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The 90s was a fruitful and interesting time for movies. If you look at the IMDB Top 100 list, you’ll notice that seven of the top 20 movies of all time were made or released in this decade.
A lot of people remember this decade as one where science fiction moved forward and there were a lot of critically-acclaimed movies made, but one of the key themes covered time and time again was gambling. Below, we’re exploring some of the movies made in this decade that feature gambling and specifically casinos.
The 90s – The Decade Casinos Moved Online
First, let’s explore a little bit of context. Why was the 1990s such a crucial time in casino gambling?
The 90s can be seen as something of a turning point in the industry. Slot games moved online for the first time, meaning people could play a few basic slot games on their computers. The choice has moved on significantly since then, and people can play a huge variety of secure online slots for real money online now compared to just a few very basic casino games available in the 1990s. However, the movement of the 90s was the start of the industry’s shift online, with the first gambling sites cropping up around the mid-1990s. The slot developer Microgaming developed its very first games in 1994.
This was a time when there was a lot of interest in the casino industry, and as well as playing casino games, people watched films about the culture and industry. Some of them are gritty films, others are comedies. These four are just a selection of what was made during this fruitful decade.
Where else could we start the list but with Casino? One of the best-known films of its time, this was directed by Martin Scorsese and has all the hallmarks of one of this masterful director’s movies.
It is set in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s and shows an insight into what the casino industry was like dramatized in the gritty style we know Scorsese for.
The movie is littered with brilliant performances from the likes of Robert De Niro, James Woods, and Joe Pesci. Many people consider it Scorsese’s finest work. When you consider the fact he also directed Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street, that is quite an impressive claim.
Mike Hodges, director of Get Carter, took us into the world of British gambling in the UK with this 1990s film. Croupier is quite interesting to watch for an American audience and shows a lot of the rhyming slang and British culture surrounding gambling.
Interestingly, Croupier was made and then sat on the shelf for two years before actually getting a cinema release.
The movie stars Clive Owen in its lead role, as he plays an aspiring writer who has to take a job as a croupier in a casino to make ends meet. The plot is all about Owen’s performance, and he largely carries the movie, but it is an interesting watch for those who want to experience a character study as well as a glimpse at an English casino.
Hard Eight was a mid-90s movie featuring some big stars such as Samuel L. Jackson and John C. Reilly, plus a very young Gwyneth Paltrow.
The film is known for its realistic take on casinos, and it follows a prodigious talent, John Finnegan, who has an amazing talent for mathematics, making him a formidable casino player.
Hard Eight was not too much of a box office success compared to some other films of the decade, but it is a top representation of casinos and it provides an interesting take on the gambling industry. Plus, it proved to be a breakout film for some of the stars, plus, it was the first feature film of Paul Thomas Anderson who has gone on to direct numerous Academy Award-winning and nominated films, and was nominated for a BAFTA as recently as 2022.
This is one of the few movies that manage both comedy and casino themes all in one and does it pretty well. Maverick was described in the New York Times as “so quick, so suave, and so spineless”
The movie features Mel Gibson in the lead role and is based on a TV series that was originally aired way back in the 1950s. Jodie Foster stars in a supporting role, and though this movie is often overlooked, there is no denying that it is a lot of fun.
Released in 1994, the movie was a relative success at the box office, becoming the 12th highest-grossing film in North America for the year, but it is largely forgotten about when people are discussing great 90s comedies.
The 1990s will always represent a turning point and an interesting time in the casino industry, and these movies show us a glimpse into the history of the industry and how it grew and evolved.
Though many people have heard of movies like Casino and Hard Eight, both Maverick and Croupier are a little less well-known and this means they may be worth digging up if you have never seen them.
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