General Chicago Outfit Info Dumping Ground

[funkster]

How accurate is Nicholas Pillegi's Casino? I'm aware it's not regarding Spilotro's murder but is his time in Vegas generally accurate or what? I've seen the movie obviously but i've never read the book and i'm considering doing so if it's at least somewhat accurate. Is Frank Cullota his source or is it purely newspaper articles or what?

That movie sucked. It featured all east coast actors and not one Chicagoan such as Farina, Madsen, Montagna etc. the only one who even attempted a Chicago accent was pesci, and even that was half assed

As far as accuracy goes,no it wasn’t accurate. They couldn’t even mention Chicago outright, and that LV story in general isn’t all that interesting. The real meat on the bone & intrigue was occurring in Chicago obviously.

Also we know now that Phil Ponto was perhaps the most important straightened out guy in LV for the outfit

I'm asking about the book which i believe used the real names and mentioned Chicago. Again i haven't read it but i'm under the impression it's very different to the movie, Scoresese says his movies were "inspired by" Pileggi's books rather than based on which is why he changed the names and elements of the story.

Unless your second and third paragraphs are referring to the book and i've misinterpreted you in which case thanks for the information?

My apologies. I haven’t read the book either. However, with only having the film to go off of, I can only assume that the book was as trash as the film, considering one was based upon the other.

On board filled with terrible opinions, this is one of the worst.

LOL. agreed.

I actually like Casino more than goodfellas personally. Both are all time greats, but I think the story in Casino is a little more exciting. And yes, Martin Scorsese, one the century's most respected filmmakers, isn't trying to stay steadfast to the exact true history, because that's not his goal. He's making art, and it's fucking great.

FWIW they couldn't mention Chicago in the movie because Universal Studios lawyers were up Scorsese's ass about lawsuits, presumably from living people that were actually involved... same reason they say "adapted from a true story" instead of "based on a true story".

This is what I always come back to when people whine about this, it’s a fucking movie! It’s not a documentary. You know why he used those east coast actors? Lmao because they’re better than the three Chicago people he mentioned.

No, they aren’t. Farina & montagna are spectacular & would’ve been perfect in that film. The movie sucked. East coast people trying to portray outfit guys was a complete joke. It wasn’t art, it was a cheap cop out, to go with known names rather than authenticity

lol no they’re not. They’re basically television actors who sometimes did movies. The movie isn’t about the outfit or the mafia, so if the Vegas story bothers you you were going to be disappointed no matter what.

[Coloboy]

Wait, are you trying to claim that Farina and Montagna are better actors than Deniro or Pesci? I agree that the two chicago guys are great, but they aren't going to carry that move in any way like Robert DeNiro or Joe Pesci.

[funkster]

Wait, are you trying to claim that Farina and Montagna are better actors than Deniro or Pesci? I agree that the two chicago guys are great, but they aren't going to carry that move in any way like Robert DeNiro or Joe Pesci.

Boka gonna Boka.

[RushStreet]

Farina and Montagna would not be able to fill up a fucking movie theatre. They were B list actors bottom line. As much as I enjoy them they are guys that were cut out for made for TV productions, not big Hollywood blockbusters.

[Wiseguy]

Casino, like Goodfellas, is the among the cream of the crop of mob cinema. In some ways, they're the same movie. And, yes, the book is a great read.

[funkster]

Casino, like Goodfellas, is the among the cream of the crop of mob cinema. In some ways, they're the same movie. And, yes, the book is a great read.

And somehow 30 years later both hold up almost perfectly.

[Ivan]

this thread reminds me of when Roger Ebert was in a kind of state of disbelief while Gene Siskel panned Casino

[funkster]

Lol

[Coloboy]

Casino is on Netflix now, so I watched it relatively recently. What really stands out to me about Scorsese's movies is that they are just so damn interesting to look at. I can't really explain it, but there's constant action, colors, outfits, changes of scenes, in all his movies. Even though they are all like 3 hours long I always leave wanting more.

And I'll even die on the hill that I think the Irishman is a masterpiece. Yes, the de-aging kinda sucked and I do think he should have used a younger actor instead of DeNiro, but that movie is deep, and really hammers home the pointless nature of a life of crime and violence.

[RushStreet]

Mean Streets is another Scorsese classic. One of my favorites.

[RushStreet]

I may even watch it tonight now that I mentioned it. Johnny Boy is a fucking idiot btw.

[Ivan]

Lol

Oh wow it's on YouTube. Ebert's all like "Are you SURE you didn't like it?!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hA8YFzzQ5A

(Ignore weird duplicate post above fellas, not sure how that happened. I just now told the mods to delete the extra one.)

[NorthBuffalo]

I always wonder if Joey Aiuppa and Jack Cerone watched Casino as they were out by 95 and died a few years later. Same with Vic Spilotro who died in 96. You got a major hollywood film that at the time was all over everything - and the mob genre at that time was still somewhat new (it was basically Goodfellas and Casino at that time...)...you gotta believe at least one of those names watched the movie.

I also wonder if those are the guys who prevented Chicago and real names from being used. I know Goodfellas had some real LCN involvement - I wonder if Chicago ever had a 'talk' with Scorcesse or Pileggi...

[NorthBuffalo]

Wait, are you trying to claim that Farina and Montagna are better actors than Deniro or Pesci? I agree that the two chicago guys are great, but they aren't going to carry that move in any way like Robert DeNiro or Joe Pesci.

Boka gonna Boka.

BokaBreeze is a legend.

[RushStreet]

I always wonder if Joey Aiuppa and Jack Cerone watched Casino as they were out by 95 and died a few years later. Same with Vic Spilotro who died in 96. You got a major hollywood film that at the time was all over everything - and the mob genre at that time was still somewhat new (it was basically Goodfellas and Casino at that time...)...you gotta believe at least one of those names watched the movie.

I also wonder if those are the guys who prevented Chicago and real names from being used. I know Goodfellas had some real LCN involvement - I wonder if Chicago ever had a 'talk' with Scorcesse or Pileggi...

Wouldn't doubt it. Books written about Chicago have left out real names because of exactly the same thing. The author was told to not even think about using them or else so he changed the names to keep the peace and be respectful.