Bugsy

views updated

Bugsy ★★★½ 1991 (R)

Beatty is Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, the 40s gangster who built the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas when it was still a virtual desert, before it became a gambling mecca. Bening is perfect as Bugsy's moll, Virginia Hill, who inspired him to carry out his dream of building the Flamingo (which was her nickname). Beatty and Bening heat up the screen and their off-screen relationship was no different. Fans anticipated their seemingly imminent marriage almost as much as the release of this movie. Almost nothing mars this film which Toback adapted from a novel by Dean Jennings, “We Only Kill Each Other: The Life and Bad Times of Bugsy Siegel.” 135m/C VHS, DVD . Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Richard Sarafian, Bebe Neuwirth, Wendy Phillips, Robert Beltran, Bill Graham, Lewis Van Bergen, Debrah Farentino; D: Barry Levinson; W: James Toback; C: Allen Daviau; M: Ennio Morricone. Oscars '91: Art Dir./Set Dec., Costume Des.; Golden Globes '92: Film—Drama; L.A. Film Critics '91: Director (Levinson), Film, Screenplay; Natl. Bd. of Review '91: Actor (Beatty).