CrimeDramaMystery

Bugsy

- Glamour was the disguise.

New York gangster Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel takes a brief business trip to Los Angeles. A sharp-dressing womanizer 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.

Release Date : 1991-12-10

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : TriStar PicturesMulholland ProductionsBaltimore Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel

Original Name : Warren Beatty

Gender : Male

Character Name : Virginia Hill

Original Name : Annette Bening

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mickey Cohen

Original Name : Harvey Keitel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Meyer Lansky

Original Name : Ben Kingsley

Gender : Male

Character Name : Harry Greenberg

Original Name : Elliott Gould

Gender : Male

Character Name : George Raft

Original Name : Joe Mantegna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Countess di Frasso

Original Name : Bebe Neuwirth

Gender : Female

Character Name : Charles "Lucky" Luciano

Original Name : Bill Graham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Joe Adonis

Original Name : Lewis van Bergen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Esta Siegel

Original Name : Wendy Phillips

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jack Dragna

Original Name : Richard C. Sarafian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dancer

Original Name : Karen Russell

Gender : Female

Character Name : Alejandro

Original Name : Robert Beltran

Gender : Male

Character Name : Millicent Siegel

Original Name : Stefanie Mason

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barbara Siegel

Original Name : Kimberly McCullough

Gender : Female

Character Name : Del Webb

Original Name : Andy Romano

Gender : Male

Character Name : Chick Hill

Original Name : Bryan Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ronald the Butler

Original Name : Eric Christmas

Gender : Male

Character Name : David Hinton

Original Name : Ray McKinnon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Moe Sedway

Original Name : Joseph Roman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vito Genovese

Original Name : Don Carrara

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frank Costello

Original Name : Carmine Caridi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Louie Dragna

Original Name : Don Calfa

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dominic

Original Name : Robert Glaudini

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lawrence Tibbett

Original Name : Joe Baker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Marlene Dietrich

Original Name : Ksenia Prohaska

Gender : Female

Character Name : D.A. McWilde

Original Name : Bruce Ed Morrow

Gender : Male

Character Name : Deputy D.A. Hartman

Original Name : Clive Rosengren

Gender : Male

Character Name : Natalie St. Clair

Original Name : Traci Lind

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jerry the Bookie

Original Name : Anthony Russell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Woman On Train

Original Name : Wendie Malick

Gender : Female

Character Name : Elevator Operator

Original Name : Ralph Tabakin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Julie Strain

Gender : Female

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Benjamin Siegel. Bugsy is directed by Barry Levinson and written by James Toback. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Benning, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould and Joe Mantegna. Music is by Ennio Morricone and cinematography by Allen Daviau. Film is a biography adaptation of Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, a notorious American mobster who rose to prominence in the 30s and 40s. Barry Levinson’s epic film didn’t turn out to be the mobster film many had hoped for. There was great anticipation that this would be Levinson’s Goodfellas. What ultimately came to pass was a film of epic scope and detail, alive not with violence and mobster edginess, but of romanticism, of visionary peccadilloes and of folly. This is both a blessing and a curse, for Levinson seems to be caught in two minds between being respectful to his main characterisation, or unleashing the beast as we know it. Story concerns itself with Siegel being sent to tidy up West Coast operations, from where he would fall in love with starlet Virginia Hill and become one of the most prominent names in Hollywood of the 40s. Whilst the pic has moments where Siegel seethes and teeters on the edge of murderous rage, much of the history here is scratchy to say the least, where again Levinson and Toback ignore just what a nasty piece of work Siegel was in real life, and instead put dreamy ideals and hot to trot passions in instead. It’s all perfectly mounted, this is very good film making, it just always seems to be on the periphery of making a telling contribution to the Siegel legacy on film. Beatty is dandy and ever watchable, but this is not a Bugsy Siegel we can identify with, rendering an air of falseness to the story telling. The support cast are strong, though Mantegna as George Raft is miscast, but the likes of Kingsley and Gould make telling contributions with only morsels to feed off of from the screenwriter. In its longest form it runs at two and half hours, and it’s testament to the film maker's craft that it always maintains interest. Yet the various splinters trying to dovetail into one never quite make it and that’s a shame. 6.5/10

GenerationofSwine

@GenerationofSwine

2023-01-12

I just reviewed Reds, a movie where they managed to make John Reed boring and now I am reviewing Bugsy... a movie where they manage to make Bugsy Siegel boring. And honestly, like with Reds, Bugsy helped Luciano rise to power in what is one of the most interesting mafia stories in American history... which you really don't see here. In fact, it's hardly even mentioned. But... after Bugsy did that he built Vegas, that has to be a cool story, right? And... yeah, it is a pretty cool story, only they kind of ignore that and focus on a love story instead with the whole Vegas thing as a secondary plot. So, you know, at least they made Bonnie and Clyde good.