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Don't Call Me Bugsy (1992)
R0 - America - MPI Home Video Review written by and copyright: Jari Kovalainen (25th July 2008). |
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The Film
 American gangsters. There´s just something about them that continues to fascinate and intrigue people, even when many of them are now gone (some died very violently, I might add). New movies are being made, biographies written and new information gathered. Hell, everybody loves “The Sopranos”, so these stories don´t even have to be based on history. Every once in a while there´s a new tip, rumour or theory and these old bodies became interesting again. Mobsters never truly die, they just become legends. Since many of the famous gangsters were closely linked to the Hollywood entertainment world, it´s not that hard to see why some of them became “stars” themselves. They mingled with the movie people, dated the starlets, headlined the gossip sections and spent money like there´s no tomorrow. And yes, they also killed people. One of these was Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. The name of the “Don't Call Me Bugsy” documentary refers to the fact that Bugsy never really liked his nickname. He got the name in the tough neighbourhood of Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where his characteristics already showed from an early age; a lunatic and a hothead fighter, but a loyal and handsome one. He would soon meet the fellow gangster Meyer Lansky and later on the famous names like Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello. He learned from the “best”; first the gambling and bootlegging (especially during the prohibition, “The birth of the mob”) and eventually also murders (Bugsy´s involvement to some of these “hits” is hard to confirm, since many were never really resolved). Based on the documentary, Bugsy was also arrested for rape in 1926, so his darker side got darker. In 1935, Bugsy moved to Los Angeles, California, but the warmer climate didn´t really slow him down. Gambling, dog tracks, narcotics, extortion, fixed bets - and of course murders - followed. Now he had plenty of new friends, since Hollywood loved to hang out with mobsters back then. That street went both ways and glamour followed the new “Playboy” Bugsy wherever he would go. New friends also meant new mistresses (yes, Bugsy was married) and the famous one was Virginia Hill. She also followed Bugsy to his next point on the American map; Las Vegas, Nevada. If there was one thing where Bugsy left his permanent (and for the most part, legal) stamp, it would have to be Las Vegas. During building of (and eventually calling all the shots for) the lavish “Flamingo Las Vegas” hotel casino (located in the now famous “Las Vegas Strip”) in the 1940s, obsessed Bugsy spent money on the project like crazy. He wanted the best, and he usually got the best. The hotel got his mind away from criminal activity, but at the same time started to alienate Bugsy from his mob “bosses”. “Flamingo” held its first opening in Christmas, 1946 (the hotel portion was not complete back then) and even when it eventually started to bring profit, it was too late. In June 20, 1947, Bugsy was gunned down in a Hollywood apartment. Unsurprisingly, this crime also remains unsolved. Bugsy might have died, but in some ways at least one of his dreams came true. Today, the “Las Vegas Strip” alone has over 30 hotels and casinos, with Bugsy´s “Flamingo” setting an example to the whole luxurious and glamorous “Las Vegas” that it was later to be known as. Bugsy was ahead of his time, the “Man Who Invented Las Vegas”. Despite the fruitful subject, “Don't Call Me Bugsy” shows its strengths only momentarily. Narration can be catchy (and ironic) and interviews-sections from Siegel´s contemporaries and entertainers, as well as authors and historians can be interesting, but something is clearly missing. The old newsreels, film footage and photos are adding some vintage feel, but quite frankly nothing that special has been found from the archives. The main problem still is that there just aren´t that many new angles about Bugsy and many incidents (especially the criminal ones) told in the documentary feel more like “stories”, not fully confirmed “historical facts” (sure, it´s not that they´re easy to confirm in the first place). The style takes more of an “entertaining” approach, rather than keeping the documentary strictly accurate and informative. Perhaps those crime-stories are all true, however, whilst I´m not an historian, I´m sure it takes a bit more to convince the documentary-hungry viewers than a few authors that are almost telling a mysterious bedtime story. Many important figures (like his fellow gangsters and girlfriend Hill) are also handled quite sloppily in the documentary. The latter part of the documentary focuses a great deal on Bugsy´s “Flamingo”-project, which is very interesting, to say the least. Again, the section still falls short and could´ve been handled with more care (and to really bring the subject to the “modern days”, after all the casino-resort of the same name is still operational). The “Flamingo”-part of the documentary is still an important one, since it´s where Bugsy will be ultimately always remembered, even more than being a notorious gangster. Too bad that the documentary is not always on par with the real life of Bugsy, who just didn´t know the words “boring” or “ordinary”.
Video
(Note that since the “Video”, “Audio” and “Extras”-sections are very similar to the “Where's Jimmy Hoffa? (1992)”-documentary reviewed HERE, these sections are almost identical in both reviews). The documentary is presented in 4:3. The source material can be roughly divided into two groups; Interviews made in the early 1990s and the vintage (often b&w) newsreel/film footage. There are also old photos. The interviews obviously fare better, but they can still be soft and dull, with colours partly washed out. I would say that they´re taken from the videotape (e.g. “Betacam SP”), since they clearly look dated. Some of the older footage is most likely from the “Kinescope” sources (“a recording of a TV program made by filming the picture from a video monitor with 16 mm or 35 mm film camera”) and look decent (still with dirt and artifacts). The whole documentary is still quite clean, so no major complaints on that front. “Single layer” disc is coded “R0” and runs 71:26 minutes (NTSC). 14 chapters.
Audio
English Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is the only audio track (back cover claims “Stereo”) and there are optional English subtitles. Mono-track is just fine, with interviews and narration being clear and understandable. While the sound in the old film footage is not on par with the interviews, they´re also blending in. Basic documentary stuff, but still well made.
Extras
No extras.
Overall
“Don't Call Me Bugsy” can be a fun thing to watch on a rainy day, and it´ll cover the basic facts of the man, but eventually it just falls short. It takes the more “story telling”-route, perhaps trying to make a more entertaining and witty documentary (rather than making it more in-depth). I´m sure this is not the right approach for many of the documentary buffs. The technical presentation of the DVD is not anything that special (and the disc is bare bones), but it´ll do the job. For more info, please visit the homepage of MPI Home Video.
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