Let me ask you a question. Which is the capital of the casino world? Well, there can’t be any doubt that the answer is sure and simple and it is none save for Las Vegas. It happens to be the largest city in the state of Nevada; situated by and large in southeastern Nevada; globally renowned for entertainment and gambling and general excess nowadays. For this reason, whenever any film is made on the subject of casino, Las Vegas happens to be the greatest source of inspiration for filmmakers.
Can you name one such film? Before anything, we must talk about ‘Ocean’s Eleven’, made in 1960s with a Las Vegas backdrop. The film consists of members of the original ‘Rat Pack’ and who can be in it other than Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis. The film centers on the planning to fleece five of the top in Vegas in one single night. The film got critical acclamation to a good extent and was also commercially successful. Nevertheless, the film remained a favorite topic for the filmmakers through the succeeding decades and owing to this ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ was remade successfully in 2001 under the aegis of Steven Soderburgh. This film starred George Clooney in the leading role of Danny Ocean and Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Elliott Gould as gang members.
Nevertheless, there was a major difference; the 2001 version was witnessed to modify the storyline but there was not a single compromise with the presence of Las Vegas.
Another film that deserves special mention is ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’ of Nicolas Cage. Well, it is definitely one of the finest specimens of hilarious broad comedies and narrates the story of Jack Singer (played by Cage) who decides to get hitched with his long-time partner Betsy (Sarah Jessica Parker) in Vegas. But, as soon as they turn up, Betsy gets spotted by a high-stakes gambler who plans to spend a weekend with her. The whole film revolves around Las Vegas and the casino culture, it is truly a gem.