Gangster films have always been a genre that is deeply loved by audiences, although their character designs and plot interpretations are mostly the same, such as the usual intrigue of the underworld, frequent shooting and fighting, brutal violence, and the protagonists are mostly witty. , cautious and suspicious, elusive, taciturn, fierce and cruel, insidious and cunning, and its endings are mostly tragic. However, the audience still enjoys it, and after their emotions are fully vented, they forget about many gangster films that lack novelty and are the same. However, Rayman director Barry Levinson's 1991 film "Bagashi" is a delightful addition to the gangster movie.
"Bugsy" is based on the real-life American underworld boss Benjamin Siegel, nicknamed "Bugsy" (meaning "bug"), who was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1906 and began at the age of 14. He started killing people, and later used various bloody means to eradicate dissidents and established a powerful network of forces, known as the "most dangerous man" in the United States. In 1935, Bagsey came to the east coast of the United States, smuggled drugs, opened casinos, kidnapped and murdered. At the same time, as a handsome and attractive man, bewilders women and is also bewitched by women. But the film does not focus on his criminal activities in the underworld, but deliberately portrays his mad love with second-rate Hollywood actress Virginia Hill and the tragic ending of his eventual killing.
In the film, Benjamin Siegel spends a lot of money, is dignified, well-dressed, and has elegant taste. But at the same time, he is loyal to his friends, unswerving in love, has unique ideas and outstanding creativity. This "Most Dangerous Man in America" created Las Vegas, a holy place where human greed is free to vent and be satisfied. His life actually represented the realization of the American Dream. This character not only reflects the characteristics of gangster characters in the same line, but also challenges the tradition to a certain extent, creating a colorful, complex and profound gangster character.
The film begins with the murder of Benjamin Siegel and ends with the murder of himself. His love with Virginia begins with a pair of shadows cast on the Hollywood villa movie curtain, suggesting that their love is as unreal as the dreamy love between handsome men and women described in Hollywood movies, and finally shows their tragic ending with the rupture of the curtain. He longed for Hollywood and hoped that he could also be on the screen one day, so he often watched the monotonous image of himself reading manuscripts on 16mm films repeatedly with interest in the villa alone, and could not help peeping at the film studio when he watched actors perform. The image in the mirror reads the lines involuntarily. Chasing women is an important part of his life, and he is not lonely even on the road, but he is also very affectionate to his wife and never lies. Spend a lot of money on the things you love, and be generous. He bought condos, cars on a whim, and easily gave away an expensive Cadillac convertible just to make up for a small blunder. His subordinates were short of money, and he was not stingy when he was angry, but he hated being cheated. When Jack played tricks in front of him, he punished the invincible man who had dominated Southern California for 20 years like a provoked leopard. He is a gangster, and he entrusts the people he trusts with important responsibilities and does not doubt the use of people, but his determination to win, arrogant, and arbitrary attitude of acting on the basis of feeling makes him make too many enemies, which leads to his unfortunate ending. The incredible side of Benjamin Siegel is his love supremacy, he can be said to be extremely affectionate to Virginia, tolerating all her willfulness and even deceit, he can offend his long-term partner for her, and named Lara after her. Vegas Casino. The film presents the scenes of his jealousy of Virginia in a witty and humorous way, letting Meg keep watch over her every move, both at home and in prison. He was obsessed with anything he was interested in, as his childhood friend Meyer put it: "He had an Achilles' heel, he never worshipped money, he was only interested in his ideas, He's a dreamer." So he sold his estate and shares in pursuit of perfection, embodying an unparalleled sense of tragic and solemnity in him, so the ending was even more thrilling and touching, and people couldn't tell whether he died for love or for The dream died, and the film gave the gangster character a dazzling aura.
The structure of the film is based on the interlaced contrast of two plot lines, namely, Benjamin's business as a sub-line and his love with Virginia as the main line, the two lines are intertwined in the construction of "Flamingo", when his When the American Dream was realized, love also reached its climax, and both were destroyed when the "Flamingo" lights were bright, so some people also translated the film's title as "A Generation of Love Owls". Many people think that this is a love film, not a gangster. In the film, "Flamingo" is not only a testimony of the love between the two, but also a monument to their love, but no matter what, desire, money, violence, adventure, and love are always the driving force behind the development of the plot. The meaning of the film is complex and complex. Profound. Warren Beatty and Annette Benning bring to life the tenderness and madness of Benjamin and Virginia, a loving couple. Warren Beatty claims to have been interested in making the film eight years ago: "I was interested in making the film because of his connections to Hollywood, and in a way, Bagsy was not like some gangster, I was I think he has always wanted to be a movie star. This person always likes to boast. He often uses this method to cover up his true identity. He wants to use Hollywood to achieve his goals. I want to study and explore this complex character. The characters..." Annette Benning said of Virginia Hill: "Hill was bewitched by Bagsy's atrocities, she was terrified, and at the same time attracted to him, because Bagsy had both Rich, attractive, well-dressed, never swears, and has a lot of contact with Hollywood, she saw both sides of such a weird guy and fell in love with him at the same time. I think a big part of it was that they fell in love at first sight."
An important reason for the attraction of the film is that the director has a degree of relaxation in the arrangement of the plot. Violence, gang trading activities and humorous passages are interspersed from time to time, so as to show the contradictory and complex bipolar character reflected in Benjamin as much as possible. Warmth, stubbornness and grace are like a charming mixture in many humorous and witty episodes, which make people laugh. For example, Benjamin rushed to Virginia's apartment with two boxes in high spirits, and was talking with her infinitely tenderly when he suddenly saw a man in pajamas, reading a newspaper on the other side of the room with his legs crossed, and looked back at him indifferently. at a glance. So Benjamin was furious: this bastard rival! Involuntarily rushed over, grabbed the man and threw it into the garden. "You psychopath should stay in a lunatic asylum, he's my brother!" Virginia yelled angrily, but Benjamin still insisted on killing the rival in front of him unless he had proof. Until Virginia found his brother's ID card, his anger subsided, and he mocked himself that he should have told him, and promised to send the car. Virginia's dissuasion was ignored, she went upstairs angrily, Benjamin chased after him, even though the doors slammed shut in front of him, he still didn't give up and just expressed his thoughts, unaware of the surrounding things. It was hilarious to see Benjamin gleefully describing, dancing to the closed door, as Virginia circled behind him through the other door.
The sound of the movie is excellent. For example, at the beginning, when Benjamin chased Virginia in the film studio and approached her, the director used a famous scene in the studio to express the dialogue between the two, giving the illusion of deja vu as if it was a scene in a certain film. When the two broke up, the background sound was the "slamming sound" after a shot was taken during the filming, which gave people a meaningful hint from the picture to the sound. When Benjamin called Joey to the hut and demanded an apology for his last use of insulting Virginia, after being blatantly defied, Benjamin lost control and beat Joey desperately, and his movements became more and more frantic to the strong rhythm of the Indian tribe. , the music aptly expresses Benjamin's fidgety and unbalanced mental activity.
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