Bugsy

BUGSY (18)

D: Barry Levinson

Columbia Tristar/Baltimore/Mulholland/Desert Vision (Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson & Warren Beatty)

USA 🇺🇸 1991

135 mins

Crime/Biopic

W: James Toback [based on the book "We Only Kill Each Other: The Life & Times Of Bugsy Siegel" by Dean Jennings]

DP: Allen Davieu

Ed: Stu Linder

Mus: Ennio Morricone

PD: Dennis Gassner

Cos: Albert Wolsky

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 Sarafian (Jack Dragna), Bebe Neuwirth (Countess DiFrasso), Giancarlo Scandiluzzi (Count DiFrasso), Wendy Phillips (Esta Siegel)

Partly romantisized biopic of mobster Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel featuring arguably Warren Beatty's best ever performance as the gangster who originally visualised the Las Vegas it is today, much to the dismay of the hierarchy whose money he squandered on the Flamingo Casino & Hotel, a much-criticised white elephant when it first opened it's doors in the 1950's.

Barry Levinson directs the period well, with studious art direction, costumes, makeup and hairstyling, while Ben Kingsley, Harvey Keitel, Annette Bening and Elliott Gould deliver excellent supporting performances.

One of the film's best scenes comes in the opening hour when 'Bugsy' discovers one of his henchmen has been skimming funds and forces him to crawl like the devious, conniving, trecherous pig that his is.

Who'd have thought the usually rather wooden Warren Beatty could play threatening quite so menacingly?! An acting tour de force.

8/10