Bugsy Malone (Blu-ray) (1976)

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General		Extras
Category	Musical	Theatrical Trailer Gallery-Art gallery Featurette-'From Sketch to Screen' multi angle feature Gallery-Photo Teaser Trailer Featurette-Promotional Reel Audio Commentary-Director's commentary
Rating
Year Of Production	1976
Running Time	93:51 (Case: 89)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Alan Parker
Studio Distributor	Beyond Home Entertainment	Starring	Scott Baio Florrie Dugger Jodie Foster John Cassisi Martin Lev Paul Murphy Sheridan Earl Russell Albin 'Humpty' Jenkins Paul Chirelstein Andrew Paul Davidson Knight Michael Jackson Jeffrey Stevens
Case	Amaray-Opaque-Secure Clip
RPI	?	Music	Paul Williams

     Bugsy Malone is an ambitious 1976 attempt by writer-director Alan Parker to present a gangster themed musical comedy played entirely by kids imitating adults. Set in late 1920's New York, the story revolves around a power struggle between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam (John Cassisi) and Dandy Dan (Martin Lev). Dandy Dan has come into possession of a new weapon - the "splurge gun" - which fires custard pies like a machine gun. Given this firepower advantage he quickly decimates Fat Sam's gang and looks set to take control of the streets and the sarsaparilla and grocery-store (not alcohol) rackets. Sam enlists the help of Bugsy Malone (Scott Baio), a good natured but roguish character who quickly falls for Blousey Brown (Florrie Dugger), a new girl in town who dreams of becoming a singer and making it big in Hollywood. Fat Sam's main squeeze, Tallulah (Jodie Foster), is a rival for Bugsy's affection, and is not too happy about Blousey's arrival on the scene. Amidst much "splurging" and "car" chases the rival gangs settle the score at a very messy climax where the custard pies fly from everywhere.

    This is a really weird film which is ultimately enjoyable but also a bit creepy at the same time. Firstly, the production values are excellent for such a small budget film. Sets are wonderfully detailed as are the three quarter sized pedal powered "cars". The street scenes and lighting are spot-on in capturing the classic prohibition era New York look with all scenery scaled down to match the smaller stature of the child actors. The only criticism I had of the sets themselves is that the stair banisters and handrails always wobbled dangerously during chase sequences and therefore looked a bit thrown together. Clothing attention to detail was excellent with the girls mostly in "flapper" like dresses and the boys as either gangster types or depression era workers.

    The musical numbers are a mixed bag with the child actors miming numbers written by Paul Williams to adult voices. Parker describes in his commentary how hard it was to find children who can act and also dance to a reasonable level and so compromises had to be made. Ultimately I found the music to be mostly lacklustre and the children don't quite have the skill required to pull it off. I also found a bit unsettling pre-pubescent girls doing burlesque numbers and the wonderful Jodie Foster miming a slightly risqué torch song when vying for the attention of Bugsy. Maybe we've become a bit too sensitive in the new millennium, and what was fine in the 1970's now seems perhaps a bit creepy? Children viewing this film probably won't have these presumptions however I don't know that a film presented like this would sit easily in modern times. The acting itself is often strictly grade nine drama class but Jodie Foster really demonstrates the star talent that would make her a major star. To say she eclipses the others is a huge understatement and the quality just oozes out of her. Scott Baio is also very good with the apparently very "naughty" John Cassisi (according to the director's comments) also great fun as Fat Sam. Florrie Dugger as the main female lead of Blousey isn't quite up to the same standard as the other three but nevertheless does a reasonable job. It's no surprise that only Foster and Baio out of this ensemble found lasting recognition in the acting world.

    Overall Bugsy Malone is a children friendly G rated film that the whole family can enjoy. The meticulously crafted sets and costumes look fabulous and every attempt has been made to give an authentic feel to the film. I found the musical numbers to be a bit unmemorable however at least they looked great. No one gets hurt in this gangster movie apart from the dry-cleaning bill, and if you can get past the slightly creepy premises of young girls in skimpy clothes then you'll probably have bit of family friendly fun.

Video

    Given that this movie is based on gangster themes in 1920's New York you'd expect lots of streetlight scenes and murky alleyways - and this is what you get. Most of the images are quite soft in nature, especially when featuring close ups or bright backgrounds, however blacks are well detailed and the colours are great. Pixelation is very noticeable in some of the brighter scenes - especially during facial close-ups on white faces such as Jodie Foster or Florrie Dugger. The only constant video flaws are negative film artefacts which are pretty much evident in every scene. Fortunately however they are also small and you have to really look to see them.

    The transfer is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

    The picture detail was soft throughout with some scenes especially grainy. There was considerable pixelation in some scenes - especially noticeable in facial close-ups.

    There were constant examples of source film artefacts however fortunately these were not too obvious.

    This is a single layer disc so there was no layer change.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The default audio track is Dolby Digital 2.0 at 640Kb/s however I selected the 5.1 surround version for reviewing this movie. Both tracks are quite acceptable however the Dolby Digital 5.1 version was clearly superior even though rear speakers were used only subtlety. Voices and singing were clear throughout and there were no synchronisation problems. The subwoofer kicked in with the musical numbers and was used effectively without over powering either voices or other instruments.

    The front sound stage was very good with main voices coming from the centre channel and effects from the left and right speakers.

    Surround channel use was not used extensively.

    The subwoofer use was very good and provided punch for the musical numbers.

    This is not a reference audio track by any definition but it is clean and delivers what is required for a thirty year old movie.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

    The menu featured looping video and audio.

Director's Commentary

    Commentary by Alan Parker who reveals a lot of interesting insights into the making of Bugsy Malone and, in particular, the difficulty in casting and working with children. It seems that there were more than a few considerations than the obvious when working with kids, including keeping them happy, safe and under control. Alan is at times slightly disparaging of the concept behind Bugsy Malone, with numerous comments on what didn't work and why they persisted. Nevertheless he does close by saying that although it was all pretty crazy, he is still proud of the film. This commentary is well worth a listen.

Art Gallery (1:01)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Features some sketched scenes which are not very interesting.

'From Sketch to Screen' (4:05)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Storyboard gallery with audio snatches from the feature corresponding with the sketches. Somewhat interesting

Photo Gallery (1.55)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Black and white photos taken during filming and behind the scenes with backing song. Worth a look.

Promo Reel (6:46)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Introduced by Fat Sam (John Cassisi) this reel includes numerous scenes from the movie that aren't really interesting if you've already seen the feature.

Teaser (1:50)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Introduced by Tallulah (Jodie Foster) this is notable for the obvious star quality that Jodie had as a child. Amazing poise for someone so young.

Trailer (2:51)

    1.33:1 aspect ratio with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio at 640Kb/s. Longer version of the teaser.

    Blu-ray content appears identical on all regional releases apart from language selections and they all seem to be free from regional locks. There doesn't seem to be a US based version and because the extras are in PAL format they won't play in a US based NTSC machine. This won't be an issue for any player bought in Australia however.

    Although the 90 minutes didn't drag I couldn't really get into this movie. Jodie Foster is actually quite wonderful considering her age and Scott Baio holds his own however most of the others actors struggle. John Cassisi as Fat Sam is undoubtedly the most interesting character with the best lines and jokes. There is much fun to be had admiring the miniature pedal powered cars, outstanding set design and costumes, however I felt the musical numbers were mostly flat and the child actors didn't really meet expectations. In a musical comedy unconvincing musical numbers are a serious flaw however, because they are only kids, a bit of latitude is deserving. This is a family friendly film which I can recommend although it might not be to everyone's taste.

    The video quality is good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    Extras are only fair for a Blu-Ray disc.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall