace is talking about how nicky worked, then nicky talks about how ace works its a really good way to tell a story.
I prefer Goodfellas, I mean Joe Pesci makes the movie psychopath truly frightening again, it institutionalised the “boot” shot and what about the long tracking shot of Henry walking from the street through the back way of the club and to his table- i’ts just fantastic. And that dual narration features in this too with Henry and Karen giving their different views on the same situation its a great idea to have the husband and wife talking directly to the audience about one another.
To be honest, one thing that put me off of Casino is the scene at the end where Pesci’s character is killed. I mean i have watched a lot of nasty violent movies but for some reason that just really sickened me i guess its just too well done.
I love both and have watched them countless times, but I like Casino more. I think the story/direction/cinematography and characters are better than GoodFellas. GoodFellas was like a small group of characters with a pretty simple storyline about the mafia life. Casino is more vast, has more people in the story and having Las Vegas as the backdrop gave Scorsese a really incredible palette to dip his cinematic brush into. I’m telling ya, rewatch it, its like a school for filmmakers. Also I love the music in it alot, ya got everything from The Stones to Roxy Music to The Faces to…DEVO!
GoodFellas: ****
Casino: *****
GOODFELLAS!!! is amazingggg!
Love both, no question. But I prefer Casino just a little bit for a number of reasons.
I personally prefer Goodfellas more than Casino, because Goodfellas was based on actual events, and The Latanza job, still the biggest robbery in American history, and it was an awsome account of how the Mafia operated back in that day, and what they got away with, and how they lived. Plus Pesci was way more believable in Goodfellas, than in Casino…The whole time I watched him in Casino, it was like he was trying to top his character in Goodfellas…
[quote=“Tha Wolf pt. 2”]
I personally prefer Goodfellas more than Casino, because Goodfellas was based on actual events
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So was Casino
Wolf, its Lufthansa (just letting you know).
As Scarface said, Casino is based on real evenmts and people. Sam “Ace” Rothstein was based on Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, Ginger was based on his wife Geri and Nicky Santoro was based on real life mobster Tony “The Ant” Spilotro. Every main character in the film is based on real people actually. Its true stuff.
As far as who was tougher and more violent, Tommy DeSimone (GoodFellas) or Spilotro, Id say they were both pretty fuckin batso (to use the lingo). I really dont think Joe was trying to top the other character really. He was just playing him like he was.
Casino, was not based on actual events, just on peoples accounts of what happened in Las Vegas in the late 70s and early 80s, and that is why names were changed…plus i feel like an idiot for not knowing how to spell Lufthansa
I love 'em both, but Goodfellas just has always had a special place in my heart because it’s the one film that got me interested in films on a much grander and wider scale than any film before or since.
[quote=“Tha Wolf pt. 2”]
Casino, was not based on actual events, just on peoples accounts of what happened in Las Vegas in the late 70s and early 80s, and that is why names were changed. [/quote]
That doesnt make sense. The names were changed BECAUSE it was based on real events and people. Their accounts were true. It was also based on the Pileggi book just like GoodFellas was based on Wiseguy.
I like Goodfellas better, but almost all Scorsese films are good. 8)
Wolf, check out the documentary on the anniversary DVD edition of Casino, you’ll see that the film is a pretty good depiction of what happened in real life. I ain’t sure cause it’s been a while since I saw it last, but I think they even interview Frank Rosenthal and show real footage of Tony Spilotro in that doc.
Goodfellas is my number one of all time. I have stated that like infinite times now. 
Casino is like a bigger, bolder, more shiney version of Goodfellas, but not better in my opinion. It shows off a lot and that totally suits the Vegas athmosphere. But Goodfellas had this closeness, this familiarity, like you are one of the dozens of Pete;s and Marie’s on the Wedding.
Casino develops the characters of De Niro and Pesci, which for me works great for Pesci. He is totally bad ass in it and maintains a same high standard as he did in Goodfellas, with a bigger part and more cool lines!
De Niro is kind of a pantsy…he has this cool: I always win with gambling side, which is deminished by him being a total playball of others. He also lacks some coldbloodness cool like he did have as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas.
Although I am glad that Scorsese went with Sharon Stone, in stead of lame ass actrice Madonna, for the role of Ginger, I find her part a bit too big. At first it irritates and then gets boring…I serieusly wanted Lester Diamond (James Woods) fucking dead.
Goodfellas on the other hand concentrates on Henry and lets all the characters around him play their role. In a brilliant way. Maybe some aren’t too much developed and you would want to see more of them, but I think the balance was JUST right.
They keep you wanting more, in stead of less, in Gingers case…Casino wants TOO much in my opinion. It wants to show all the main characters and misses attachment, which I strongly have with Henry Hill.
What also attracts me to Goodfellas is the 3 part structure: The kid Henry, the rise and settling in the mafia and the paranoia, drugged out ratting out your lifelong pals to safe your own life finale. The rise and fall theme of many/ all of Scorsese’s movies, which is executed very slick. It doesnt go all over the place, but takes you step by step further into Henry’s demise.
Scorsese didn’t cut himself slack by focusing on others, but kept us right there locked up in the life of Henry. Too keep this interesting for so long, is VERY hard.
Although Casino shines in its bling, Goodfellas third part with its fast cuts is THE best portrayal of drugged out paranoia…also some very daring shots by Scorsese, making it almost a music video. BIG kudoos, props, bananas on sticks and pie for Thelma Schoonmaker.
Goodfellas is complete, focussed and a wonderful movieride. FULL of details and classic and wise at its birth.
Shame to see so many of you prefer Casino 
Hehehe, just kidding, I actually like it
To strengthen my case, posting this probably 10 times already, but here goes again:
De Niro acts out a scene without moving a muscle, just by his expression you know what he wants to do; kill “Morrie”. Sunshine of your love is playing, camera zooms in…excellence. 
Good points there. However I have to say I prefered DeNiro in Casino than in Goodfellas. I dunno, but as blasphemous as it may sound, I didn’t find DeNiro anything special in Goodfellas. Any actor could have played that role. And Marty could make any actor staring at the camera in slow-mo look cool. Now, in Casino, I cared a hell of a lot more for Ace. It was a more demanding role and Bobby nailed it perfectly. And I cared a hell of a lot more for Ace than I did for Henry Hill. Henry deserved what he got at the end. He cheated on his wife multiple times, he abused of drugs, he hired an idiotic babysitter and he ratted on his pals. Not really a man you could really care for because he had it coming. Ace, on the other hand, was a different case. His only problem was that he loved his slutty wife a little too much. The guy lost everything not because he was an asshole, but because he had no control over his wife and his psycho friend. You just stare at the screen and care for him, hoping that things would eventually change for the better. When Ginger faces the cops in front of their home I just wanted him to punch that bitch right in the fucking mouth. That’s how much I cared for him. It was a sad ending…this guy who planned everything to perfection and never did stupid mistakes in his life still lost it all because of a slut and an asshole of a friend.
Also, as much as I love Goodfellas, I’m not the biggest fan of that last scene when Henry is in the court and addresses directly the viewer while he talks about his life. That was a little bit of a hokey scene I felt, and quite anti-climatic too. And to this day I still can’t understand why Marty chose the Sex Pistols for the closing credits. I didn’t think they fit with the overall tone of the film.