Bugsy (1991)

The story of how Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas.

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers:

James Toback, Dean Jennings (book)

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel

Won 2 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Beatty	...	Bugsy Siegel
Annette Bening	...	Virginia Hill
Harvey Keitel	...	Mickey Cohen
Ben Kingsley	...	Meyer Lansky
Elliott Gould	...	Harry Greenberg
Joe Mantegna	...	George
Richard C. Sarafian	...	Jack Dragna (as Richard Sarafian)
Bebe Neuwirth	...	Countess di Frasso
Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi	...	Count di Frasso
Wendy Phillips	...	Esta Siegel
Stefanie Mason	...	Millicent Siegel
Kimberly McCullough	...	Barbara Siegel
Andy Romano	...	Del Webb
Robert Beltran	...	Alejandro
Bill Graham	...	Charlie Luciano

Storyline

New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper, Siegel doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him. In L.A. the life, the movies, and most of all strong-willed Virginia Hill detain him while his family wait back home. Then a trip to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert known as Las Vegas gives him his big idea.

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Plot Keywords:

gambling | gangster | temper | film in film | investment | 

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Taglines:

Glamour Was The Disguise.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 December 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bagzi

Filming Locations:

Indoor Pool, Biltmore Hotel - 506 S. Grand Avenue, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$49,114,016 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures, Mulholland Productions, Baltimore Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min 149 min (extended edition)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR Dolby (as Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film shows Siegel watching a screen test of himself. In real life, Bugsy Siegel made many friends amongst the Hollywood elite, asked for and had a screen test. The footage no longer exists, like so many other screen tests, yet the legend of Siegel's attempt to break into showbiz lives on.

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Goofs

The cars in this film were very authentic except for the 1948 black Lincoln continental in 1944

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Quotes

"Bugsy" Siegel: [talking to Cohen after Cohen robbed him] Well, if I were you, I'd have that money back by seven o'clock tonight.
Mickey Cohen: [shouting] FUCK YOU! Lookit me, FUCK YOU! And if I was you I'd shut my fuckin' mouth and watch my step! Yeah, *you*, Smiley! Or would ya like me to blow your fuckin' Adam's apple down your spine?
"Bugsy" Siegel: [calmly] Excuse me, but arent' we in a public place? Maybe we'd both be better off if you just toned down your rhetoric one notch.

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Connections

Referenced in The Sopranos: D-Girl (2000)

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Soundtracks

"THERE I'VE SAID IT AGAIN!"
(1945)
Written by Redd Evans & David Mann
Performed by Vaughn Monroe
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Music

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: Bugsy (DVD, 1991)

After staying at the Las Vegas Flamingo, and spending a substantial amount of time browsing through the artifacts of old Vegas at the Las Vegas History Museum at the Tropicana Hotel, this is one movie I wanted to watch when I got back. Not that I'm a fan of Warren Beatty (I only watched his Dick Tracy movie), but I'm interested in the Hollywood retelling of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's story.

For the uninitiated, Siegel was a gangster, who loves his family, but is as horny as he can get. He falls in love with the Hollywood glamour and life, and comes to know his new mistress, a starlet called Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), who's known in some circles as the village bicycle - everyone's had a ride.

Seigel shares a love-hate relationship with Hill, and it is always bumpy. And little does he know that this love will ultimately cause his downfall and demise. Love aside, there's also plenty of scenes that shows Siegel's violent nature (hey, he's a gangster), and scenes too that highlights his disregard for money - he spends lavishly. There's a subplot about Mussolini too, which highlights Seigel's eccentricity.

But he does have a vision, and that was having the foresight of predicting how Las Vegas would become as important as can be, with the erection of the Hoover Dam to provide it with electricity. He's the one with the vision of creating something in the middle of the desert, which we know today as the Strip, with casinos, hotels, and entertainment from class acts. His vision started off as The Flamingo hotel, which over blew its budget by almost 5 million dollars (at that time). Of course, when you're dealing with mob money, you'd better be careful, as they become impatient with his grander vision of controlling a casino, city, state, and ultimately having the power to influence presidential elections.

Directed by Barry Levinson, Bugsy is the tale of that one man's vision. It's well acted, with a superb supporting cast. Keeping true to the finale, watch out for that flying eye too. And yes, Beatty and Bening met on set, and married thereafter.

Sadly, this Code 1 DVD contains no special extras.