Bugsy (1991)

John Chard

6.5

May 18, 2014

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 de…

GenerationofSwine

1.0

Jan 12, 2023

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 sec…

CinemaSerf

6.0

Apr 2, 2026

This is based, very loosely, on the real-life shenanigans of Benjamin Siegel - aka “Bugsy” (Warren Beatty) as he evolves from small time, womanising, brute to aspiring property developer in an embryonic Las Vegas just as the Hoover Dam was coming on-stream with copious amounts of cheap electricity. Along the way, he ditches his wife and children as he falls hook, line and sinker for would-be actress Virginia Hill (Annette Bening) whose patience he is soon testing with his behaviour and a cavalier attitude that is likely to see him end up in deep trouble. Things eventually come to an head when…