Bugsy is one of the lesser-known mafia films of the 1990s, perhaps because it was overshadowed by Freedmen. It starred many famous actors, just like The Freedmenand enjoyed box office success. He even won more Oscar awards, two, compared to the one who The Freedmen received. However, it seems more often that The Freedmen is recognized as an iconic mob story while Bugsy fades into the past. Bugsy tells a true story just as unique as The Freedmen, chronicling the changes in a gangster’s life once he explores a new horizon in the American West. While gangster films seemed to evolve in the 80s and 90s, Bugsy honored the older styles and traditions of mafia films.
Bugsy follows Ben “Bugsy” Siegel, played by Warren Beatty, as he attempts to change the way the mafia makes money. In the film, Ben helps the mob expand their financial operations into empty, desolate areas of the desert. What was a quick first visit to California quickly became an opportunity for aggressive expansion. Ben’s idea formed the basis of what the Vegas Strip ultimately became. The film also leaves room for a great love story between Ben and Virginia Hill, played by Annette Bening. Director Barry Levinson blended gangster noir with romance, wrapped in depth and visual authenticity.
Bugsy chronicles the rise and fall of Ben Siegel’s expanding operations
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Bugsy Rotten Tomatoes Scores |
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Critics’ rating |
84% |
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Audience score |
69% |
In Bugsy, Ben Siegel already has an established reputation in the gangster world. Ben kills someone in the first few minutes of the film to quickly demonstrate his ferocity. Ben is ordered to California to negotiate the takeover of betting parlors neglected by the Los Angeles crime family. His bosses in New York told him to be quick and quiet in California, but California swallowed Ben whole. While visiting his actor friend George Raft, Ben meets Virginia Hill for the first time and instantly falls in love with her. There, he spends his money lavishly, much like what Walter White, the drug lord protagonist, does in the final season of Break the bad.
After Ben Siegel met Virginia Hill in Bugsy, the film’s romantic arc comes into play and clashes with the gangster story. Between a fight between Virginia and Ben, the head of the Los Angeles mafia family, Jack Dragna, stops and admits to stealing from Ben. The humiliation, intensity and intimidation towards Jack resonates through the house as Virginia overhears it all nearby, making her even more lusted after by Ben. From there, their relationship develops, but not entirely for the better. The chemistry between Bening and Beatty works wonderfullyleaving the audience hanging on his every word. Bening said People that when she first met Beatty, she thought, “Wow, this guy is so smart and so sharp and funny, but more than that: you just have to express yourself.”
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While driving with Virginia and her business partner Mickey Cohen, Ben comes up with the idea of creating the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas in hopes of cementing his legacy. As Ben officially moves forward and invests out west, he decides to divorce his wife and let Virginia handle the money in his last effort to make money. This gangster’s complexities are overshadowed by his entrepreneurial ambitions, which cause him to neglect his urgent monetary needs. The execution of his vision seemed futile at first, likely leading to his assassination; however, it proved to be a legitimate and lucrative operation, achieving multi-billion dollar success following his death. Ben’s decision to go West reshaped the gangster’s world. The true story told in the film Casino would not exist if Ben had never had the idea to build the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Bugsy Showcases Old Hollywood Noir Instead of New Hollywood Mafia Movies
Martin Scorsese took modern mafia stories and adapted them for modern society. It modernized both the storytelling and the ideas behind mafia films. Bugsy is more of a period piece surrounding the efforts of a gangster towards the end of World War II. While New Hollywood and Old Hollywood show the moral ambiguity and complex characters of the mafia, Bugsy transports audiences back in time through story, performance and cinematography.
In BugsyVirginia plays the femme fatale, a seductive woman with powers of manipulation for which film noir is famous. Their journey involves betrayal and deception, giving Bugsy a resonant reflection of the criminal world. Bugsy also chronicles the formation of a new world for gangsters, as the film shows Las Vegas laying the foundation for what it would ultimately become. The end of the film looks like Casablancaespecially when Ben and Virginia see each other for the last time in an airport before flying away. The historical context and backdrops of each scene paint a beautiful time capsule of the period in which the film takes place.
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Even if Bugsy resembling a love letter to old Hollywood noir films, Levinson still enlivens the story with themes of ambition and betrayal. The perceptible difference between classic film noir and Bugsy it’s that it has more of a flourishing plot. Typical noir films focus on the negative, emphasizing darker themes. Bugsy may end in tragedy, but it offers an optimistic and glamorous portrait of mob life.
Levinson changed some details about the film for the sake of entertainment
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Barry Levinson’s Selected Director’s Filmography |
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Movie |
Year |
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Hello Vietnam |
1987 |
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Rain man |
1988 |
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Bugsy |
1991 |
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Toys |
1992 |
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Sleepers |
1997 |
Although Bugsy is based on real events, many things have been changed to make it a more entertaining story. In the film, Ben seemed extremely interested in killing Benito Mussolini himself, an expression of his anger and temper. In reality, Ben was working alongside Mussolini, trying to sell him explosives. He wanted to kill Hitler and other high-ranking German officers, but he was always a hypocrite. Ben had the idea of killing the bad guys to end the war, but he nevertheless deliberately encouraged gang warfare on the streets of New York in his youth.
When Ben decides to move to Los Angeles in Bugsyhe wonders if he should bring his family there. Not bringing them, in essence, made her moves as a woman toward Virginia Hall easier to juggle with family still in New York. In the true story, however, he went there with his wife and children. Even the lack of success of the Flamingo Casino and Hotel is not what happened. In real life, it was crowded and booming as soon as it opened. It even opened up near other developments already underway, unlike its depiction in the film. Well, it wasn’t Ben’s idea for the Flamingo; it was that of Hollywood Reporter founder Billy Wilkerson.
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In the movie Bugsy, Ben shows his appreciation to opera singer Lawrence Tibbett and visits his house. He buys the house from her as if nothing had happened, and shortly after, he buys a car from a stranger. This demonstrates the idea that if a gangster wants something, he will get it. In reality, Ben only rented the place to Lawrence Tibbett. It’s understandable that when creating a biopic or true story, some events are condensed or edited for clarity. The changes were minor and would probably only bother history buffs who are well-versed in all things gangster. The changes only elevate the story and make it more entertaining.
Goodfellas and Bugsy are different in many ways
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The Freedmen Rotten Tomatoes Scores |
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Critics’ rating |
95% |
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Audience score |
97% |
While the legacy of Bugsy doesn’t stand on the same hill as other gangster films, it offers an equally good story. Levinson opted for a more traditional method of storytelling rather than the iconic methods of direct storytelling. The Freedmen. One of the things that makes these two films so different is that they are both made by unique directors with auteur styles that are prevalent in all of their films. It’s difficult to compare the two when their directing styles are so different. The Freedmen was also a step ahead of Bugsy, leaving a year before. Although there is a romantic element to The Freedmen, it doesn’t have the same priority over the whole story as the romance in Bugsy.
Both Bugsy And The Freedmen offer a fascinating insight into the lives of gangsters, but The Freedmen offers a greater scope of Henry Hill’s life. Bugsy focuses on Ben’s dream of building Las Vegas and the personal life that comes with it. In terms of cinematic differences, The Freedmen has quick assembly while Bugsy follows a traditional storytelling method that takes its time to breathe. Whatever their differences, both films delve deeper into the characters’ motivations, showing their rise and fall in the criminal world. Each film is based on real-life characters and events, providing insight into the mafia world’s past.
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There is no doubt that Bugsy is a fascinating retelling of a gangster story, but it has been largely overlooked. When it was released, it was up against the Best Picture winner The silence of the lambs and best film nominated JFKwhich makes competition more difficult to overcome. It was still recognized, but for some strange reason its longevity didn’t survive its release. The story didn’t take the usual angle of a crime story like Freedmen; it provided a more character-driven narrative and nuance.
By the time the film was released, it seemed that gangster films were a tired genre. This led many directors to attempt to reinvent how the story could be told. The world of cinema could have experienced a certain level of genre fatigue, letting this one slip through the cracks. No matter why it doesn’t get the appropriate level of appreciation, Bugsy is easily one of the most phenomenal character stories about gangster ambitions.
Bugsy
Bugsy chronicles the rise and fall of notorious gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel as he navigates the criminal underworld of the 1940s. The film delves into his ambitious plan to develop a luxury casino in the Nevada desert, which would ultimately lead to the founding of modern Las Vegas. Through its depiction of Siegel’s complex character and tumultuous relationships, the story provides insight into the organized crime landscape of the time.
- Director
- Barry Levinson
- Release date
- December 10, 1991
- Cast
- Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, Bill Graham, Lewis van Bergen, Wendy Phillips, Richard C. Sarafian, Karen Russell, Robert Beltran, Stefanie Mason, Kimberly McCullough, Andy Romano , Bryan Smith, Eric Noël
- Writers
- Dean Jennings, James Toback
- Runtime
- 134 minutes
- Main genre
- Biography
- Character(s)
- Ben Bugsy Siegel, Virginia Hill, Mickey Cohen, Meyer Lansky, Harry Greenberg, George Raft, Countess di Frasso, Charles Lucky Luciano, Joe Adonis, Esta Siegel, Jack Dragna, Dancer, Alejandro, Millicent Siegel, Barbara Siegel, Del Webb, Chick Hill, Ronald the Butler