Tagged: Robert De Niro
Casino – De Niro’s Burnt Orange Jacket
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, Fall 1980
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
I could probably dedicate an entire blog to the stellar wardrobe of Sam “Ace” Rothstein. It’s no coincidence either; clothes were very important to the real life Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal, and Martin Scorsese invested at least $1 million of the film’s budget into costuming alone. Robert De Niro wore a staggering 70 different costumes over the course of the nearly three hour movie, and Casino fans know that very little of Ace’s attire can be easily found out in the real world. Continue reading
The Untouchables: Capone’s Gray Suits
Robert De Niro as Al Capone in The Untouchables (1987).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Al Capone, legendary Chicago mob boss
Chicago, October 1931
Film: The Untouchables
Release Date: June 3, 1987
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Marilyn Vance
Wardrobe Consultant: Richard Bruno
Tailor: Henry Stewart
Background
Before Stephen Graham blazed into Capone’s shoes on Boardwalk Empire, Robert De Niro’s extremely method performance of Al Capone in The Untouchables was considered to be the epitome. De Niro infused his performance with the menacing charm that allowed a violent psychopath like Capone to rapidly climb his way up the ladder of the underworld. The extent of Capone’s criminal empire, culminating with the notorious St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929, has lived on to define the Roaring Twenties… or more specifically, Prohibition era Chicago. Continue reading
Heat – Neil McCauley’s Charcoal Pinstripe Bank Robbery Suit
Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley in Heat (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley, professional armed robber
Los Angeles, Spring 1995
Film: Heat
Release Date: December 15, 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott
De Niro’s Costumer: Marsha Bozeman
Background
My last post looked at a bank robber who relied on his wits and a team of burglars to carry out a job. Neil McCauley is far more ruthless and traditional kind of cinematic bank robber; one that you would expect a no-nonsense great like Robert De Niro to portray. After months of planning and double-crosses, McCauley’s team is ready to take down a major bank in downtown L.A. Continue reading
Casino – Ace’s Ivory Western Suit with Red-on-Red Silk
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, Summer 1977
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
By the mid-1970s, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal appeared to have it all. Having tried his hardest to leave his mob affiliations behind him back east, he was now running the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with a beautiful ex-showgirl wife and a massive wardrobe pull of bespoke suits and sport coats.
Unfortunately, his mob affiliations were chasing him to Vegas in the form of vicious Chicago enforcer Tony “the Ant” Spilotro; he still didn’t have a license to legally be managing his casino; and his troubled wife Geri was still in contact with her shitty ex, Lenny Marmor. Continue reading
Casino – De Niro’s Blue and Yellow Plaid Sportcoat
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 1977
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Spring is coming, and that means bright colors… a color palette that few movies have mastered for men’s fashion as well as Scorsese’s crime epic Casino.
As top handicapper and Vegas casino runner “Ace” Rothstein, Robert De Niro wears more than fifty different costumes, all generally a series of colorful suits and sport coats. Some who don’t know better have criticized the film for this, unable to take the man seriously for his wardrobe. However, Ace’s costumes are a reflection of the wardrobe of his real life counterpart Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal. In fact, costumer Rita Ryack mentions in an interview that the real Lefty’s clothing was even more extravagant than De Niro’s. Continue reading
Heat – Neil McCauley’s Gray Double-Breasted Suit
Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley in Heat (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley, professional armed robber
Los Angeles, Spring 1995
Film: Heat
Release Date: December 15, 1995
Director: Michael Mann
Costume Designer: Deborah Lynn Scott
De Niro’s Costumer: Marsha Bozeman
Background
A person’s characteristics are always made plainly visible by his or her attire. Clothing gives signals that all coordinate with the person’s background, lifestyle, socioeconomic status, occupation, and personality.
In Michael Mann’s noirish 1995 masterpiece Heat, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino face off, sharing the screen for the first time (their roles in The Godfather Part II were in completely separate timelines, as you well know). De Niro plays Neil McCauley, a professional armed robber who remains cool-as-a-cucumber but can be remorselessly ruthless, and Pacino stars as LAPD Lt. Vincent Hanna, the erratic detective tasked with taking him down.
If all a person had to use were images of De Niro in the film, wearing a largely-cut gray suit and an emotionless stare while carrying a state-of-the-art firearm, it would be crystal clear that he was a hardened criminal, respected and feared by both friend and foe, but burdened with a fatal weakness yet to be determined. Continue reading
Casino – De Niro Wears Pink for a Car Bombing
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995).
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino manager and mob associate
Las Vegas, October 1982
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Anyone standing outside Tony Roma’s restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip 31 years ago today would be in for years of ringing ears. On the morning of October 4, 1982, ousted casino manager, fringe mob associate, and gambler extraordinaire Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal left the restaurant and headed for his car, a silver 1981 Cadillac Eldorado coupe with the distinctive V8-6-4 engine, the failed experiment that only last one year. In this case, the failed experiment saved Rosenthal’s life as an extra metal sheet placed under the driver’s seat to offset the weight of this engine protected him from the initial blast of a devastating car bomb placed on his Cadillac. Continue reading
Poolside De Niro in Casino
Robert De Niro as “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino manager and mob associate
Las Vegas, Summer 1972
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
With tomorrow marking the first official day of summer, people will be flocking to the pool. It’s a nice place to catch some sun, but maybe you’re not in the mood for swimming. Who knows why – maybe you’re afraid of water, or maybe you have lice. Still, you’ll want to make sure you look cool while sitting poolside, puffing away on a cigarette while dealing with your city’s major power brokers and delegating control of your turf…assuming you’re a ’70s casino executive in Martin Scorsese’s world. Continue reading
De Niro’s Black Wedding Suit in Casino
Robert De Niro in Casino (1995)
Vitals
Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, brilliant sports handicapper, gambler, and mob associate
Las Vegas, Spring 1974
Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn
Background
Robert De Niro is arguably one of the screen’s most famous BAMFs. My first De Niro post, however, isn’t about boxer Jake LaMotta (Raging Bull) or vicious mobster Jimmy Conway (Goodfellas) or even the dapper Mafia chief Vito Corleone (The Godfather, Part II)… so to kick off BAMF Style’s Week of Weddings (since Valentine’s Day is coming up!) and bring in Mafia Monday on a BAMF note, here is De Niro getting married in Casino.
I don’t know why it’s taken me this long, other than the fact that it’s a three-hour movie that features over fifty costume changes for its main character—pretty much all of them suits or sport jackets—but here is the first breakdown from Casino. As mentioned, it’s said that De Niro had at least 52 costume changes throughout. Most of his suits and jackets are very loud, a series of silk pastels ranging from hot pink to lime green (if limes were radioactive), so the suit chosen for his wedding was relatively conservative. Continue reading
You must be logged in to post a comment.