Review of Bugsy (1991) by Calum B — 13 Jul 2012
Tis is the story of famous gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel and beginnings of Las Vegas, Nevada. That part begins about halfway through the 135-minute film when Siegel (Warren Beatty) gets his "vision" about Las Vegas.
Too much of this movie is just profane arguing between the nasty "Virginia Hill" (Annette Bening) and Siegel. If this was accurate, why he put up with that woman's constant berating is mind-boggling.
I liked the rest of the cast except for Joe Mantegna, who made a very poor George Raft. Harvey Keitel as L.A. mobster Mickey Cohen is good as is Ben Kingsley, as Meyer Lansky, head of the East Coast mob.
There are tons of f-words in here, which I question. I doubt if that word was used that frequently back in those days. Usually I don't care but it's way overdone here.
It's a nice-looking film but unfortunately the DVD transfer is weak. The colors in here are great and certainly deserve to look better on disc. Another major flaw is they make the two lead characters look like sympathetic figures in the end, which is just plain wrong. The only thing Siegel had going for him was foresight concerning Las Vegas.
In the end, he and Hill reaped what they sowed anyway, if the story is true. Despite the objections I have with it, it's still an interesting biography, I'll say that. I never got bored with this movie.
This review of Bugsy (1991) was written by Calum B on 13 Jul 2012.
Bugsy has generally received positive reviews.
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