'Jaws' celebrates 30 years of scares

While the new "Anniversary Edition" of Martin Scorsese's "Casino" does its job by giving fans an aesthetically pleasing transfer of the quasi-sequel to 1990's "Goodfellas," it completely fails in presenting an otherwise interesting DVD.\nThe movie follows gangster Sam "Ace" Rothstein's (Robert De Niro) attempt at a legitimate life as the head of the Tangiers hotel and casino in Las Vegas. His plans fall apart as a childhood friend and mobster Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) comes into town to make his own mark. Rothstein's life becomes further complicated when he falls in love with a call girl, Ginger (Sharon Stone). \nThe packaging is the first clue into the bland features of this release. It looks as cheap and sleazy as most of the suits worn in Las Vegas. The menus do little to alleviate this feeling. For a movie that has as much visual appeal and stimulus as the city of Las Vegas itself, the menus seem out of place, dated and particularly boring, as are the "special features."\nThe DVD consists of six featurettes that give an interesting look into the events that inspired the movie as well as a look into what went into making the movie. The stories told in the documentaries are as interesting as the movie itself, particularly in the documentary "Casino: The Story." But although the content of these special features are interesting, visually they each feel dated and amateurish, not the quality that should be expected from this highly anticipated "Anniversary Edition."\nIt seems that the making of this DVD was rushed and lazy, certainly not worthy of being attached to such a high-quality film as "Casino." It would have been worth waiting another five years and adding some real production value to the DVD's extras making the price of the purchase justified in the eyes of the viewer.