June 16th: BUGSY (Barry Levinson, 1991)

Ben "Bugsy" Siegel upsets his fellow gangsters when he becomes too obsessed with the Hollywood culture, a particular actress, and building a resort casino in Las Vegas.

Warren Beatty became a matinee idol after his film debut, starring opposite Natalie Wood in 1961's Splendor In The Grass. By 1967, he was also producing, helping usher in the New Hollywood era with the award-winning, influential hit Bonnie and Clyde. The next decade saw him directing as well, culminating in an Oscar for his communist epic Reds.

Beatty's began developing a film about Bugsy Siegel in the early 70s, and brought writer-director James Toback (The Gambler, Fingers) to research the subject and come up with a screenplay. While waiting for the script, Beatty in the meantime would direct an adaptation of the comic strip Dick Tracy. Various studios passed on the project, until Beatty managed to get funding from TriStar.

Attempting to avoid directing another film in which he had so much screen time playing the lead character, Beatty sought out someone else with experience. While Toback himself was interested, Beatty eventually settled on Barry Levinson, who had won an Oscar for Rain Man and had made several notable period films. The three men would collaborate closely throughout the rest of the production.

In addition to Beatty, the cast includes Annette Bening (who Beatty remembered from her Dick Tracy audition), Oscar-winner Ben Kinglsey, Harvey Keitel, Elliot Gould, Joe Mantegna, Bebe Neuwirth, and rock concert promoter Bill Graham as Charlie "Lucky" Luciano.

Behind the camera, Levinson brought back the cinematographer from his previous film, Allen Daviau,  also a veteran of several Steven Spielberg productions (E.T., Empire Of The Sun). The costumes were designed by Albert Wolsky (All That Jazz, Manhattan), and the musical score composed by the legendary Ennio Morricone.

The film was shot in various historic locations around Los Angeles, including Union Station, the Biltmore Hotel, City Hall, and the Park Plaza hotel. Additional work was done in Las Vegas and in the Coachella Valley. Beatty and Bening fell in love during the shoot and would later marry, ending Beatty's decades-long reputation as a notorious playboy.

Bugsy was a moderate box office success and received much critical acclaim, factoring heavily in that year's awards race. It won Best Film honors at the Golden Globes and from the Los Angeles Film Critics, and was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Beatty, Keitel, and Kingsley's performances, the  direction, score, and screenplay. In the midst of a sweep by The Silence of the Lambs, it would win only for its costumes and art direction.

Running time is 2.5 hours.