For the more spiritually aware among you, today is Maundy Thursday, four days before we get chocolate eggs, the day the Queen gives out money, and the day on which Christians celebrate the Last Supper. But we’re film fans here, so how best to combine the two? Why, by choosing a piece of music from one of Scorsese’s most foul-mouthed, violent pictures of course!
Casino (1995) is often unfairly called “the poor-man’s Goodfellas (1990)”. There is much to recommend it and, despite the same pair of lead actors, director and writer as Goodfellas, Casino is very much its own beast. Martin Scorsese, like Quentin Tarantino, has always had a way with musical choices. Scorsese, unlike Tarantino, chooses pieces of music from a wider base. At one point Scorsese nearly joined the Catholic priesthood, and the choice to use the closing movement of JS Bach’s phenomenal work, the St Matthew Passion is perhaps more logical in light of this knowledge.
“Wir setzen uns mit Tränen nieder” is the final movement of the Passion – the work which tells the story of Christ’s betrayal and crucifixion – and is full of severity, longing, and tragedy. The piece’s defining sound is that long unresolved end-of-phrase chord: the sound grates against one’s ear until finally, wonderfully, it resolves into a proper tonic chord. Listen out for it at the very end, but also at key points during the movement too.
Over Saul Bass’ title sequence, the Bach creates a depth of tone to the story, turning it from historical curiosity to the stuff of legend. As with Scorsese’s masterpiece Raging Bull (1980), where his use of the “Intermezzo” from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana Casino night california. created the heartache over the opening credits, here again Scorsese’s musical choice sets the tone for the rest of the film.
Here, then, is the full finale from JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion, as heard over the opening credits of Martin Scorsese’s Casino.
I'm looking for an additional open matte sources of Casino (1995) - 16:9 or 4:3 at least to make high quality hybrid open matte version with BD overlay and no logos. Now I have 16:9 HDTVRip Universal HD 720p with pop-up logo and 4:3 low quality DVDRip. Directed by Martin Scorsese. With Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods. A tale of greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends: a mafia enforcer and a casino executive compete against each other over a gambling empire, and over a fast-living and fast-loving socialite.
Casino 1995 Opening Monologue
Author Pat Kirkham discusses the opening titles for Casino, from her authoritative book Saul Bass: A Life in Film and Design.The staggeringly beautiful title sequence for Casino was the last one made by Saul and Elaine. Screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi described it as 'simply brilliant,' adding,'I was so touched that they had understood the writing. Casino is a Australia VHS release by CIC Video. Release date: 12th December 1996 Theatrical date: November 22, 1995 (USA); March 7, 1996 (Australia) Catalogue number: 1 Previews 1.1 Opening 1.2 Closing 2 Trivia 3 Video 4 See also End of Casino. VINTAGE HARD ROCK HOTEL CASINO LAS VEGAS 1995 GRAND OPENING PIN SET. Shipped with USPS First Class. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Shipping and handling. This item will ship to United States, but the seller has not specified shipping options.