The Movie: Bugsy is a based on a true story movie about Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel a flamboyant, but quirky mobster, and his dream to build an oasis in the desert: The Flamingo resort in Las Vegas. It stars Warren Beatty as Benjamin Siegel, and Annette Bening as his girlfriend Virginia Hill. Benjamin Siegel was an interesting guy to say the least. He had aspirations about being a Hollywood movie star, and had devised a crazy plan that would allow him to personally assassinate Mussolini -- and had this vision of a lavish gambling oasis resort in the middle of the desert -- the Flamingo. Along the way you see some typical mob type stuff, and you also see some great actors like Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Joe Mantegna and Elliot Gould.

There were a few historical inaccuracies (which made for much greater dramatic effect), but I gotta say -- the Flamingo the built in the movie is a spot on match with all of the old photos I've seen... and there's a whole lot of 1940's Los Angeles charm as well. I found it to be a pretty good movie, that I'm glad I watched, and of course, it was (at least partially) about Vegas, which makes it all the more fun for me.

The DVD: This is a dual-sided disc with an anamorphic transfer on one side, and a pan and scan version on the other. The video transfer was pretty mediocre, with quite a bit of dirt, dust, and scratches, but hey, it's still watchable. The audio was equally uninspiring with very little attempt to create a real soundscape. The only special feature is a theatrical trailer. If you really liked this movie, then you'll get it for the movie, but if you didn't, well, I don't really recommend buying it.