Once Upon A Time In America Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.
As boys, they made a pact to share their fortunes, their loves, their lives. As men, they shared a dream to rise from poverty to power. Forging an empire built on greed, violence and betrayal, their dream would end as a mystery that refuse to die.
Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.
| Robert De Niro | David 'Noodles' Aaronson |
| Treat Williams | James Conway O'Donnell |
| James Woods | Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz |
| Burt Young | Joe Minaldi |
| Danny Aiello | Police Chief Vincent Aiello |
| Joe Pesci | Frankie Minaldi |
| Elizabeth McGovern | Deborah Gelly |
| Tuesday Weld | Carol |
| James Hayden | Patrick 'Patsy' Goldberg |
| Larry Rapp | 'Fat' Moe Gelly |
| William Forsythe | Philip 'Cockeye' Stein |
| Darlanne Fluegel | Eve |
| Dutch Miller | Van Linden |
| Robert Harper | Sharkey |
| Richard Bright | Chicken Joe |
| Sergio Leone |
8.30 out of 10 (34449 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Pretty Good
posted on 07 Jul 2009Once upon a Time in America is a better than average character-driven epic with its strength actually going to the child actor portion of the film. To note, I watched the 229min version which admittedly at times plodded a little bit. Nonetheless I enjoyed the younger boys in their trouble-making and growing up very much. It was a good evolution of mishievousness changing into crime and mayhem. The relationships between the lead boys and then later Woods and Deniro helped pillar the movie. The violence was at times more than needed unfortunately (or fortunately if you like that kind of thing) - note an overlong rape seen which dragged on in poor taste. Music also became repetitive. Nonetheless the setting and characters were well developed and realized, definitely worth a rental especially if you like crime/gangster movies.
Pure Inspiration...
posted on 01 Jul 2009Once a Time in America is the kind of movie that you have to see to believe, or see to make your own opinion and be immune to others. Definitely not your kind of movie if your idea of artistic cinema is "The Fast and the Furious" or if you think "360-degree-panning slow-mo action" is the way to go! First, there are two versions of this movie: the US theatrical release and the version Sergio Leone envisioned, being the film length and editing the main differences between the two. The version that i suggest you see, is the Director's cut, running almost 4 hours. The movie is beautiful, from beginning to end; it approaches the mob genre in a most distinct manner, being the ties between the gangsters and childhood friends the basic theme of the story. Leone explores the possibilities of story telling using a non-linear approach, going back and forth in time, from the 1920's.. to the 1960's.. and then the 40's.. as we progress in the life of 'Noodles' (DeNiro). I found this technique to be somewhat confusing at first, but then it serves its purpose as it gives a more profound and romantic touch to the film. It is beautiful, like no other gangster movies is, haunting... with Morricone's score, that stays away from his cliched 80's sounding themes, (specially that one from "The Untouchables") and profound. I'm not surprised it only made like 5 million dollars in the box office, given how butchered and mutilated this movie got in order to be shown on the big screen. Rent it or buy it.. its beautiful work of art.
Watch this movie more than once.
posted on 28 Jun 2009Once Upon A Time is a great epic about the life of a Jewish gangster. It is a story about friendship and betrayal.The first time I watched this movie, I was so confused and frustrated, disturbing opening scenes, complex and detailed plot and a shocking end.For a second view, I got the whole picture, the opening and ending scenes began to make sense, the chronological order of the story was comprehended.I needed a third view to begin feeling the music of this film, and then the magic of "Once Upon A Time In America" caught me. I was fascinated by that wonderful soundtrack, the long scenes, regarded by some as boring, became more meaningful now, thanks to a great background music, which set a unique, intense and charged atmosphere, and that's what is so special about this film. It would have never been a masterpiece without Ennio Morricone's work.Once the story is understood, you feel more the intensity of it and some of the scenes become more emotionally involving. You will be attached to the atmosphere of the film to an extent that whenever you decide to watch a scene you'll continue to the end of the movie. I entered a whole new world for a week, the world of the American dream.OUATIA is a great cinematic achievement to be compared along with the great ones, one of the movies that resemble to myths, they grow in debate from generation to another, but the important thing is that you give the movie the time it deserves, because if you're not emotionally involved and focused on it you will be lost, frustrated and you'll probably hate it. But, if you concentrate from the beginning till the end and give the experience the adequate state of mind, you'll be amazed by what you'll get through.10/10. A must see movie, A great experience.
An epic masterpiece of pure cinematic wizardry!
posted on 16 Jun 2009Sergio Leone's final master-piece and a swan-song to outdo all swan-songs. Once Upon A Time is a purely magical film, as good as Sergio's other Once Upon A Time film, set in the West. A great debate rages as to which film of Sergio's is his best and that is a question I can't answer having not seen all his pieces. There is no doubt he has done several classic films, with his best Westerns and this gangster epic. What makes Sergio's films so magnificent is their timelessness. Leone's visual eye is astounding and while watching some old films can sometimes feel stale, past it. Leone is a director whose use of the camera was revolutionary, dynamic and iconic. Leone is perhaps one of the most inspirational and mimicked directors ever.This is a movie of pure cinematic beauty. It is wonderfully shot and the lighting is fantastic. The sense of timing Leone's films have is amazing with each scene and captured performance magnificent. America is a marvellous movie to behold and never drags, even at near 4 hours. The narrative is told in a Tarantino-esque (I don't like referencing Quentin and make him sound like the inventor of a non-linear plot but he is the most famous user) with the action switching from the end of the 60's when it is set, right back to the 20's. The story is a recounting of the life story of Noodles, growing up from a young street hood, to a big time gangster to a kind of tragically lonely old man. The film focuses on his development through a 50 year period of his life about his friendships, loves, and guilt and betrayal. Noodles is magnificently portrayed by Robert De Niro in a role that a lot regard as one of his all time greats. Like every other aspect of the film, De Niro was tragically ignored by the Academy that year, and the film didn't receive one nomination. That's Oscar politics for you though, the film flopped and was as such ignored. The film shows the absolute pinnacle of perfection in acting (on several fronts, but particularly De Niro and James Woods), directing, cinematography, writing and perhaps most memorably the career best score of Ennio Morricone, Leone's long time collaborator.So the story is great as are the technical and artistic merits of the film, but what of the supporting cast? Well as I said De Niro is outstanding, with James Wood's coming a very close second. Other noteworthy performances arrive from Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams, Joe Pesci, Burt Young and many more. What works so brilliantly in this piece is the amount of memorable side characters portrayed by "name" actors. Brief cameos delivered with memorable class, for example Joe Pesci and Treat Williams who come and go quickly leaving an indelible mark in the film. Special note also goes to the young cast playing the main roles in the early years sections. They are faultless and excellent. Younger actors can often lack polish and maturity in their performances. There aren't a whole load of Dakota Fannings and Haley Joel Osments rolling off a production line. Finding a young actor who can move up from giving an acceptable performance to having the ability to captivate is quite rare, and so for Leone to have found a lot of brilliant young actors who look remarkably like their adult actors playing the older versions of the characters is truly amazing. While most of these young actors didn't go on to bigger and greater fame, one did: Jennifer Connelly. She plays the young Deborah before Elizabeth McGovern (who is the spitting image of the young Connelly). Jennifer Connelly has of course developed into an Oscar winning and excellent actress and in her screen debut here she shows those early signs of excellence at a very youthful 12 yrs of age. Her performance is excellent, and in an integral and key scene that many actors of her age, and indeed older would have buckled under, she is superb. The scene has her giving a recital to the young Noodles (Who is in love with her). The performance is given with such maturity and with such a sense of timing and delivery that it is truly amazing. It was one of the best performances from a young star to ever grace the big screen in my opinion. She was a superb young actress, who developed into a superb actress and her performance here shows genuine talent and of course kudos to Leone for harnessing that ability and extracting it correctly.As I said Morricone's score is marvellous and of the best scores ever. The music of the film has also appeared in the Kill Bill movies as well. Morricone a composer of such a prolific CV manages to deliver a career best score at a stage in his career when he had been around for years. However he found and continues to find, the inspiration not to let his work become stagnant like some composers. Overall this is a film that is regarded as a classic, mentioned in the same breath as the Godfather films and Goodfellas. It is epic, beautiful and in all counts, masterful. *****
The best gangster movie ever made
posted on 13 Jun 2009Godfather is probably more entertaining. However, this movie makes you want to cry and think hard about life. I have watched this movie about 10 times. Everytime after I watched it, I felt exhausted and extremely sad. There is just so much stuff in this movie and it's basically impossible for me to compare this movie to any other single movie, maybe a string of Fellini's or Bergman's movies. Remember I am using the word string. A lot of people just do not like this movie. People I think (or used to think) had good taste think the movie is too long, too dry, and basically just a big waste of time. But some people who have seen it agree with my view that it is an enormously rich and rewarding film. The problem is that the film is almost four hours long, and can be somewhat confusing with its layers of flashbacks. However, the full story of the film is a large one, and Leone's style is so operatic at this point that it takes much longer than the plot demands. There are many slow crane shots of various streets in New York's lower east side, and many awkward silences and pauses where nothing is physically happening. The action, however, does not seem slow to me. None of Leone's movies seem slow. Leone keeps everything moving quite nicely, yet he pauses to establish the mood with, for example, a crane shot of the bustling New York street, or a scene where Noodles stirs his coffee for a couple minutes, letting the mood become extremely uncomfortable. None of Sergio Leone's Western characters seem to have much emotion in any of his movies. There is emotion, but it tends to be emotion that is extremely repressed, hidden beneath a calm, tough exterior. This film is different. Noodles (Robert de Niro) does not seem to have any emotions, extremely odd for the protagonist of a movie. When Noodles comes home and visits Fat Moe after 35 years away, his first words after seeing Moe are "I brought you back the key to your clock". There is a reason for Noodles loss of affect, as the psychologists call it. His emotion has been buried under the memory of having inadvertently killed his best friends, his soul has clearly died. After meeting Max (James Woods) as a kid, Noodles, Max, Patsy, and Cockeye form a gang. After spending mostof his childhood in jail for avenging the death of a friend, Noodles rejoins Max and the gang,to find Max starting an ambitious climb to the top of the organized crime ladder. Eventually,Max becomes too ambitious, and after prohibition is repealed, seeks to rob the Federal Reserve. To stop him from an obviously suicidal heist, Noodles turns Max in. However,Max and the rest of the gang get into a shoot-out with the police, and Noodles soon hears of the death of Max, Patsy and Cockeye. Noodles can't stop thinking about the call made that killed his best friends, and soon has to flee New York because the crime syndicate he worked for now is trying to kill him. Thirty-five years later, he is still haunted by the memories of his dead friends. He is mysteriously summoned to New York by an unknown person for unknown reasons, and soon discovers a trail of clues that will lead to a great revelation. At the end, there is the final smile by Noodles, doped up on opium, the only time in the movie that he looks completely happy and at peace. Even though this is an earlier Noodles, this is Leone's way of depicting Noodle's return to normality after 35 years of grief. It is the perfect conclusion to this movie. This is a story of a man at war with himself. Noodles is criminal, savage, ruthless, and is sexually animalistic (as demonstrated in the various raping scenes). Yet he is also tender, loving, down-to-earth, and honorable. The center of this conflict is Deborah, who loves Noodles, and tries to turn him away from his criminal side. Deborah is the one pure thing in his life, the one thing that he loves, and when she is about to leave for an acting career, Noodles rapes her. He rapes her because he is mad at her, he is confused, and realizes that this is probably the last time he will ever see her, so he must have sex with now or never. Besides, that is Noodle's instinct, and his sudden moves on Deborah would be quite acceptable with the kind of girl he normally sees. Perhaps he rapes her because he sees in her a purity that he can never have, tries to take it and in the process destroys it. When Noodles' realizes what he has done, he starts on a slow recovery process, gradually becoming less and less criminal, which forces the rift with Max, who is determined to build a huge organized crime empire. When Max and the others are dead, and Noodles flees New York, his bad side has vanished. And when he comes back, he is a changed man. The reason that I feel this is the best gangster movie is because none have the combination of style and substance that this films brings. It's not just about gangsters, its a look inside the soul of Noodles. Robert de Niro gives such a wonderful understated performance that the character of Noodles sticks with you. I can still remember Noodles just by a certain look in de Niro's eyes, a sort of calm depression, a look that has the weariness of the world in it. This is a movie where the mood of repressed sadness will linger long after the film has ended. Very few films are as powerful.
Childhood memories and friendships
posted on 13 Jun 2009The film stirred memories of my childhood as I walked the streets of NY. The friends made in the streets, and the brownstones alleys and roofs. The expressions, the mannerisms, voice inflections are perfect. As you watch it over and over (the 4 hours version) more and more can be appreciated and new things just come clearer. The visions of young love (lust)through the wall cutout. The sadness of watching the young lad waiting for Pegola as he ate the whipped cream cupcake. This movie made me happy, sad, brought the proverbial lump to the throat especially when Bugsy kills the youngest of the gang, while feeling the hatred of Bugsy's payback from the hands of Noodles. Enough cannot be said about this film. This movie is a personal favorite.
Not simply the greatest of gangster movies,but one of the greatest movies ever,a multi-layered,melancholic masterpiece that demands repeated viewings
posted on 10 Jun 2009Once Upon A Time In America is the crowning achievement of director Sergio Leone. It's nearly four hours long,and demands total concentration from beginning to end. However,those willing to submit will find it more than worth it.Reminiscent at times of some very old gangster films such as The Roaring Twenties,one will find almost every gangster movie cliché one can find-one can imagine Leone half remembering bits and pieces from films he saw as a youth. However,he never glamourises his protagonists-he may dare us to like Robert De Niro's 'Noodles'-a murderous thug and rapist who always seems to make the wrong decisions-but that's different from glamourising him. The notorious rape scene is all the more hard to watch because its painful to watch Noodles try to destroy himself and his girlfriend by going through with it.What really makes this film different is it's overwhelming melancholy. Leone's favourite loyalty/betrayal theme is there,but the film is also a study of memory,of a lost soul coming to terms with his past. Therefore,starting in mid-plot in the 1930s,than flashing back and forth in time,was the right choice {if initially confusing!}. This is the culmination of Leone's increasing interest in the flashback structure-think especially of the parallel story told in A Fistful of Dynamite's flashbacks.There is action,but it's mostly quick and brutal,and there is also humour,such as a very funny scene set to Rossini's Thieving Magpie where the gangsters are loose in a hospital filled with babies. However,the broody,melancholic tone never really goes away,and towards the end,the film grinds to a virtual halt. Be warned,there is no action climax,just a series of somewhat oblique dialogue scenes and revelations.The expected Leone flamboyancy is hardly to be found,but the film still often soars most when dialogue is kept to a minimum and Ennio Morricone's gorgeous music takes over. Some of the most brilliant scenes just consist of Noodles seeing and reflecting. In one especially effective and poignant scene near the end,an old Noodles is leaving his love Deborah as her achingly sad theme plays,and he sees her son,who is the spitting image of,well,I try to avoid spoilers! As the music changes into the still sad but more majestic main theme,the camera slowly zooms,as it often does,into Noodles' sad eyes. We go to what is initially a blur,until we realise it's curtains. The person who holds the key to all this appears,like a ghost,through the curtains and goes onto a balcony,from where he sees the same 'son' with a girlfriend. Sheer brilliance,and not a gun in sight! Of course De Niro is great,but he's obviously very restrained and reflective. It's James Woods who really dominates,so dynamic here,this should have made him a big star. One must also mention Tonni Delli Colli,who photographs three time periods with slightly different hues but still subtly.Leone's original cut was five hours and if you want to be picky there are holes in the plot. Leone leaves a great many things ambiguous,but shouldn't all great art ask questions? Once Upon A Time In America is not necessarily easy viewing,but it IS great art,the final statement of one of the best filmmakers of all time.
leone's finest (4) hours
posted on 01 Jun 2009Where to begin? This hasn't always been on my list of favorite movies. I first encountered it when I was 9 or 10 and my parents let me watch the first videotape (first half) before deciding it wasn't appropriate for me. I didn't see it complete until five years later. Since then, I have seen it about half a dozen more times including once in a theater (crappy print, but still). I wrote an essay about it for my entrance paper to get into the graduate program at NYU and since I got in, OUATIA will always have a particularly special place in my heart. I now throw it out as my favorite film when people ask and the reasons that I love it are perhaps best encapsulated by Leone himself in the biography Something to Do with Death that came out last year:"I make fairy tales for grown-ups. I pay scrupulous attention to detail and making the setting realistic so I can focus on making the story mythic."In a nutshell, that's all his films, but in particular the one that took fifteen years to get off the ground and ate up three full years of his life. OUATIA is above all else, for film lovers, with its spiderweb plot drifting through the decades and back and its deliberate, dreamy pace. It is also the finest gangster film ever, precisely because it focuses on the lowest rung of criminals and succeeds in never making the gangster life look glamorous. The friendship between Noodles and Max surprises with its refusal to paint one as the "grounded" half and the other as the "loose cannon." They're both given to violent outbursts and both capable of (increasingly diminishing) moments of tenderness and compassion. This makes Noodles'(DeNiro) betrayal of Max (Woods) all the more haunting, and since Noodles's guilt is what drives the entire film, it's crucial for that to come across.Much has been said about whether the film is a simple story, told out of sequence, a flashback, a flashforward, or an opium dream/ nightmare. I opt for the latter interpretation and without spoiling any of the film's surprises, consider this: Move the last shot of the film to the very beginning and everything else falls into place. The beauty of the closing shot (and it is one of the greatest closing shots in cinema) is the way it reveals nothing and everything.There isn't even time to go into everything else that moves the spirit (Morricone's mythic score, Tonino Delli Colli's cinematography that finds the right tone for each of the three decades portrayed, the art design, particularly in the 1923 sequence with the children). I am not automatically a fan of long films but Leone creates a world that is worth falling into for 227 minutes)A note about the running time: the bio reveals that the film runs 229 minutes outside the US, the extra two minutes being from the rape of Deborah. No longer version exists. Leone had wanted the film to run for 250 to 265 minutes but the footage that exists to make it longer was never dubbed to do so.
Sergio Leone, You Stink!!!
posted on 01 Jun 2009Godfather II >>>>>>>>>>>> OUATIA.Translation: The Godfather: Part II is way greater than its successor Once Upon a Time in America.Frankly, I do not see how they compare. Godfather and Godfather II broke new ground for gangster movies and movies in general. They both have much better acting, directing, writing, music, costume, and so on.Leone is still doing spaghetti with his long shots, music, etc. I liked his Once Upon a Time in the West much better than Once Upon a Time in America because it was ahead of its time and it wasn't as long or tedious as OUATIA. I saw the 120 min. version on DVD and OUATIA just never came together for me. As I understand it, there is a four-hour Director's Cut. Oi vei! This movie has several disjointed scenes and they lead nowhere. While the cinematography is clear and bright, this movie does not shine.Like wine, a good director like Sergio Leone should have gotten better with age. Instead, we find that the product has rotted away and has a strong pungent odor.Sergio Leone, you stink!!!
One of the Greats
posted on 01 Jun 2009Sergio Leone already had about 5 films before this which were masterpieces and as it was his last film we expect nothing less and that's what we got.
Once Upon a Time in America is quite an unusual tale of Gangster's growing up. It was one of it kind for it's narrative story being chopped up into different parts so we don't really get meaning of the plot till the very end.The story has to be one of the most beautiful stories I have ever heard and a depressing one at that. It has everything you want in a story as it keeps you guessing and wondering throughout it's nearly 4 hour run but without it being that long it would have never have been that good. This was different for Sergio Leone as we usually expect to see all his characters living in the west and wearing ponchos but what he brought to the screen in 1984 was probably the greatest gangster film of all time even beating the likes of The Godfather and Scarface. I once said that Goodfellas was the greatest gangster film ever but that was before I saw Once Upon a Time in America. Before this was released on DVD did anyone find it hard to find the original copy? I couldn't find it and it was becoming incurably frustrating as I ran sacked all the Car Boot Sales to try and bag myself a copy and I then come across this man on a market stall and asked if he had a copy and he said he's got one at home and he'll bring it in for me next time he is there. I agreed to this and asked him what his price was and he said £20 and this is for a VHS which in my opinion a classic or not is daylight robbery so I was back to square one. The angels were listening though as a couple of weekends later they showed it on BBC 2 and I got to witness one of the greatest films ever made but it just astounds me that this movie was so rare to own after it was released in the mid eighties and even then it was a cut version so I had to rely on the TV to come up trumps with it's full version and lucky for me it did.There are some heartbreaking scenes here especially when Noodles rapesDeborah only because he knows he can't have her any other way but I think it's great how Leone let's us get to know Noodles for him to then turn his back on us and show us his evil side by raping her or attempting to I couldn't really tell if he did or not. There is no future as far as love goes for Noodles as he doesn't know how to feel it after so much rejection.
He is a broken man and is desperate for Deborah to love him but she resists only for him to do that to her.Robert De Niro's performance is one of the best of his career especially when he is an older man because his eyes do all the talking as his age goes and his movements from place to place when reminiscing is just brilliant as the more he moves the more guilt runs through him. He is a lost soul and doesn't see anyway of putting his past behind and getting one with the future. His past haunts him and he won't let it rest as he grows more suspicious trying to find out why he was invited back to his hometown after being obsolete for the past 30 years and whilst that is happening he is trying to find out the truth and while this is going on we see how his life has come upon him in flashback. De Niro is not the only reason we should watch this but James Woods also as he gives the performance of his career as Noodles best friend Max. Once Upon a Time in America may come across slow in parts and when it's your first time it may not even make any sense to you anyway as it did me. It took me at least three watches to get what happened and what was De Niro's smile all about but once you have got past all that and have really taken it in you will see that Leone didn't make a great film before he died but he made one of the greatest films ever made.
One Great Movie
posted on 20 May 2009I saw the re-release of this movie in the theaters at its full length. I watched it on a Tuesday afternoon and I was the ONLY person in the theater. I will always remember the experience. When gangster movies are discussed (I love The Godfather series, Goodfellas, and Casino), Once Upon a Time in America is my Best of All Time.
It's the DeNiro Mob movie you may not have heard of but must see immediately
posted on 20 May 2009Imagine if no one had heard of the Godfather, then you'll understand this film. I'm not saying its better than the godfather, it had its problems. The plot was hard for me to fully appreciate or understand the first time I watched it but it came around soon enough. This film is about a group of kids raised in the gutter. These friends band to together and form their own crime racket along with an undying bond of loyalty that is too be pushed to its max. The main character, Noodles, unlike many other mob movies, is not the don or the brains, but instead is the heart. After paying his debt to society Noodles returns to see his friends have gained a nice little slice of the illegal actions of the twenties. Soon the repeal of prohibition comes knocking along with possible betrayal, which leads to a long going mystery of what really happened. As those who are alive to rehash the happening are also left to figure it out.
Quite Possibly The Greatest Film Ever Made
posted on 20 May 2009Now, I am by no means a Sergio Leone fan, but he deserved the Oscar for Direction for this film. I firmly believe that this film stands up there with "The Godfather, Part II", "Casablanca", and "Citizen Kane" as one of the greatest films ever released (maybe the best). Sergio Leone's violent, visual, masterpiece of turn of the century Jewish boys from New York growing into a life of crime has a different effect on all those who have viewed it in its various forms. I, personally have never seen the shortened version so I can not comment on it. There isn't anything in this film that isn't worth the four hour running time. Brilliant, poetic visuals, great photography and fantastic performances across the board.Leone touches on issues of violence (the scenes are gory and sometimes explicit), sexual depravity (its no coincidence that all sexual encounters are in unconventional places and only in Noodles' rape of Deborah does he exhibit any kind of emotion toward any of his partners, gently caressing and kissing her as he violates her in a pathetic attempt to show his love), and simply growing old (brought about by the reminisces of Noodles' childhood with a beautiful good 'ol days type feeling despite the criminal nature of his childhood) and leaves us clamoring for more after the four hours are through.Robert DeNiro is fantastic as always as Noodles. But it is James Woods, in my opinion that steals the show as Max. William Forsythe, Treat Williams, Danny Aiello, Burt Young, Joe Pesci, Jennifer Connely and Tuesday Weld add to this film just as actors of their quality are expected to. Their performances, as well as the two leads at the very least deserved, but didn't receive any, Academy Award nominations. (In fact, the Oscars were the only ceremony to snub this film). Ennio Morricone's score was as beautiful and evocative as one would expect from the master of the Italian score.Worth seeing. Sit back, take the phone off the hook and prepare for a cinematic experience.
masterclass filmmaking
posted on 17 May 2009Of all of Sergio Leone's films this one has to be the best plot, you couldn't class the film as another gangster movie but a triumph for all involved would be more appropriate. The structure of the film at times makes it hard to watch as it flashes back and forth from the 1920's to the 1960's, but the plot remains compelling throughout. The direction of the film is slow, deliberate and intense. Leone's cinematic flair is clearly in view and visually the film is quite amazing, but he also doesn't hold back in his depiction of violence, some of which would have to go down among the most shocking scenes ever filmed. DeNiro is as ever excellent and Woods plays his psychotic friend in his own familiar reliable way. This has to be one of the few movies of the 1980's that kept the classic hallmarks of maverick filmmaking; we have everything and more needed for a cinema masterpiece, in my opinion only equalled by Raging Bull or The Godfather trilogy. Once Upon A time In America is certainly a movie that every film student would need to study, in fact most modern day `directors' would need to study an artist like Leone, and try to determine were they went wrong.
possibly my favorite gangster film
posted on 17 May 2009I have a hard time deciding whether I like The Godfather I and II or this film better. I do lean a little toward this one though. I look at this film as a kind of cult alternative to the Godfathers. It's directed by Sergio Leone, best known for his "spaghetti westerns" with Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. From what I've read, Leone had this film in mind since the mid-60's, but the studio wanted another western, so the brilliant Once Upon a Time in the West was made, then the flawed but very interesting Mexican revolution epic A Fistful of Dynamite, and then Leone produced, co-wrote, and directed a few scenes (uncredited, Tonino Valerii was credited as director) of the lesser-known-than-it-should-be Western Comedy My Name Is Nobody. I think the way Leone directs his first (and unfortunately last) gangster film is interesting to contrast with those of Francis Ford Copolla and Martin Scorsese.The film has the feeling of a guilt-ridden, drug-fueled nightmare; few films have been able to capture this feeling so effectively. The cinematography by Tonino Delli Colli which creates a very dreamlike rather than realistic look, and the excellent haunting score by the great Ennio Morricone (a grade school classmate of Leone and his regular composer from A Fistful of Dollars on, interestingly enough, the score was composed a whole seven years before filming began) contribute a lot to this feeling. Morricone would later borrow from himself a little when composing the score for Brian DePalma's film The Untouchables. The first time I saw this film, it stayed with me for days. The structuring of the film is very unique too, jumping from the 1930s to the 60s back to the 20s, none feels like "the present", they all swirl together.A very unique film, don't let the almost-four-hours running time scare you off, I've watched it several times, and it doesn't feel like almost four hours. The film is structured so elegantly, I can't imagine cutting a minute. (definately only watch the 226 minute version, the original theatrical release was re-edited and shortened signifigantly, which, needless to say, was quite damaging). Of course, when I watch it on video, I do feel the need for the occasional intermission. I would be thrilled at the opportunity to see this film in a theater, but it would definately strain my bladder. This definately isn't a film for those who think of movies as disposable fast food entertainment, and think 90 minutes is an ideal running time for all films. 90 minutes may be just the right amount of time for some films to tell their story (of course, some only require about 10 minutes), but not this one.
No Oscars. Are you kiddin' me?
posted on 14 May 2009I think The Oscar Awards Academics should shot themselves. How come this movie didn't get any Oscars? This situation is awful. First of all, Ennio Morricone: If someone will show me a better Soundtrack for whatever movie, i'll give him $1000000. Perhaps it could be "Kill Bill", but it was not the original score. So, Where is Oscar? Nowhere. Secondly, Robert De Niro... F. Murray Abraham got the Oscar in 1985. Is it a joke or something? De Niro did a spectacular, masterpiece acting, incredible character, incredible dramatic acting.. Where is Oscar? Nowhere. Thirdly, Screenplay and Directing. Yea... Amadeus is a great movie. But, i'm sorry Amadeus fans, but this movie doesn't stand in one line with Once upon a time in America. There is Oscar who owns movies, but there is movies what owns Oscar. Once upon a time in America owns Oscar.
Excellent!
posted on 14 May 2009This was an excellent film. The only reason I didn't give it a higher rating is that I don't think I could sit through it again. The story is just too brutal for status as a "favorite".After reading the other comments/reviews I guess I'm lucky that I only saw if for the first time this month and on DVD. It's too bad there were so many problems with its original release. One of the ugliest things about "Hollywood" is this kind of stupidity and sabotage. Well, it's not the last we'll see of people abusing positions of power in any industry. When I picked it up, I had no idea it was more than 20 years old. I was thinking maybe 10.De Niro has an incredible list of performances and this is no exception. What he conveys with minimal dialogue or just his face is gripping. The entire cast is fantastic including the unknowns.I must admit that I find parts of it murky. That may be due to my limited understanding, or the way it was directed. Or, since I saw the story through Noodles eyes it may have been affected by his inability to articulate or his fondness for opium...The fact that he rapes TWO women should make him utterly detestable, and he was, but in the end he is tragic and pathetic. In fact, ALL the characters are tragic and pathetic. There wasn't an ounce of empathy for any of them just a terrible understanding.Leone seems to want the viewer to fill in the story gaps on your own. Several lines of plot and thought are unexplained. Personally, I prefer more explication.The cinematography, costume, etc. are wonderful. Well worth the viewing for many reasons.
Seldomly a film of such beauty...
posted on 26 Apr 2009I was in my teens,about sixteen or seventeen,when I first saw this film and,incidentally,I was at an age when the twenties imagery fascinated me-well it still does... Highly artistic was the opening scene,when the annoying phone calls are associated with a lavish party scene-a symbol for life's vanity and the revenge of a guilty conscience for all the pleasures(similarly in Shakespearean theater the obsessive repetition of nagging noises is actually stands for the guilt complexes from the past reemerging). It's,like previously other viewers noticed,the story of a few poor immigrant boys trying to conquer the new promised land-even if they end up building an empire of crime(let's face it,they did't have any other chance to evolve from rags to riches considering their social background)they are somewhat American pioneers,these solitary,strong-minded and ambitious heroes who turned the U.S. into what it is today. By the way,American capitalism and political life,even if apparently honest and fair-play are not necessarily based on legal methods... Eventually their twisted friendship will(like in a passionate,irrationally intense love-story)destroy everything it touched-and in between an epic spanning between 1915 and 1968,a visual treat of elegant vintage cars,stylish clothing and sophisticated champagne bottles-all the luxury and fascination of the legendary prohibition age. The scene where Prohibition is "buried"-somewhat resembling the "Death of Glitter" concert from "Velvet Goldmine",actually a coffin-shaped chocolate-cake is surrounded by four candles stuck into Cordon Rouge bottles,is one of the most influential in film history,probably known and loved even by the ones who aren't much into this genre,did not watch/enjoy this film. In my opinion this scene is capturing all the beauty and vanity of life,youth,ambition and pleasure-it is almost possible to feel,to sense an utterly voluptuous universe fading away,becoming impossible to hold back... I don't think that the characters were homosexual,in spite of their very strong friendly love,I guess this film is rather a hymn in the honor of a myth as old as mankind:friendship;even admitting that this film involves a certain homo erotic subtext,it is that high-minded, poetic,strictly Platonic homo eroticism to be found in the strong bonds that existed among e.g. ancient warriors wanting to be buried together and have their ashes mixed for eternity-this ritual(though altered) actually happens this way in this film too. I also don,t buy the preconception that Max was a traitor-notice that even his more balanced friends are actually brutes occasionally violently bursting out like wild animals-he's just a better survivor and fighter that the rest.Of course he might be more megalomaniac,self-indulgent and egocentric than the others,but he's acting according to the rules of gangland and of his Jewish background-the Jewish origin of most of the characters partly explain their talent for money-making,their compellingly manipulative personalities,their practical intelligence. While Noodles turns out,in my opinion,as a winner in the end.Even if poor and forgotten,even if he gets high in order to forget life's misery,he seems balanced and appeased in the end.After going trough pretty much of what his century had to offer,after undergoing so many experiences and changes,he takes refuge in a world(even if artificially created by drugs)where,in an almost godlike way,only the beauty,the legendary side of the violent age of gangsters exists.He therefore rescued,almost like Proust,trough the power of memory,his glamorous and adventurous youth from extinction. Another fascinating (among many others) scene is the one when a posh partying crowd is throwing with Cordon Rouge bottles out of an old timer swiftly and almost invisibly driving by-this scene somewhat exhales the ghastly,nostalgic roaring twenties beauty,like in a novel by Fitzgerald or a visually disturbingly compelling&lush period piece by Ken Russel. Irespective of the dark,violent and bleak message of this film,I'll always remember it as one of the most accomplished visual poems dedicated to youth and the unlimited ambitions it is often linked with. Therefore a lush and highly fulfilling treat due to its immense and very credible evocative power,depicting credible and actual scenes without ever being common or boring.
A gangster movie thats really a life long love story.
posted on 20 Apr 2009A true classic. Recently I had the ocassion to see the entire movie for the third time. The first time I loved it. It told a story of how a young gangster, jailed, beaten, betrayed, and inevitably grown old, could simple accept the fate that befalls him and find an inner peace from it all. I quickly realized this film was not really about criminals in America at all. It was about love lost, friendships betrayed, the hard reality of business and the even harder reality of "making it" in America. The second time I saw the film my wife fell asleep. You see the movie is not about murder, or gangsterism, or explosions. She could not allow the movie to evolve. She(like too many moviegoers) needed instant gratification. She needed a certain number of murders, deaths, and explosions in the first half hour to keep her attention. Leone does not give us that here. He gives a storyline that jumps back and forth in time over a period of about 30 years. This style needs time to unfold. By the time I finished watching the film for the third time I realized just what a complex, rich film Leone had made. I saw things I had not noticed before, and was left with the same questions as before. Life does not resolve all issues. Leone does not resolve them here. The characters are still left confused, at a loss, and unfullfilled even after 30 years and a four hour movie. Such is life, and not just for gangsters. The character played by DeNiro is the one who at the end seemingly has obtained the most peace, although he is also the one who has suffered the most. He's betrayed, banished, and lost his life's love. He appears to be impoverished. But he enacts no revenge. He does not come home and mow down everyone who has betrayed him. In fact he seems to not even acknowledge that his old loves are still alive. Or does he? His demeanor at the end....is that one of indifference or is he just following the old wisdom......"Revenge is a dish best served cold". We never find out. Although revenge is unquestionable handed out. Right? Or was that just another disappearing act by the Woods character? We never find out. And what has Noodles been doing for thirty years? And what happened to the million dollars? And did Max trick Noodles into the first betrayal, or was that simple something Max could do on his own? And most important of all...did the McGovern character really love Max all these years, as he loved her, or did she just play him, and then betray him..... In the end it does not matter..... Not all lifes questions are answered. No one here rides off into the sunset. The characters, with all their shortcomings just accept the fates, and attempt to derive some peace out of it all. DeNiro, Woods, McGovern, all play their parts perfectly. They age appropriately. The only negative I could find about this movie is the final 10 minutes. What happened? Did they write themselves into corner and had no way out? And why have DeNiro back in the opium den...........30 years younger again? It lent nothing to the movie. All in all however a wonderfull movie, which I will see a fourth time. With a slightly less convoluted script, and a better ending, this movie would have been a nine. As it is its an EIGHT AND ONE HALF.
Genius
posted on 27 Aug 2009This is a movie that I had heard about and was told that it was something special. To be honest I was a little skeptical. I've seen to many Robert De Niro films and can almost predict how hes gonna handle the role after seeing a few minutes of him in character. Im never exactly right but I'm usually pretty close. Ask my stepdad. But he did this in a way that I didn't expect. This performance is Immortal. And I don;t want to ruin it for anyone so I'll say no more on it.Now the film itself is a film that could be great with the worst cast. But because each cast member gives a sublime performance, the film is all the better for it. I was especially impressed with James Hayden who I thought was the best actor during the ruthless scenes but you never thought he was overly ruthless as a character out of those scenes.The film is like a long visual poem. Each segment is beautiful, sometimes haunting and seamless. The lighting captures the emotion perfectly, sometime appearing contradictory to the mood but that bolsters the audience's unease. Overall the camera-work is stunning.Forget every great script you've read or heard in film. This one is terse, occasionally taciturn and highly entertaining. Words cannot describe something full of them.This is a masterpiece. No Godfather comparisons please. Different types of gangster films which are incomparable.