Re-Upload: Casino feat. Séamus Malekafzali

This is a re-upload for Spotify of a conversation originally held in November of 2023. Hit Factory wishes to extend our deepest gratitude and reverence to the National Music Publishers’ Association - tireless defenders of intellectual property, guardians of taste, and brave crusaders against independent podcasts that allegedly included a brief clip of copyrighted music within a previous version of this episode. 

Journalist and writer Séamus Malekafzali returns to the program for a lengthy conversation about Martin Scorsese's 1995 crime epic 'Casino'. Initially viewed by critics and audiences as a retread of Scorsese's masterful crime saga 'Goodfellas', the film has since been reevaluated as a masterpiece in its own right - one enriched by the director's late period films and preoccupations.

We discuss the film's dizzying construction, effectively evoking the glitz and glam of the Vegas strip through extended montages and voiceover (an effect masterfully rendered by Scorsese's deft hands as a director, a firecracker script with co-writer Nicholas Pileggi, and the brilliant editing of longtime Scorsese collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker). Then, we examine the brilliant, career-defining performance of Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna. It's a role that deserves every possible accolade, and strikes a note that no one but Stone could conceivably achieve. Finally, we discuss the film as capitalist allegory, and how Scorsese thoughtfully weaves commentary on the corporate centralization of the American economy and its steady collapsing of the middle class.

We also offer some thoughts on Scorsese's latest, 'Killers of the Flower Moon', and the evolution of the director's views on capitalism, corruption, and consequence.

Follow Séamus on Twitter.

Read Séamus's Substack on Middle East politics.

Read & Listen to Burnt Nitrate, Séamus's explorations of lesser-known and lesser-discussed films.

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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish.