Annette Bening Movie:

		List Price: $14.94		Label: Sony Pictures Salesrank: 12220 Released: December 12, 2006
		Our Price: $4.30
		Used Price: $4.31
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Warren Beatty and Annette Bening star in the incredible true story of Benjamin Bugsy Siegel, the playboy gangster who betrayed the Mob for love. A cold-blooded killer who dreamed of Hollywood stardom, a crazed patriot who plotted against Mussolini, and the brilliant visionary who carved Las Vegas out of the dry Nevada desert, Bugsy had it all. Until he fell for the one woman who wanted more. A critical masterpiece, BUGSY is a remarkable collaboration of Hollywood's best: director Barry Levinson, screenwriter James Toback, and an all-star supporting cast that includes Harvey Keitel, Oscar®-winner Ben Kingsley (Best Actor, Gandhi,1982), Joe Mantegna, and Elliott Gould. But at the center of itall is the white-hot romance between Bugsy and the insatiable starlet, Virginia Hill.

Description of Bugsy (Unrated Extended Cut):
Bugsy represents an almost miraculous combination of director, writer, and star on a project that represents a career highlight for everyone involved. It's one of the best American gangster movies ever made--as good in its own way as any of the Godfather films--and it's impossible to imagine anyone better than Beatty in the movie's flashy title role. As notorious mobster and Las Vegas visionary "Bugsy" Siegel, Beatty is perfectly cast as a man whose dreams are greater than his ability to realize them--or at least, greater than his ability to stay alive while making those dreams come true. With a glamorous Hollywood mistress (Annette Bening) who shares Bugsy's dream while pursuing her own upwardly mobile agenda, Bugsy seems oblivious to threats when he begins to spend too much of the mob's money on the creation of the Flamingo casino. Meyer Lansky (Ben Kingsley) and Mickey Cohen (Harvey Keitel) will support Bugsy's wild ambition to a point, after which all bets are off, and Bugsy's life hangs in the balance. From the obvious chemistry of Beatty and Bening (who met and later married off-screen) to the sumptuous reproduction of 1940s Hollywood, every detail in this movie feels impeccably right. Beatty is simply mesmerizing as the man who invented Las Vegas but never saw it thrive, moving from infectious idealism to brutal violence in the blink of an eye. Director Barry Levinson is also in peak form here, guiding the stylish story with a subtle balance of admiration and horror; we can catch Bugsy's Vegas fever and root for the gangster's success, but we know he'll get what he deserves. We might wish that Bugsy had lived to see his dream turn into a booming oasis, but the movie doesn't suggest that we should shed any tears. --Jeff Shannon

Bugsy: Extended Cut special features

Anyone who's heard how intense (or perhaps the word is "torturous") it can be to make a film with Warren Beatty will be captivated by the behind-the-scenes extras on the Bugsy: Extended Cut DVD. The highlight is the chat among screenwriter James Toback, director Barry Levinson, and star and co-producer Beatty on how the project and the final film came to be. Tellingly, Beatty is sitting quite apart from the other two, though they're in a semi-circular banquette at Perino's in Los Angeles.

The conversation starts out slowly, with Toback, a genial blowhard, talking about losing the original script, but it picks up steam when the topic turns to the casting of the excellent actors in the film, including Sir Ben Kingsley and Elliott Gould, who also participate. And of course the most interesting off-screen component of the project--Beatty meeting his future wife, costar Annette Bening--is given a fun spotlight in the film. Levinson remembers that after meeting Bening for the first time, Beatty called him enthusiastically saying, "She's great, I love her, I'm going to marry her" ("you know, just a throwaway line," Levinson says, laughing), and Toback and Levinson and Bening herself talk about the signs the two were slowly falling in love. It's as dishy as anything you're likely to see about the notoriously private Beatty, and well worth the investment.

Other extras include several deleted scenes that are now included in the film (and unlike many other "extended cut" releases, actually enhance the depth of the story). One is a harrowing scene in which Bugsy contemplates, and nearly commits, suicide, via Russian roulette. Another is an amusing screen test that Siegal takes, thinking his roguish charm will translate to the big screen. Though it takes Beatty's considerable talents to make that happen, the earnestness of Siegal's outsider character is touching in glimpses like this. --A.T. Hurley

Beyond Bugsy

Other Gangsters films on Amazon.com

More Films staring Warren Beatty

See the true story

Bugsy (Unrated Extended Cut) Reviews:
nice movie, disappointing special edition
2009-10-12 - This is a nice gangster movie, but I expected more from the 2 disc special edition.

The extended cut of the movie is on disc one, but without the expected commentary track. Instead of the commentary, we are given a 90 minute bull session with the writer, director and Warren Beatty sitting at a booth in a Hollywood restaurant (very weird body language - Warren Beatty sits well apart from the other two). The chat is interesting, but the visual is monotonous.

Also promised is Bugsy Siegel's "Screen Test." I was expecting to see Bugsy Siegel's screen test, instead we see Warren Beatty doing Bugsy Siegel doing the screen test (excerpts appear in the movie itself).

The real Bugsy Siegel is given short shrift. I expected some sort of documentary bio about the gangster, but there was nothing. They could at least have included A&E's Biography treatment of the gangster's life.

A lot of missed opportunities.

Could have been alot better...
2009-08-28 - Somehow this movie really never takes off. In the days of Lucky Luchiano, Meyer Lansky & Capone, it really could have been good, but the focus is more on Bugsy's strange personality than it is about the mob. If you're looking for that good solid punch that Donnie Brasco had, it's not here & its a shame. I was surprised it was rated so high here on amazon.

Never mind,"where have all the flowers gone?;where have all the Gangsters gone?"
2009-05-10 - This is a super Gangster movie.Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was as important as just about any mobster in the 20th Century.While most involved in the underworld were dealing in fundamentally illegal enterprises,;Bugsy's noteriety came about from a business that was essentially legal in Nevada--namely building the Flamingo Casino in the desert of Las Vegas.While it was legal to build this casino,nobody had even considered it because of the remoteness, in the sand,lack of water and even electricity at the time.Bugsy saw the potential with the coming of power from the new dam.He also had the ability of being able to get things done and,even though he didn't have the funds,nor could he ever hope to get the backing of banks;he was able to talk the Mafia into investing in his scheme.Any normal business man would not even get to first base with this project ,but Bugsy used every tactic available,some legal and others using all the muscle inherent in being a mobster of the highest order.There is no doubt,that it took someone like Bugsy to get it done.He succeeded,a big price was paid;by everyone ,but none greater than Bugsy and Virginia Hill. Although Bugsy's dream grew from a Million to over 6 Million dollars before it was completed;its Grand Opening was a disaster at the time;The Flamingo was the start of what Las Vegas has grown into today.Over the years ,the Flamingo has brought in earnings of over 100 Billion dollars.
The movie does an excellent job of telling the story.It has a great cast of characters,and is still one of the best Gangster movies ever made,was called "the most entertaining and exciting American movie of the year".It came out in 1992 and is just as good viewing today,17 years later.

A Classic Gangster Film With A Romantic Twist
2009-02-21 - I have alsways been a fan of the gangster genre-and Warren Beatty. This film worked for me on all levels. Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was not your ordinary gangster. He hob-nobbed with royalty ("Hollywood" and REAL kings and queens) was highly visible, and could "rub someone out" just as easily as he could seduce one of his many conquests. Bugsy Siegel is THE founding father of Las Vegas. At the time he was considered "Crazy". Who wants to vacation in the desert? But like most great people, he was not considered so crazy after his vision came to fruition.

Bugsy tells us this tale, plus the tale of The Great Love Affair between he and Virginia Hill. It is a tumultuos, passionate affair that unfortunately did not end on a happy note. Due to outstanding building costs ( and the fact that Virginia stole money from "the boys") Bugsy was killed and Virginia commited suicide a few years later in Austria. The film is amazing to look at. The production design, editing, and writing recapture the Classic Warner Bros. gangster flicks of the '30's and '40's. Warren Beatty has never givven a more fine performance than he does here. His Bugsy is a handsome, charming, cruel, seductive, rabid, passionate killer. The "Bark like a dog" scene is classic! The always brilliant Annette Bening makes us believe that she is from this time period in the way she talks, walks, and flirts. I would like to single out the music. The score is written by Ennio Morricone (Sergio Leone films, The Untouchables et al). It is a romantic melody with dissonant notes that underscore the violence of the relationship. If you have not seen this movie, you owe it to yourself.

Bugsy
2009-01-31 - A film classic if you want to see how the Mafia was behind the building of Las Vegas. While the story is true, Annette Benning and Warren Beaty's peroformance brings a light heated approach (if you can say that)to the story. This is one video which my better half enjoys bringing out and watch over and again. A timeless piece of work if you don't take it too seriously.