Synopsis
Crime, passion and lust for power.
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
1984 Directed by Sergio Leone
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Robert De Niro James Woods Elizabeth McGovern Joe Pesci Tuesday Weld Burt Young Treat Williams Danny Aiello Richard Bright James Hayden William Forsythe Darlanne Fluegel Larry Rapp Olga Karlatos Frank Gio Jennifer Connelly Scott Schutzman Tiler Rusty Jacobs Brian Bloom Mike Monetti Adrian Curran Julie Cohen Noah Moazezi James Russo Clem Caserta Frank Sisto Jerry Strivelli Mike Gendel Sandra Solberg Show All…
Sergio Leone Franco Ferrini Leonardo Benvenuti Franco Arcalli Enrico Medioli Ernesto Gastaldi Piero De Bernardi Harry Grey
The Ladd Company Embassy International Pictures Producers Sales Organization (PSO) Rafran Cinematografica Warner Bros. Pictures
美國往事, Once Upon a Time in America - DC, Het Gebeurde in Amerika
Whoa.
Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, with no exaggeration, is one of the most moving and potent cinematic experiences that I have ever had. It's a combination of everything that made me love the cinema: Immaculate cinematography, wonderful direction, a tight and free-flowing screenplay, underlying themes woven throughout the film, pitch-perfect editing, incredible performances......
This film has EVERYTHING.
Simultaneously a gangster story, a coming-of-age fable, and an ode to aging; the film cuts between these three feelings and time-periods, all with the same characters but with each of them in different stages of development. Both physically and emotionally, the audience gets a grasp of their lives throughout the 3hr and 50 minute run-time. For most of the…
A very conflicting film. The first half is astounding, a sweepingly poetic landscape of nostalgia for the past and excited hope for the future. The production design and cinematography are predictably breathtaking- I've thought fondly about that shot on the poster ever since I first laid eyes on it. Ennio Morricone delivers his best Leone score, second only to Once Upon A Time In The West.
Yet almost immediately after we're reintroduced to our adult gang of characters, the film falls apart, becoming largely tedious and lacking a coherent direction. Then our principal character commits two horrific rapes, almost completely without motivation.
From where I stand, this isn't nearly as polished as Leone's two western masterpieces, and it certainly doesn't earn its absurd runtime.
I kinda hate gangster films. This isn't a new idea to me, but this film more or less crystalized what I hate about them. In short, gangsters are not Robin Hood. They do not rob from the rich to give to the poor. They do not empower the poor; they feed off of them. They do not fight injustice disguised as law; they simply treat the law as coincidental. The closest argument you have is that they gave immigrant populations recourse to power in a system that hated them, and that is certainly true. But you rarely see them wield that power toward anything but assimilating into the system in a backward sort of way. While some gangster films have…
Checking in at just under four hours, Once Upon a Time in America takes a long time to say absolutely nothing unique. A gangster film, the film does nothing for the gangster genre that could not be accomplished in a far shorter runtime because oh my God is this thing long. It just takes forever to end and even then, I still had no idea why it took so long. I love gangster films with The Godfather Parts I and II being among my favorites. I even like Black Mass and Live by Night, which have hardly been universally beloved. Yet, I could not enjoy Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America. There are many repulsive elements included that…
I’m so annoyed at myself for putting this film off.
Everyone should see this film. The camerawork, the editing (especially the transitions), the acting and the story telling is just too good. It’s what all films should be like.
I wish there was more of Joe Pesci but we got a shit load of Robert De Niro so we good.
I enjoyed the crap out of this film and I’ll probably be thinking about it for a very long time.
Before I say anything about the movie, I just wanna acknowledge how dope this Letterboxd community is. I never thought I’d really care enough to get too into it, but talking movies with everyone is a lot of fun, and I quickly got sucked in by everyone’s incredibly friendly and inviting nature. So thank you guys, y’all are awesome.
This movie is beautiful. There’s definitely some career defining work in here from multiple different people. De Niro was incredible, James Woods was really good, the score was stunning, the camerawork was incredible. Not too much to say that hasn’t already been said, but I loved it. I still prefer The Good the Bad and the Ugly over this, but this is still some of Leone’s best work.
Also, I don’t know about you guys but baseball is finally back tonight and I’m VERY excited.
Sergio Leone gives rise to a rich assortment of themes in Once Upon a Time in America along with producing one of the most impressive American gangster films of all time. Robert De Niro’s tormented portrayal of Noodles is one tinged with shame and the damage suffered during his youth, and the principle of a man reflecting upon his life choices shares many themes which Martin Scorsese explores with him in The Irishman. The construction of the film forms like a momentous tapestry that's greater than the sum of its parts, and there are multiple stories which it communicates simultaneously.
Sergio Leone’s vivacity in directing is contemplatively illustrated, and it's a sprawling film and not solely in its almost four-hour…
there's a lot that could be said about this film, but one thing's for sure: these men were most definitely not good fellas
"You're in no position to exercise your will."
freedom is a trap, destiny is a fluke. you can do anything you want except escape yourself.
[251m version]
Mobsters as children who never grow up, Once Upon a Time in America replaces Sergio Leone's lawless Wild West with the lawless world of organised crime. Following a thematic through-line from Once Upon a Time in the West, we witness individual struggle be replaced with more complex, more corrupt systems. This film is obviously a dream, but not necessarily a dream of one of the characters. This is a fantasy film, filled with moments that make no sense and feel like an exaggerated truth. The mythical rise and fall of these gangsters is a childlike unreality. It is forced storytelling on top of a truth inspired plot, a cinematic distortion of the world. There are moments here of pure cinema, of…
I really can't say much about Once Upon a Time in America.
The first half is perfect and the filmmaking is top-notch, the second half drags a little but remains engaging. I thought I would like it but I just didn't connect to anything that was happening or any of the characters. A fitting send-off for Leone but not my favorite.
Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America is not only the director's swan song, but it is also the film that I would like to think of when talking his work as a whole as his finest achievement. A mammoth gangster epic but also a personal reflection on the director's own direction in life that could only translate to the screen in such a manner. The incredible length makes for something exhausting but it's never in the sense that it deters from the glory that it presents. There are many tales it tells all at once and with the many moods it creates, something more meaningful within the tapestry being formed. On this count, it could very…
Esta película es una hermosa expresión de un horrible mundo. Durante 3 horas, Sergio Leone me convirtió en una marioneta, haciendome sentir lo que sea que el quiera hacerme sentir en cada escena. Fue una experiencia incomoda que probablemente no querré repetir pero bellamente ejecutada.
Diré que hay una escena de violación, y otra escena que no es violación pero está tan cerca de serlo que es igualmente grotesco. Quedan advertidos.
Is it not an Italian film without at least 2 women getting assaulted in the first 5 minutes? Nearly 4 hours of a man failing to hug his friends or apologize.
Once upon a time in América es una película de 4 horas en la que vemos de nuevo la versión lite de los gangsters, gente con sentimientos que protege a los pobres y le roba a los ricos. Bueno, ojalá hubieran sido así, porque gracias a eso tenemos grandes filmes sobre ellos.
Independiente de eso, Leone no defrauda en lo absoluto y Morricone menos. De alguna forma me sentí viendo "El Irlandés" y en ese momento pensé, esta es una película de Scorsese pero bien hecha.
There is an operatic brilliance to Once Upon a Time in America which stems from Leone, Morricone and De Niro all being on their best form. But it's caked in the thick layer of grime that the completely reprehensible characters exude, which distances the film from most other gangster films.
The result isn't as exciting as Goodfellas or as transcendent as The Godfather but it's a sprawling and unforgettable experience which is perfectly capped off with a hauntingly ambiguous ending.
It's unfortunate that there isn't a fully restored version of this film. The added scenes in the extended edition can be low quality and it can sometimes be jarring, thus breaking the immersion. Also, some of the restored scenes could have been left on the cutting room floor - they aren't all necessary. Yet it is an epic film about friendship, love, regret, and remorse.
[EXTENDED]
I have legit no idea what the appeal of this type of movie is. these mfs are always the same and in almost every single one there is a robert deniro just standing and staring and being all stale and unseasoned
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