Bugsy DVD Review

Barry Levinson’s melodrama/gangster film was always more preoccupied with the way that the Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel juggled his love life with the mafia, while still trying to keep his wife and kids happy, but the extended cut seems even heavier on the melodrama with no real additional gangster action included. Most of the film Warren Beatty plays Siegel as a fast talking likable guy, with some delusions of grandeur. It isn’t until someone insults his mistress (Annette Bening) or calls him Bugsy that he turns violent, and these moments seem even further apart in the extended version of this gangster film. It still has its moments of expected gangster brutality, but the world Levinson presents is far more polished. The film one Academy Awards for costume design and art direction, which is understandable considering the lengths that was gone through to make this film look just right, but in the process some of the rawness which is usually associated with gangster films tapered away. What is left is a number of great performances and a wonderfully shot film that doesn’t seem to have the edge it needs to contain fifteen minutes of extra footage.

Bugsy doesn’t have time for the usual gangster rise from the slums, but instead brings us into the story as already feared gangster Siegel travels to Los Angeles for business the first time. Upon his visit he buys a house and decides to live in Hollywood, becoming a celebrity/gangster. He loves the spotlight and power of Hollywood and begins wooing actress Virginia Hill (Bening), but his real vision is an oasis in the deserts of Nevada. He wants to build a hotel where everything is legal and people will visit to spend money in luxury. Unfortunately his vision is far more expensive than his backers would like, and his Flamingo hotel in the soon-to-be historic Las Vegas may be in danger. We know that Vegas will be built, but the suspense of the film comes from whether or not Bugsy will survive the construction of it.

In between scenes of Beatty and Bening yelling at each other there are a number of great supporting actors. Harvey Keitel is creepy as Siegel’s right hand man and Ben Kingsley is impressive as always as a gangster associate and childhood friend. If only there were more room for these characters within the plot, but the focus remains on the relationships in Siegel’s life. This can get a bit tiresome after a while, especially in the extended cut.

Along with the digitally remastered extended version of the film there is an all-new documentary, “The Reinvention of Bugsy Siegel: The Road to Damascus”. There are new interviews with Barry Levinson, Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Ben Kingsley and Eliot Gould. There is also a number of deleted scenes and a Bugsy Siegel “Screen Test” Video Montage.