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

After working on this film, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening were married. They'd met several years before when she auditioned for another Beatty production. They met again when she was seriously considered for the role of Tess Trueheart in Dick Tracy.

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Goofs

The smoke coming from the candles on the birthday cake disappears and reappears between shots.

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Quotes

Mickey Cohen: Hey, this conversation is beneath me.

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Connections

Spoofed in Jugsy (1992)

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Soundtracks

"CANDY"
(1944)
Music by Alex Kramer
Lyrics by Mack David and Joan Whitney
Performed by Johnny Mercer and Jo Stafford
Courtesy of Capitol Records
By Arrangement with CEMA Special Markets

User Reviews

Underrated, yes; epic, not quite.

Bugsy is a typical gangster/mob movie; it has got the wise guys, the families, the family problems, and a tragic flaw in the protagonist. It is also 2 1/2 hours long, which you should expect with any biopic anyway, but I think it can get a little tedious in some areas. First off, Warren Beatty is brilliant, and there is no question in my mind that it was anything less than perfection. His supporting cast's performances were excellent as well including those of Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, and Annette Bening. The film probably deserved all the Oscar nominations it received, but, with the exceptions of Beatty's performance and a couple technical awards, nothing deserved the Oscar. However, I do not want to give a bad impression of this film because it does deserve some approbation.

The story of Bugsy Siegel is indeed a true story. Siegel was a New York Jewish gangster, who moved out to L.A., and one thing led to another and resulted in Bugsy building the Flamingo hotel and casino in the middle of the desert. This is the man who put Las Vegas on the map. Bugsy (by the way, don't call him Bugsy to face) is very insane. Also, Kingsley's character gets to introduce Bugsy's tragic flaw: he doesn't "respect" money. This combination makes one very unique mobster that I can not compare to any other. Just wait for the scene relating to dogs and pigs; I don't want to reveal anymore because this is where Beatty shines.

Virginia Hill (Bening) is a cookie cutter actress going steady with one of Siegel's or somebody else's soldiers. Bugsy starts to look fondly on her, and thus starts the romance. There should be no surprise whatsoever since they're married in real life, but Beatty and Bening do have great chemistry on screen. Their relationship brings out a lot of fun in the film.

Again, Bugsy is a tragedy. I don't think that's spoiling it since you can learn that somewhere on the Internet, but I do want to let you know what you're getting into. It is a very interesting story with a few laughs and some irony here and there. Barry Levinson made a well-constructed film that flows very nicely and only lacks where I assume the screenplay does. I would not say it is at the caliber of Goodfellas or The Godfather Trilogy, but, all in all, it is a pretty decent movie.

I highly recommend that you definitely see it.