WHAT TO WATCH
THE TOP 5 MOVIES ABOUT GAMING:
These films are the next best thing to being at the Casino by
JOSEPH GROVE
W
HEN YOU LOVE something as much as we love gaming, you’re always on the lookout for other ways to enjoy it. And as the winter drags on and on for much of the U.S., staying indoors in front of a DVD player or your online streaming service of choice, taking in a movie or two seems a nice alternate way to revel in your favorite pastime. NASCAR lovers have “Days of Thunder” and “The Legend of Ricky Bobby.” Runners have “Chariots of Fire.” We casino fans? Well, there’s a veritable royal flush of films about life where the dealers never sleep and the sun never shines. Here are some of our favorites.
before, in 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” They score again here in a story about a group of gambling swindlers in Depression-era Chicago. As so often happens in stories in this genre, one of the moves goes awry, and anything but hilarity ensues. An aggrieved crime boss order hits. Pay-offs are offered. And finally—because that’s the kind of movie these are— everything hinges on one more swindle. Robert Shaw, who followed by playing the doomed Quint in “Jaws,” turns in a standout performance. OCEAN’S 11 AD INFINITUM
2001-2007; directed by Steven Soderbergh Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts and one of the world’s worst fake accents. (Yes, Don Cheadle, we means you.)
CASINO
1995; directed by Martin Scorsese Starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone and a very sharp pen Put Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in front of a camera and Martin Scorsese behind it, and there will be blood. The trio—veterans of “Raging Bull” and “Good Fellas”—give a riveting look at the behind-the-scenes life of the Tangiers casino and the group of made men who run it. Violence? Check. Sex? Yeah, there’s some of that. But what should appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike is the sequence where De Niro’s character leads the viewer through a tour of the machinations of a casino. Who knew the life of a chip could be so adventurous? CASINO ROYALE
2006; directed by Martin Campbell Starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green Judi Dench and one Ebola-style bleeding eyeball Not only was “Casino Royale” centered around a high-stakes game of poker, the movie itself represented a pretty big gamble. The first iteration of the character since Pierce Brosnan sipped his last shaken martini in 2002’s “Die Another Day,” the film amounted to a complete franchise reboot, taking audiences back to the kills that helped Bond earn his double-o status. The character became darker, losing some (but not all) of his cheeky, innuendo-laced demeanor and replacing it with scowls. The change in direction was worrisome enough to MGM studio heads that they brought Columbia Pictures aboard as a partner. THE STING
1973; directed by George Roy Hill Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw and the world’s catchiest soundtrack Newman and Redford had made cinematic magic together 28
| SOUTHERNGAMING.COM
The premise is familiar enough: Conman gets out of prison. Con-man gets in touch with former partners in crime. Re-assembled crew goes out for one last heist. (Of course, for subsequent Ocean’s sequels to exist, they ultimately must go out for a couple more “one last heists.” What makes the film so popular is the boldness of the premise and the aplomb with which it is carried off: A simultaneously rip-off of three iconic Vegas properties. That, and the great, effortless chemistry among the leads, who go together like blackjack, bourbon and waitress wearing skimpy skirts. THE HUSTLER
1961; directed by Robert Rossen Starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott and the role that was almost Frank Sinatra’s Ah, pool. Close-ups of trick shots. The slow broods and squints of intense players lining up their shots. Tension broke in the lightning strike of a cue against a white ball and the thunder claps of others scattering. The game is inherently dramatic, despite the languid pace it manifests to the untrained observer. Director Rossen understood this and played it to great effect in a story about revenge, forgiveness and love gone wrong (always the best kind in any story about gamblers and come-uppances). The film was based on a 1959 novel so beloved and screen-ready that even Sinatra wanted a piece of it.