Movies with gambling scenes have an inherent drama that, at its core, defines what risk truly means. Watching someone put his well-being on the line in irrational hope and deprivation for that one big score makes movies about gambling fascinating.
Gambling can encompass casino table games, jackpot slots, sports betting, lottery, and everything else. Many gambling/casino movies have made it to the top best-selling, be it for their impeccable storyline, cultural impact, creative synergy, or technical innovation.
Whatever the case might be, when you talk about casino movies, one of four movies often comes to mind: The Sting, Rain Man, Casino, or The Hustler. If these movies are compared side by side, which is better?
In this article, we will analyze these movies’ critical aspects to reach a conclusion on which is better.
This Article Include
The Sting
The Sting is an American caper movie released in 1973, written by David S. Ward and directed by George Roy Hill. Shortly after its release, it became one of the most popular films of the 1970s, growing to be a huge success at the 46th Academy Awards.
It was nominated ten times for an Oscar award and ended up winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing, and Best Director. The Sting has a run time of 129 minutes, a budget of $5.5 million, and a total box office of $156.6 million.
So, what’s so great about The Sting that makes it so well talked about? Well, its storyline had a complicated plot to con a mob boss. Filled with action, thrill, and gambling scenes The Sting in no time grew to become a staple that year.
Rain Man
Rain Man is another exceptional casino movie released in 1988, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. Rain Man is an American road comedy-drama film written by Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow and directed by Barry Levinson.
Rain Main premiered at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival and won the festival’s highest prize, the Golden Bear Award.
The movie had a budget of $25 million but grossed $354.8 million at the box office. As such, Rain Man became the highest-grossing film in 1988, boosting it to land eight nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, where it won four awards (more than any other nominated film), namely Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Original Screenplay.
Casino
Casino is another exceptional casino movie released by Universal Pictures in 1995. It is an American epic crime movie based on the Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas movie and directed by Martin Scorsese. Following the movie’s release, it received massive positive criticism and eventually worldwide box office success.
Directors had a budget between $40 million and $50 million for this movie, but it eventually reached $116.1 million in box office returns. Due to the massive success of this film, it was nominated for several awards. Some awards the movie won include the 20/20 Awards for Best Film Editing, the Global Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, etc.
The Hustler
The Hustler is a 1961 drama based on The Hustler by Walter Tevis. Robert Rossen directed the 1961 Hustler, and is a sequel to The Color of Money. The Hustler delves into the life of a small-time pool hustler, “Fast Eddie” Felson, challenging Minnesota Fats, the legendary pool player.
Amongst the numerous stars in the movie, some names that come to mind include the likes of Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott, and so on.
The Hustler was nominated for the Academy Awards nine times but won two: Best Art Director and Best Cinematography. Other awards The Husler is nominated for include the American Cinema Editors Awards, The Golden Globe Awards, Laurel Awards, etc. The Hustler had a total budget of about $2.1 million; at the box office, it made a total sales of $7.6 million.
Conclusion
As you can see from this guide, all the movies made quite a name for themselves when released. Aside from being popular when it was freshly released, many fans of casino movies still talk about its exceptional storyline and favorite scenes.
However, we must conclude as to which movie is better. At the same time, it is not easy to choose as all four movies offer something unique.
The better movie based on preference by most viewers is The Rain Man. The Rain Man made the most profit at the box office and landed several nominations and awards.
All of these prove the exceptional quality the movie offers its viewers and the kind of support it gets even after release. So, if you have not watched any of the movies above, we recommend checking out The Rain Man before other movies on the list.
