Bugsy

infobox film
name=Bugsy


caption=
director=Barry Levinson
writer=Dean Jennings (book "We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel")
James Toback
producer=Warren Beatty
Mark Johnson
Barry Levinson
Charles Newirth
starring=Warren Beatty
Annette Bening
Harvey Keitel
Ben Kingsley
Elliott Gould
and
Joe Mantegna
editing=Stu Linder
distributor=TriStar Pictures
released=13 December, 1991
runtime= 135 Min Theatrical
149 Extended Version
language=English
imdb_id=0101516

"Bugsy" is a 1991 film which tells the story of mobster Bugsy Siegel. It stars Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth and Bill Graham.

The movie was written by James Toback from research material by Dean Jennings. It was directed by Barry Levinson.

Plot Summary

Gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel (Warren Beatty) who works for the New York mob goes to California and instantly falls in love with Virginia Hill (Annette Bening) and then buys a house. On a trip to Nevada he comes up with the idea for a casino in the desert. He enlists the help of gangster Mickey Cohen (Harvey Keitel) and acquires funding from gangster Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley) and other New York mobsters who approve the deal for $1 million. Bugsy puts Virginia in charge of accounting and begins construction of the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada but has no sense of control and the budget soon rises to $6 million. Bugsy tries everything to ensure it gets made even selling his share of the casino and most of his belongings. Upset about the costs, the fact that the casino is a failure and that $2 million of the budget is unaccounted for Meyer Lansky asks Bugsy to meet him in Los Angeles. Bugsy discovers that Virginia stole the money but tells her to "keep it and save it for a rainy day" rather than return it. He then calls Lansky and tells him never to sell his share of the casino and that he'll live to thank him someday. While in his home back in L.A. later that night, Bugsy is killed by several gunshots (presumably from an assassin hired by Lansky or one of the other mobsters). Virginia is told the news back in Las Vegas and becomes upset, rushing out of the casino. The final text before the credits states that she returned the missing money a week later and committed suicide at some point after that. It also states that by 1991 (the film's release year) the $6 million invested in Bugsy's dream of Las Vegas had generated revenues of over $100 billion.

Cast

*Warren Beatty - Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel
*Annette Bening - Virginia Hill
*Harvey Keitel - Mickey Cohen
*Ben Kingsley - Meyer Lansky
*Elliott Gould - Harry Greenberg
*Joe Mantegna - George Raft
*Richard C. Sarafian - Jack Dragna
*Bebe Neuwirth - Countess di Frasso
*Giancarlo 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 "Lucky" Luciano
*Lewis Van Bergen - Joey Adonis
*Joseph Roman - Moe Sedway
*James Toback - Gus Greenbaum
*Don Carrara - Vito Genovese
*Carmine Caridi - Frank Costello

Awards

It won Academy Awards for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design. It was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Warren Beatty), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Harvey Keitel), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ben Kingsley), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Music, Original Score, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. It received 8 Golden Globe nominations and won for Best Picture - Drama. "The Silence of the Lambs" won many categories where "Bugsy" received nominations in 1991.

Following their meeting while making this movie, Warren Beatty and Annette Bening were married.

Controversy

Despite its good reviews, "Bugsy" faced considerable controversy over its portrayal of Siegel. The film omits Siegel's long history of violent crime, including rape and murder, [http://www.j-grit.com/criminals-benjamin-bugsy-siegel.php] and glossed over his infamously short temper.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0101516|title=Bugsy

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
before = "Dances with Wolves"
after = "Schindler's List"
title = Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama
years = 1992|