Directed by Barry Levinson, BUGSY tells the true story of legendary New York mobster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Visiting Hollywood "on business," the reckless and volatile Bugsy is drawn to Tinseltown and the glamour of the movies. Leaving his wife and kids in Scarsdale indefinitely, the womanizing Bugsy spends his time on movie lots and at Hollywood extravaganzas, contemplating his own potential stardom. But soon he falls hard for strong-willed actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening), who isn't content with mistress status. A road trip to a down-trodden joint in the Nevada desert in a town called Las Vegas leads Bugsy to dream of building a world-class casino and turning the town into a moneymaker. Together Bugsy and Virginia--with backing from the mob--start building The Flamingo hotel and casino, hoping that legal gambling and five-star entertainment will entice the masses and rake in big bucks.
Theatrical release: December 1991.
Filmed in Pasadena, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Mojave Desert, CA; and, Las Vegas, NV.
Harvey Keitel won the 1991 Best Supporting Actor Award from the Chicago Film Critics.
Barry Levinson was named Best Director of 1991 by the Los Angeles Film Critics. Additionally, the L.A. Critics awarded BUGSY Best Film.
Bugsy was named one of the 10 Best Films of the year by the National Board of Review. The National Board of Review also named Warren Beatty Best Actor.
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's onscreen romance carried over into their offscreen lives, and the couple eventually married. Bening's subsequent pregnancy resulted in her turning the role of Catwoman in 1992's BATMAN RETURNS over to Michelle Pfeiffer.
Two other 1991 films featured portrayals of Bugsy Siegel: MOBSTERS, in which a young Bugsy was played by Richard Grieco; and THE MARRYING MAN, in which Siegel was played by Armand Assante.
Siegel's casino, The Flamingo, was named after girlfriend Virginia Hill's legs.
Nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Beatty), Best Director (Levinson), and two nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley), the film walked away with the awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design.
DVD Features:
2-Disc Set
Region 1
Extended
Unrated
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Closed Captioned - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English, Portuguese
Subtitles - English, , Portuguese, French - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Featurette:
1. Documentary - "The Road to Damascus: The Reinvention of Bugsy Siegel"
2. Video Montage - "Bugsy Siegel's 'Screen Test'"
Text/Photo Galleries:
Filmographies
Stars
Warren Beatty: Actor, director, producer, REDS (1981)
Annette Bening: American actor, BEING JULIA
Harvey Keitel: American Actor/Producer
Ben Kingsley: British actor, GANDHI/SCHINDLER'S LIST
Elliott Gould: American Actor
Joe Mantegna: American Actor
Bebe Neuwirth: American film & television actress, CHEERS
Wendy Phillips: TV/Film Actress
Richard Sarafian:
Lewis Van Bergen: American Actor/"Bugsy"
Bill Graham: Music Producer
Andy Romano: American Supporting Actor
Robert Beltran: Supporting Actor
Gian-Carlo Scandiuzzi: Star, BUGSY (1991)
Stefanie Mason: Star, BUGSY (1991)
Kimberly McCullough: Star, BUGSY (1991)
James Toback: American Director/Screenwriter
"Cousin Brucie" Morrow: Star, BUGSY (1991)
Director
Barry Levinson: Director/Screenwriter/Producer, DINER (1982)
Screenwriter
James Toback: American Director/Screenwriter
Composer
Ennio Morricone: Italian composer, THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966)
Editor
Stu Linder:
Director of Photography
Allen Daviau: Director of Photography, VAN HELSING (2004)
Production Designer
Dennis Gassner: Production Designer, WATERWORLD (1995)
Costume Designer
Albert Wolsky: Costume Designer, JARHEAD (2005)
Review 1:
"...[A] very assured film....[Beatty] brings an enormous amount of brassy self-confidence to bear in this role, one that he clearly understands from the inside out..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.F1 12/13/1991
Review 2:
"The first hour or so of Barry Levinson's biopic still tingles with smarts and venom." -- Grade: B
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.74 12/15/2006
Review 3:
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Oscar-winning costumes and art direction provide a glossy sense of time and place."
Source: Total Film
p.149 04/01/2007
Review 4:
"...Beatty is terrific....Bening also makes a knockout impression..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.56 01/09/1992
Review 5:
"...An enthralling affirmation of everything Toback has ever wanted to put on film..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.45-6 04/01/1992
Review 6:
"Barry Levinson and production designer Dennis Gassner brilliantly evoke the corrupt glamour of Bugsy's illicitly glamorous world."
Source: Uncut
p.131 07/01/2004
Review 7:
"Mr. Levinson was the dominant force on the set, and the film duly reflects his fundamentally comic sensibility..."
Source: New York Times
p.E8 12/12/2006