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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Writer-director Alan Parker's feature debut Bugsy Malone is a pastiche of American movies, a musical gangster comedy set in 1929, featuring prohibition, showgirls, and gang warfare, with references to everything from Some Like It Hot to The Godfather. Uniquely, though, all the parts are played by children, including an excellent if underused Jodie Foster as platinum-blonde singer Tallulah, Scott Baio in the title role and a nine-year-old Dexter Fletcher wielding a baseball bat. Cream-firing 'spluge guns' sidestep any real violence and the movie climaxes cheerfully with the biggest custard pie fight this side of Casino Royale (1967).
Unfortunately for a musical, Paul Williams's score--part honky-tonk jazz homage, part 1970s Elton John-style pop--lets the side down with a lack of memorable tunes. Nevertheless, Parker's direction is spot on and the look of the film is superb, a fantasy movie-movie existing in the same parallel reality as The Cotton Club and Chicago. A rare British love letter to classic American cinema, Bugsy Malone remains a true original; in Parker's words 'the work of a madman' and one of the strangest yet most stylish children's films ever made. --Gary S. Dalkin
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great Musical
I remember watching this movie as a kid. It really has memorable songs, and cute aspects that make an otherwise violent subject (prohibition-era gangsters) humorous. It was cool finding a clean DVD.
Rating:  - Let's do the time warp
The Chinese writing/Jodie Foster cover is kind of funny/weird but still, it's the same movie I saw as a kid. After reading some reviews here I find that people either love or hate this movie. I love it because it's part of my childhood. My brother and I saw it in the mid-seventies when I was around 6 and the songs stuck with us for life. He told me he often sings "So You Wanna Be a Boxer" while working and no one ever gets the reference. It is obscure but shouldn't be. Aside from the two big stars ... Read More
Rating: - BUGSY MALONE
THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST FILMS I HAVE EVER SEEN I RECOMEND IT ANYONE 5 STARS.
Rating: - Works great despite region 3!
I'm 40 yrs old and have fond memories of this movie, and remember loving the music. I wanted to buy it for my kids to see now, and found it on amazon a year ago. Put off buying it, and at that time it was a Region 1 disc for $18. So when I looked it up again last week, I couldn't believe the region 1 was now $40! Started reading the reviews on the (cheaper) region 3 and was glad for the few that said it seemed to play fine. Took a chance, crossed my fingers and......received it today and it works perfect ... Read More
Rating: - Pretty good
The sound isn't that great but all in all a pretty good reproduction of the original movie. Worth the money. This is the only movie with Jodie Foster where she really looks sexy before time took its toll.
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