Once Upon a Time in America

Genre: crime drama

With: Robert De Niro (David ‟Noodles” Aaronson), James Woods (Max Bercovicz), James Hayden (Patrick ‟Patsy” Goldberg), William Forsythe (Philip ‟Cockeye” Stein), Elizabeth McGovern (Deborah Gelly), Larry Rapp (Fat Moe), Treat Williams (Jimmy O’Donnell), Amy Ryder (Peggy), Tuesday Weld (Carol), Darlanne Fluegel (Eve), Burt Young (Joe Minaldi), Joe Pesci (Frankie Minaldi), Arnon Milchan (Chauffeur), Danny Aiello (Police Chief Aiello), Gerard Murphy (Crowning), Robert Harper (Sharkey)

Director: Sergio Leone

Screenplay: Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli,  Franco Ferrini and Sergio Leone, with help from Ernesto Gastaldi and additional dialogues by Stuart Kaminsky (source material: Harry Grey’s novel)

Release: 1984

Studio: The Ladd Company, Regency, Embassy International Pictures, Warner Bros., Producers Sales Organization

Rating: 18A

MBiS score: 8.9/10 

 

‟What is someone supposed to say after… after more than thirty years?” 

 

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Story-line: New York City, 1933. ‟Noodles” Aaronson, an important bootlegger, is forced to leave town when his long-time partners Max, Cockeye and Patsy die at the hands of the police and his girlfriend is killed by rivals who are out to get him. Thirty-five years later, while living quietly in Buffalo, he is called back to the Big Apple in circumstances so odd that he believes someone has found him and wants to knock him off.   

Pluses: an impeccable group of actors led by Robert De Niro and James Woods, expert direction that shows the cast to full advantage and maintains a satisfying pace, a brilliant, detailed and busy screenplay that answers every question raised and features several startling moments (one discussion between Noodles and Carol inside a parked car is nothing if not a cinematic gem), blockbuster production values that superbly recreate the eras at issue, magnificent cinematography, Ennio Morricone’s sublime musical score and, of course, a stunning 30-minute final act. 

Minuses: the non-linear narrative may throw you off in the first half hour but everything falls into place as the story develops. If possible, watch this movie in its 229-minute version... which doesn't seem longish at all. On the negative side, the hospital caper  seemed a bit far-fetched to me but, even so, it remains a very minor episode within the story. There is violence, as one can expect from this type of movie.

Comments: the tragic ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA is an astounding epic recounting the rise and fall of an audacious gang dealing in booze, robbery, intimidation and murder, with particular emphasis on the bond between Noodles and Max. Despite its brutal subject matter, it leaves room for romance and the women who, for better or for worse, gravitate around the gang. As I watched along, I realized that Sergio Leone was not only a master of the spaghetti western but a great filmmaker generally. I won't mince words... this triumphant mob flick stands on equal footing with the best of the  GODFATHER trilogy.  

 

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