Once Upon a Time in America Once Upon a Time in America
1984 Directed by Sergio Leone
Synopsis
Crime, passion and lust for power - Sergio Leone's explosive saga of gangland America. [Australia Theatrical]
This Mafia film is the greatest and last work from Italian director Sergio Leone. Taking place in 1920 to 1960 America the film follows a group Jewish gangsters from childhood into their glory years of the prohibition and as they reunite in their later years.
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Fifth viewing.
The Greatest Gangster Film Ever. I’m Not Kidding. I Seriously Think This Is Far Superior To The Godfather.
I’ve been sitting at my keyboard for approximately an hour, and I haven’t been able to type a single letter until now. I have recently re-watched what I consider to be possibly my favourite film of all time, Once Upon a Time in America. I have assigned myself with the nearly impossible task of reviewing the film. How can I even begin to express the strange beauty of the film? The nostalgia? The sadness of Ennio Morricone’s theme? How can I begin to explain how genius the story is?
When I first saw Once Upon a Time in America my…
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Sergio Leone’s gangster epic is a true cinematic masterpiece. At an immense four hours it’s certainly a test of endurance, but Leone’s immaculate craft results in a gripping narrative that never relinquishes its grasp. This shockingly violent and compelling expression of friendship, betrayal and vengeance is deliberately paced, exceptionally performed and beautifully scored by Ennio Morricone. A shortened, two-and-a-half hour cut is available, but completely betrays Leone’s intention, I urge you to seek out either the “original” or “complete” version.
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I finally made it through... Its all over. I've got a lot of thoughts and a lot of questions on my mind, but even with all these thoughts and feelings, one thing is certain.
I am 100% positive I just saw a masterpiece.
I am of course talking about the 4 hour and 10 minute extended version of Once Upon a Time in America. It took me two days to finish it. And not seeing it in one sitting didn't hinder the movie's effect at all. I was just as excited to jump back into these characters lives and feel like I hadn't missed anything. The movie is long, but it never wears out its welcome and surprisingly it was…
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An ambitious (in some ways over-ambitious) work, Leone's epic gets better on every viewing. What initially appears to be terrible flaws are either forgiven or turn out to somehow work after all. The worst exception is McGovern, odd one out in a great cast. Most of the scenes taking place in 1923 are perfection, and E.M.'s score is one of my favorites of all time. The narrative is brilliantly constructed, with us navigating Noodles' past, ending up sharing his memories and regrets. A masterpiece.
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This is a technical masterpiece. Filmmaking at its very finest. Everything from acting, to the sets and costumes to the music and framing of every shot. Leone, he's a goddamn master. It's extremely long, and though you have to concentrate to follow along, the film is at no point boring. Never. There are lots of things I missed, I'm sure, so a rewatch is definitely in order soon. And maybe another one after that. And once more...
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| You can always tell the winners at the starting gate. |
Of all epics, Once Upon a Time in America may be the finest. It grows on me with every repeated viewing, because I realize just how great it is edited, with it's story being told in three different periods. Every single time you take part in the mystical journey into the minds of the characters of Noodle's and the rest of the gang, discovering (or re-discovering) new (or forgotten) pieces of the big puzzle, that is their tragic tale of a broken friendship and lust for power.
The music, probably one of the finest score in cinema history, the acting from the whole cast is stunning, the cinematography…
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a men should see this movie before die, good background music
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Part Of: "Summer 2013 Vol. 2"
MY GREAT DIRECTOR PART 12 SERGIO LEONE PART 5
I just don't know....I mean, I liked it of course. It is a Sergio Leone film with all his signature traits, its an epic that spans decades and tells its story well with plenty of continuity. But a masterpiece? I don't think so..
The story tells of a Jewish gangster nicknamed "Noodles" (De Niro in probably his most sinister role) "Noodles" returns to Manhattan years later after escaping from his former allies that he tipped the police on about a bank robbery. The film is edited beautifully, starting with the disaster of the robbery, then showing "Noodles" thirty something years later, returning to his hometown,…
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Film No.10 of Cinebro's June Challenge
What a long film, I feel ready for a nap.
I'd just like to comment on the amazing aging job done to De Niro's face. In a lot of films when actors are done up to look older it isn't at all convincing or just looks really fake. This is the first time I've seen a makeover that is so subtle yet completely believable. Maybe it's because I know what 60 year old De Niro looks like in real life. I actually thought that OUATIA was filmed over periods of time so the same actors could play the same characters.
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Masterpiece.
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I saw the European cut of the film. It was long but it needs to be longer. Some of the sequences need some more context. I hope the Scorsese foundation can get the original material put back into the film. Stay away from the US cut of the film because it is not good and a waste of your time.
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Definitely not my cup of tea.
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there's so much ambition and too much film here. the script should have been edited
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This movie is almost 4 hours long. Given that I've seen many movies less than half that length that can drag endlessly, it seems extremely daunting to be faced with the task of watching one as long as this. That said, Once Upon a Time in America is a four hour movie where every single frame is both necessary and interesting. I could have stopped watching at the midway point, when I was prompted to insert the second disk; as far as I was concerned, however, that wasn't even an option. I HAD to finish.
This is a rare case where I've come away from seeing a movie feeling like I saw something truly "epic". This is hardly just a…
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Quizás me lluevan las hostias, no lo sé, pero me ha parecido una película extremadamente larga para lo poco que cuenta. Aunque hay momentos interesantes y en general está muy bien llevada, se estira demasiado y algunos ratos se hace horriblemente densa. No ya por lo que cuentan, si no por cómo y lo poco que aporta a la historia en general. A mi entender muy sobrevalorada.