Tagged: Robert De Niro
Casino: Robert De Niro’s Lookbook as Ace Rothstein
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, 1973 to 1983
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Tailors: Carlos Velasco, Tommy Velasco, and Vincent Zullo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Martin Scorsese’s Las Vegas-centric crime epic Casino premiered in New York City thirty years ago tonight on November 14, 1995, eight days before its wider release.
Chronicling the rise and fall of the midwest mob’s influence in Sin City during the 1970s and ’80s, Casino stars Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a fictionalization of real-life bookie Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal (1929-2008). De Niro was re-teamed with Joe Pesci as yet another volatile gangster—this time the hotheaded Chicago hitman Nicky Santoro, based on Lefty’s actual pal Tony “the Ant” Spilotro, and Sharon Stone received an Academy Award nomination as Ace’s hustler wife Ginger.
Part of Casino‘s legacy is due to the lavish costume design by Rita Ryack and John A. Dunn, who researched and worked with the real Lefty’s tailors and shirt-makers to recreate the gambler’s eye-catching style for the screen. Continue reading
Goodfellas: De Niro’s Windowpane Sport Jacket as Jimmy Conway
Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas (1990)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway, feared mob associate
Queens, New York, Spring 1980
Film: Goodfellas
Release Date: September 19, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today marks 35 years since the release of Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s kinetic crime epic chronicling three decades of Mafia life through the eyes of real-life Lucchese family associate-turned-informant Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). Though Henry was the ostensible protagonist, top billing went to Robert De Niro as one of Henry’s mentors-in-crime, Jimmy Conway. Continue reading
Cape Fear (1991): Robert De Niro’s Red Aloha Shirt as Max Cady
Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Max Cady, psychopathic parolee
New Essex, North Carolina, Summer 1991
Film: Cape Fear
Release Date: November 15, 1991
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
In the spirit of Aloha Friday as we get closer to summer, let’s revisit Robert De Niro’s unhinged turn as Max Cady in Martin Scorsese’s 1991 reimagining of Cape Fear. Continue reading
Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Pink Golf Sweater
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1979
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
It’s still early enough in spring for sweaters to be appropriate—especially when worn lightly and layered in bright, seasonal colors, like the pastels that costume designers Rita Ryack and John A. Dunn worked into Robert De Niro’s vibrant wardrobe in Casino, Martin Scorsese’s neon-lit 1995 crime epic celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. De Niro stars as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a meticulous gambler and mob-connected gaming executive based on real-life figure Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, who ran the Stardust Hotel and Casino from the 1960s through the early ’80s.
With an array of period-detailed pastel suits, silk shirts, and coordinated ties lining his closet, Ace rarely appears on screen in casual attire, but Ryack shared in 2002 that one of her favorite of Ace’s outfits from among her and Dunn’s costume design was “a pink bouclé golf sweater and trouser ensemble,” as cited in a 2002 New York Post article by Megan Turner. Continue reading
Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Blue Plaid 1970s Suit
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1973
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
For my first post in several years about Robert De Niro’s colorfully memorable style in Casino as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it feels appropriate on this mid-February #MafiaMonday to revisit the scene when the otherwise rational “Ace” Rothstein gets blinded by love upon meeting the vivacious hustler Ginger (Sharon Stone) while she’s causing commotion at the craps tables. Continue reading
The Deer Hunter: Robert De Niro’s Hunting Gear
Robert De Niro in The Deer Hunter (1978)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Mike Vronsky, steel worker
Southwestern Pennsylvania, Fall 1967 and Winter 1973
Film: The Deer Hunter
Release Date: December 8, 1978
Director: Michael Cimino
Costume Supervisor: Eric Seelig
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Michael Cimino’s acclaimed second film The Deer Hunter was released 46 years ago today on December 8, 1978. Aside from the sequences set in Vietnam, the film primarily takes place among the steel towns of western Pennsylvania. As we’re currently in the midst of the two-week deer-hunting season for Pennsylvania riflemen, let’s look at how Robert De Niro dressed as the titular outdoorsman Mike Vronsky. Continue reading
Cape Fear (1991): Robert De Niro’s White Terrycloth Shirt as Max Cady
Robert De Niro as Max Cady in Cape Fear (1991)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Max Cady, psychopathic parolee
New Essex, North Carolina, Summer 1991
Film: Cape Fear
Release Date: November 15, 1991
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Rita Ryack
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy birthday to Robert De Niro, born August 17, 1943. One of the prolific actor’s less-discussed but still acclaimed performances is his Academy Award-nominated characterization of the dangerously psychotic Max Cady in Cape Fear, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 remake of the 1962 thriller and the 7th of ten collaborations to date between De Niro and Scorsese. Continue reading
Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle’s Tanker Jacket
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, disturbed taxi driver and Vietnam War veteran
New York City, Spring to Summer 1976
Film: Taxi Driver
Release Date: February 9, 1976
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Ruth Morley
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Happy International Taxi Driver Day to all cabbies whose alienation doesn’t drive them to a violent murder spree shooting up a brothel! This observance commemorates when the first gas-powered taxi cabs reportedly arrived on the streets of London on March 22, 1907.
The profession was immortalized in Martin Scorsese’s 1976 film Taxi Driver, written by Paul Schrader and filmed on location in New York City during the scorching summer of 1975. Two years after his first Academy Award win (for The Godfather, Part II), Robert De Niro received his second Oscar nomination for his performance as Travis Bickle, the lonely Marine-turned-cabbie whose PTSD, insomnia, and paranoid psychosis becomes a dangerous powder keg in the squalid decay of 1970s New York. Continue reading
A Goodfellas Christmas: Jimmy’s Brown Party Suit
Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas (1990)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Jimmy Conway, feared mob associate
Queens, New York, December 1978
Film: Goodfellas
Release Date: September 19, 1990
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Nobody knows for sure just how much was taken in a daring pre-dawn raid at the Lufthansa cargo terminal at Kennedy airport. The FBI says two million dollars, Port Authority Police say four million dollars… it looks like a big one, maybe the biggest this town has ever seen!
Forty-five years ago today on Monday, December 11, 1978, more than $5.8 million in cash and jewelry was stolen from a cargo building at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Considered the most lucrative cash robbery on American soil to date, the heist was orchestrated by James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke, a ruthless associate of the Lucchese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia’s infamous “Five Families”.
The Lufthansa heist and its violent aftermath drive much of the final act of Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s chronicle of street-level mob life across three decades from the perspective of Burke’s associate, Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), who relayed much of the background information essential to the heist’s execution. The robbery itself isn’t depicted on screen, but a radio announcement assures a showering Henry—and the audience—that the job was a success for the mobsters, celebrated that evening with a Christmas party where Jimmy (Robert De Niro)—renamed “Jimmy Conway” for the movie—welcomes Henry with open arms.
The Godfather, Part II: De Niro’s Blue Two-Toned Shirt as Young Vito
Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone, née Andolini, Sicilian-born immigrant-turned-gangster
New York City, Summer 1917 to Spring 1920
Film: The Godfather Part II
Release Date: December 12, 1974
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Costume Designer: Theadora Van Runkle
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
On screen legend Robert De Niro’s 80th birthday, today’s post revisits his star-making, Oscar-winning role as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Part II.
Born August 17, 1943, De Niro’s birthday falls the day after the traditional August 16th observance of the Feast of San Rocco—the backdrop of the young Vito’s 1917 assassination of Black Hand extortionist Don Fanucci (Gastone Moschin) that propels his gangland ascension. Continue reading