Directed by:
Sergio LeoneCinematography:
Tonino Delli ColliComposer:
Ennio MorriconeCast:
Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld, Burt Young, Joe Pesci, Danny Aiello, William Forsythe, James Hayden (more)VOD (3)
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Epic, episodic, tale of the lives of a small group of New York City Jewish gangsters spanning over 40 years. Told mostly in flashbacks and flash-forwards, the movie centers on small-time hood David 'Noodles' Aaronson and his lifelong partners in crime; Max, Cockeye and Patsy and their friends from growing up in the rough Jewish neighborhood of New York's Lower East Side in the 1920s, to the last years of Prohibition in the early 1930s, and then to the late 1960s where an elderly Noodles returns to New York after many years in hiding to look into the past. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
Once Upon a Time in America is a capriciously simple and fragmented film. And yet I was greatly impressed by it. Whenever I think of Morricone’s central motif, a feeling of warmth washes over me joined by visions of the silhouette of the greying Robert De Niro, the young and beautiful Jennifer Connelly and the enormous Brooklyn Bridge. Once Upon a Time in America is both tough and tender, but is primarily a beautifully poetic film that will slowly unfold in your thoughts and take on greater importance with each passing day.
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I would love to write about this dream project of Sergio Leone, to which he devoted many years of his life, that I was so absorbed at the beginning and at the end I didn't want to go back to reality. Unfortunately, I can only say that about the first half, especially the period of Noodles's childhood, which was beautifully and sensitively filmed. The rest, however... First of all, the fact that Leone’s dream epic doesn't bore at all and doesn't feel draggy despite its nearly four-hour runtime is only due to his directorial mastery. Unfortunately, it falters a bit on the screenwriting front. It's as if Leone took too big a bite, or as betelgeuse rightly points out here, as if he had made a series, but lost a few episodes and artfully glued the rest together. Some of the characters are underdeveloped, and at times it's hard to trust the motives behind their actions. For example, the character of Joe Pesci, promisingly sharp, there’s a shot of him by a hospital elevator as if the director was suggesting "Watch out, he's still here!", but suddenly he disappears somewhere and incomprehensibly does not appear in the film anymore. I didn't believe James Woods for a second at the very end, nor did I believe his intended action, and I found the whole point about him quite implausible. However, what must definitely be appreciated is the absolutely precise, to the smallest detail elaborate design, the visual depiction of three different stages of the 20th century. Leone's perfectionism went so far that even for one short shot he was willing to "coach" hundreds of extras, believably period-styled and moving in a perfect set. Even the aged De Niro looked excellent, though perhaps it’s a little puzzling that the filmmakers did not bother too much with the character of Deborah, whose 35-year difference was not noticeable and as an almost 60-year-old woman she still looked like a 20-year-old girl. All in all, I am satisfied, but I can safely say that Once Upon a Time in the West remains unsurpassed.
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Although many reviews try, Sergio Leone's gems with the poetic "Once upon a Time" in the title simply cannot be compared. And here the Master now includes almost every genre in this, his masterpiece. I found classic crime schemes, tough gangster action, heart-wrenching drama, and despite its harshness, also a strong and sincere romance, all with a subtle veil of social criticism. When watching the director's cut, I cannot imagine a single scene that I could have gone without. I am listing the individual aspects here, but the power of this monument cannot be described in words.
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I could bend over backward, and I still probably wouldn't find any mistakes in Once Upon a Time in America. For almost four hours, Sergio Leone tells us what it means to have a friendship beyond the grave. With an almost unhealthy precision, it closely observes the three-generational clash of men who had no other choice but to do what they did since their youth. Building an empire with all its pleasures and problems. Love, hate, virtue, mistakes, and that friendship... All this in a mesmerizing audiovisual setting. Hypnotic music by Ennio Morricone with a beautifully catchy melody. Long and slow camera "walks." A brilliant shot focuses on a street where a group of boys is crossing, with the iconic Brooklyn Bridge towering in the background, nestled between two buildings. Perfection. Which time period is the best? That's a tough question. Youth, with all its worries, abounds with that childlike look of boys whom the street has forced to grow up all too soon. The central and longest part depicts their built empire during its peak prosperity until the final stage, where the inevitable reckoning of their past actions takes center stage. Leone transitions between these periods subtly and unobtrusively, but always the contrast of period diversity is incredibly beautiful. I have a warm feeling in my heart that I sacrificed four hours for something so spectacular and hard to describe. Master, from the bottom of my heart, thank you...
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A drawn-out macho mafia saga that gets old as the characters become sparser and the dialogue becomes shallower. There are flashes of Leone's brilliance, of course, but the film is generally similar to Morricone's music. It's quite impressive, but too familiar; the Pan almost kills even the phenomenal Picnic at Hanging Rock. It turns this festival of plaintive glances by human exclamation marks into a nostalgic museum exhibit of a film world that fortunately belongs to yesterday.
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