Bugsy

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For other uses, see Bugsy (disambiguation).

Bugsy
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Directed by	Barry Levinson
Produced by	Warren Beatty Mark Johnson Barry Levinson Charles Newirth
Written by	Dean Jennings (book We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel) James Toback
Starring	Warren Beatty Annette Bening Harvey Keitel Ben Kingsley Elliott Gould and Joe Mantegna
Editing by	Stu Linder
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release date(s)	13 December 1991
Running time	135 Min Theatrical 149 Extended Version
Language	English
IMDb profile

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.

1 Plot Summary
2 Cast
3 Awards
4 Controversy
5 External links

[edit] 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 dollars. 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 dollars.

[edit] 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

[edit] 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.

[edit] Controversy

Despite its good reviews, Bugsy faced considerable controversy over its portrayal of Siegel. Many felt the film glossed over many parts of his life, such as the rapes and domestic abuses he committed. Some also contend the film romanticized his life by portraying Siegel as a generally good guy, rather than the abusive, short-tempered gangster he was known as. Some who knew Siegel said the film portrayed his gambling and business life accurately, but his personality with flaw.