Bugsy (1991)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Barry Levinson

Writers (WGA):

Dean Jennings (book) (research source)
James Toback (written by)

Release Date:

20 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Glamour Was The Disguise.

Plot:

The story of how Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Las Vegas Nevada | Birthday Party | Film In Film | Jealousy

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and sensuality.

Runtime:

136 min | USA:149 min (extended edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1992) | Finland:K-18 (2006) (extended version) (self applied) | UK:15 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

810 Linden Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

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 (1990).

Goofs:

Factual errors: Harry Greenberg was in fact murdered in November 1939, not in 1945 as depicted in this film.

Quotes:

Virginia: Do you always talk this much before you do it?
"Bugsy" Siegel: I only talk this much before I kill someone.
[they kiss]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Jugsy (1992) (V)

Soundtrack:

TORNA A SURRIENTO

Interesting Portrait But Too Profane

Tis is the story of famous gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and beginnings of Las Vegas, Nevada. That part begins about halfway through the 135-minute film when Siegel (Warren Beatty) gets his "vision" about Las Vegas.

Too much of this movie is just profane arguing between the nasty "Virginia Hill" (Annette Bening) and Siegel. If this was accurate, why he put up with that woman's constant berating is mind-boggling.

I liked the rest of the cast except for Joe Mantegna, who made a very poor George Raft. Harvey Keitel as L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen is good as is Ben Kingsley, as Meyer Lansky, head of the East Coast mob.

There are tons of f-words in here, which I question. I doubt if that word was used that frequently back in those days. Usually I don't care but it's way overdone here.

It's a nice-looking film but unfortunately the DVD transfer is weak. The colors in here are great and certainly deserve to look better on disc. Another major flaw is they make the two lead characters look like sympathetic figures in the end, which is just plain wrong. The only thing Siegel had going for him was foresight concerning Las Vegas.

In the end, he and Hill reaped what they sowed anyway, if the story is true. Despite the objections I have with it, it's still an interesting biography, I'll say that. I never got bored with this movie.