Bugsy (1991)
80%RT Audience Score: 69%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
5 wins & 11 nominations total
Stylishly scattered, Bugsy offers cinematic homage to the infamous underworld legend, chiefly through a magnetic performance from Warren Beatty in the title role
Bugsy is a movie that’s so good, it’ll make you forget that Warren Beatty was ever a matinee idol. With a crackling script and an electric performance from Beatty as gangster Ben Siegel, this film is a must-watch for anyone who loves mob movies. And let’s not forget about Annette Bening, who is absolutely phenomenal as Virginia Hill. Sure, the movie may lack propulsion at times, but who cares when you’re having this much fun watching it? Bugsy is a wild ride that’s worth taking.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
TriStar Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Huntley & Palmers Biscuit Factory, Reading, Berkshire, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1976
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 15m
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Language(s):English, Italian, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 13, 1991 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 10, 2006
Genre(s)
Biography
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $2,790,419
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $15,824,082
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,799
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,725,636
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): £575,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jeff Malmberg – Producer
Tom Putnam – Producer
Matt Radecki – Producer
Chris Shellen – Producer
Ash Black Bufflo – Original Music
Director(s)
Barry Levinson
Writer(s)
James Toback
Producer(s)
Warren Beatty, Mark Johnson, Barry Levinson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
5 wins & 11 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Art Direction Winners, Oscar Best Achievement in Costume Design Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (62) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (52) | Rotten (10)
[Beatty] tries to make Siegel humorous and glamorously suave, but Is defeated by the futility of the enterprise. This paranoid sadist is not a nice guy. He is not even interesting; merely a bully with a few colorful mannerisms.
August 16, 2021
Neil Jillett
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
From James Toback’s crackling script to Warren Beatty’s electric performance as gangster Ben Siegel, Bugsy is so engrossing that you feel uncharitable mentioning that while splendid in individual scenes, Barry Levinson’s movie lacks propulsion.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
What finally distinguishes Bugsy from other mob movies is its ever-present sense of the absurd.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Insouciant and flashy, co-producer Beatty is at his best when evoking the narcissistic, show-business side of Siegel.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Clifford Terry
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
A great deal of the fun of watching this very assured film is seeing with what energetic panache the actor takes on the mantle of the mobster J. Edgar Hoover once called “the most dangerous man in America.”
October 29, 2014
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
The picture belongs, in every sense of the word, to Beatty.
October 29, 2014
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
This is the kind of film that Americans make best: It is fast-moving, hard-hitting, and it is about power.
April 6, 2022
Quentin Crisp
Christopher Street
Annette Bening is phenomenal as sultry, foul-mouthed femme fatale/corporate lieutenant Virginia Hill. Worth watching for her alone.
March 26, 2020
Eve Tushnet
Patheos
Beatty and Annette Bening charge their roles with energy, and the supporting cast includes such talents as Harvey Keitel, Joe Mantegna, Ben Kingsley, and Elliott Gould in sturdy performances.
October 29, 2014
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
A clump of casinos in the sand is evidence of something, but I’m pretty sure it’s not greatness.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News
Oh, it’s not that they cover up Siegel’s brutal side, it’s just that they undercut it by making the man just a victim of his own appetites, which is sort of like saying Charles Manson was just a little too enthusiastic about a certain Beatles tune.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4
Dan Webster
Spokesman-Review (Washington)
While avoiding the usual gangster film clichs, director Barry Levinson also insists that Warren Beatty does more than coast through this movie on matine idol looks and easy charm.
October 29, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
John Marriott
Radio Times…
Plot
A gangster movie in which all the gangsters are played by children. Instead of real guns and ammo, they use “splurge guns” that cover the victim in whipped cream. The story tells of the rise of Bugsy Malone and the battle for power between Fat Sam and Dandy Dan.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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