I like them both a lot, but I went with Casino just because you get to see somebody beat up Don Rickles. I sometimes conflate the two though; for example, I’ll remember the scene with Pesci and his [character’s] mom from Casino then remember "Wait, that was Goodfellas.
I know a close relative of Tommy DeSimone, the real life man Joe Pesci’s character in Casino was based on. I think she’s a significantly younger first cousin of his, though she might be the daughter of a first cousin; in any case, she knew him fairly well when she was a kid. Talking about him once she talked about how funny he was and how generous he was- she’d see him once every few months but when she did he’d have expensive presents- well chosen ones- for her and her brother and sisters, or if he didn’t have presents when he saw them he’d peel off some cash and send somebody (a buddy or another relative) out and they’d come with expensive presents; he was super affectionate to everybody in the family and an insanely generous tipper when they went out to eat, etc…
I knew the official record on him and I’d read the book Casino and had no doubts the real DeSimone was a monster, but trying to be diplomatic I said a non-committal “Your family must have been really upset at how Pesci portrayed him”, to which she said “Oh no… oh no… well, they weren’t nuts about him being portrayed at all, but everybody knew where Tommy’s money came from and that when he wasn’t being the sweetest guy you ever met he was a psychotic lbastard that the other [mobsters] were afraid of. If half the stories the family tells about him are true he was ten times as evil as the guy Pesci played.”
I always admire people capable of seeing their loved ones objectively.
Goodfellas is far and away the better film. But then again, Goodfellas is really kind of in a class of it’s own.
Having said that, I’ve always felt that Casino was an underappreciated classic. I have the DVD and if I happen to catch it on TV, I’ll stop and watch.
Anyway, I think it was Gene Siskel who said at the time, that if had been made by some unknown director you would have been amazed. But because it’s a gangster flick by Scorsese and invites the inevitable comparisons to Goodfellas, which had come out just a few years before, it didn’t quite measure up.
It’s not a masterpiece. But taken on its own merits, it’s still a very good movie.
Let’s see…Goodfellas or Casino…I’ll have to go with The Godfather.
No, but seriously–despite the fact that Sharon Stone’s character constantly, mercilessly reminds me of the worst romantic entanglement I ever experienced, I have to say that Casino was the better film. But because of that I’d much rather watch Goodfellas.
Maybe if Hill’s mistress’s character were more fleshed out, I could be equally as squeemish about both films.
I really like Casino but Goodfella’s was one of the top 2 cinema experiences of my life. It blew me away. My new girlfriend at the time who I really really fancied and thought that night was the night I’d finally get to have sex with her. She was freaked out when Henry smashed the guy with the gun and said she had to leave. I said sorry but I had to stay as this was the best movie I’d ever seen. She stayed but no sex that night alas
I picked *Casino *because it was the better film with better acting but it’s close. It would be interesting to see the results if “I can’t pick one over the other” was a choice.
