ter1413
Stylish Dinosaur
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2009
- Messages
- 22,101
- Reaction score
- 6,033
This VERY underrated mob flick tells the story of how Benjamin "Busgy" Siegel, a NY gangster, helps to start the build out of what is now Las Vegas.
Warren Beatty plays Siegel. He is teamed with fellow gangsters Meyer Lansky and Charlie "Lucky" Luciano.....and they have a firm grip on NY.
When Siegel takes a trip to LA, and then to what is a dusty town called Las Vegas to check on a small gambling parlor, he gets an idea they he feels could transform the area and make his organization rich.
Along the way, he falls for Virginia Hill(played by Annette Bening....who Beatty would go on to marry in real life), and that just complicates his vision/his relationship with his organization/his judgement.
What starts as a $1 million dollar project to build The Flamingo casino/resort balloons to over $6 mil(remember, we are talking 1930's-1940's $$....when LA mansions went for $50K!)
Siegel is torn between getting The Flamingo built, dealing with Virginia Hill and satisfying his partners back east.
I love Annette Bening in this role! Her voice always does it for me and she holds her own against Beatty. Add Harvey Kietel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould and Joe Mantegna, and you have a 2 hour flick that is worth the watch.
I have seen this many times and revisited it today.
4/5.