Bugsy

Highly emotional and vastly outstanding film from director Barry Levinson (Oscar-nominated) follows the true start of Las Vegas as a gambling mecca due to the role of the titled character (Warren Beatty in an Oscar-nominated performance and arguably his finest cinematic turn). The gangster is bad news in the mid-1930s in New York. He takes a business trip to Los Angeles and quickly falls in love with the weather, the surroundings and of course a beautiful woman who is little more than a high-class prostitute (Annette Bening). His wife and kids will just have to take a backseat now to his new-found life. One day Beatty takes a long road trip to a small desert town in Nevada called Las Vegas with Bening and West Coast mafia syndicate Harvey Keitel (Oscar-nominated) to check on a nickel-and-dime casino and something happens. Beatty gets a vision of something, something extraordinary. This is the beginning of an idea to build the kind of gambling facility we think about today. Beatty's dedication and want leads to the creation of The Flamingo, but it comes at an astronomically high personal, economic and spiritual cost. Beatty may lose it all, but then again he may do something truly unforgettable. "Bugsy" is one of those productions that dominates due to its unforgettable elements. This is an amazing love story that is heart-warming, heart-breaking and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Based on actual events, the film-makers took a few liberties in the production but the majority of the running time is pretty accurate as to what actually took place in real life. Supporting actors Ben Kingsley (Oscar-nominated), Joe Mantegna and Elliott Gould all do good work in small, well-calculated roles. "Bugsy" is one of the best films of the 1990s. It stood tall in 1991 as it had more Oscar nominations than any other movie that year. Beatty and Bening's chemistry is exceptional and their love for each other in real life just seems to glisten brightly on the silver screen. An excellent production that should be discussed and praised much more than it is. 5 stars out of 5.

This is an exciting tale of how Bugsy Siegel started Las Vegas . As New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A violent and tough Siegel (Warren Beatty) doesn't hesitate to kill or maim anyone crossing him . Bugsy meets George Raft (Joe Mantegna) while is making a film (it is ¨Manpower¨ which co-starred Edward G. Robinson) and the scene being shot where George gets into a bar fight and hands a broken chair to an actress really does appear in the actual movie . In L.A. the life , the motion pictures , and most of all a second-range actress named Virginia Hill (Annette Bening) detain him while his wife (Wendy Phillips) wait back home . Then a journey to a run-down gambling joint at a spot in the desert gives him his big idea , the Hotel Flamingo construction .

Enjoyable film based on the famous mobster that contains drama , real events , thrills and lots of violence . The picture relies heavily on the relationship between Bugsy and his lover Virginia Hill , and about the luxurious Hotel Flamingo building in Las Vegas . Nice acting from protagonist duo as Warren Beatty playing the sharp-dressing womaniser with a foul temper and Annete Bening as the strong-willed actress . 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 . This is one of three movies released in 1991 that featured Bugsy Siegel as a character , the other two were ¨The Marrying Man¨ and ¨Mobsters¨ . Good production design by Dennis Gassner , most of the Las Vegas scenes of the Flamingo construction were filmed near Palm Desert and La Quinta, California, where a full-sized replica of the Flamingo was built . Emotive and sensitive musical score by the great Ennio Morricone . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Allen Daviau . The picture was professionally directed by Barry Levinson .

The flick was well based on real deeds , these are the followings : During adolescence, Siegel befriended Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley) , who was forming a small crew whose criminal activities expanded to include gambling and car theft . In 1930, Lansky and Siegel built close ties to Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello (Caridi), both future bosses of the Genovese (Carrara) crime family. Bootlegger Siegel was also associated with Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia. Siegel was also heavily involved in bootlegging operations in various cities . During the so-called Castellammarese War in 1930-1931, they fought the gang of Sal Maranzano ; Siegel reputedly had a hand in Maranzano's murder and later in the formation of Murder , Inc . Lansky and Siegel assisted with Luciano's (Bill Graham) brief alliance with Dutch Schultz and killed rival loan sharks Amberg . In 1937, the East Coast mob sent Siegel to California to develop syndicate gambling rackets with Los Angeles mobster Jack Dragna (Richard C Sarafian) . Once in L.A. , Siegel recruited gang boss Mickey Cohen (Harvey Keitel) as his lieutenant. Siegel used syndicate money to set up a national wire service to help the East Coast mob quicken their returns . With the aid of actor friend George Raft (Joe Mantegna) , Siegel gained entry into Hollywood's inner circle . Siegel soon started an affair with Virginia Hill . The Alabama-born Hill lived in a mansion in Beverly Hills that she rented from Metropolitan Opera baritone Lawrence Tibbett . Siegel, Whitey Krakow, and two other gang members killed Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg (Elliot Gould) . Greenberg had become a police informant, and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, boss of Murder, Inc., ordered his killing. Siegel was arrested and tried for the Greenberg murder. Whitey Krakower was killed before he could face trial. Siegel was acquitted on the Greenberg murder, but his reputation was in ruins.

A big elegant movie, beautiful in every sense of the word, a fascinating story of the man who created Las Vegas and Warren Beatty is perfect in this movie. If you're not a huge fan of his, as I am not, you'll still appreciate the great talents of this star who is not necessarily known for his acting prowess. He is a joy to watch with the gorgeous Annette Bening Beatty. They have a great chemistry and all the actors involved were fantastic, there were many oscar nominations for all aspects of this film, acting, costumes, best film, best director, but when I saw that that Elliott Gould was not nominated for his wonderfully moving performance as Harry Greenberg, I was very surprised. Maybe it was just too small of a role. But it's a movie to be savoured and worth seeing on DVD, if anything just to appreciate the stunning photography.

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.

I enjoyed the acting of Bening, Kingsley and Keitel. Much more than the overacting of Beatty, which did not detract from the movie.

Nevertheless, with so much information on the history of this character, it was lazy to have so many historical faults. If they had done their homework I would have given it an 8, just because I was not a fan of this being a romantic flick.

Very few gangster biographies hit the mark, guess I was hoping for something impossible.