By now, film lovers know that when actor Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorsese team up, it’s going to be movie magic.
Over the years, De Niro, 82, and Scorsese, 83, have worked together on movies like Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976), New York, New York (1977), Raging Bull (1980), The King of Comedy (1982), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), The Irishman (2019), and most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
Of course, we can’t forget the 1995 classic Casino, starring De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna, and Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro.
Casino, which will be available to stream on Netflix come March 1, turned 30 years old this past year. The crime drama is based on a true story about a Las Vegas casino run by the mafia during the 1970s and early 1980s.
The supporting cast of Casino includes James Woods as Lester Diamond, Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert, Kevin Pollak as Phillip Green, and Frank Vincent as Frank Marino.
At the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, Scorsese reflected on the themes of Casino during a conversation with De Niro, moderated by stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell at the Beacon Theatre before a screening of the film.
“You can go back to the ancient Greek tragedies,” Scorsese said. “It’s a basic story of hubris and pride, with the pride taking us all down.”
Discussing Pesci’s character, Bell noted to De Niro, “[Joe Pesci’s character] sort of takes nobody’s input. It’s his ideas or the highway, and that ultimately leads to his destruction. It’s almost an allegory for the times we live in. I don’t know if you guys ever thought about that?”
“Yeah, a little bit,” De Niro replied with a laugh. “Do you have a couple hours?”