Once Upon a Time in America

Once Upon a Time in America



Release year: 1984.

genre: Crime drama...

Roles: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elisabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci...

Director: Sergio Leone

An 80s gem. The golden age of cinema, at least in my book. It runs a bit long for my taste, but that doesn't take away from the quality. Every single element is masterfully executed... From the stellar performances, featuring the legendary Robert De Niro, to the top-tier direction and that incredible score by Maestro Morricone...

The Jewish ghetto in New York City during the 1920s was crawling with all sorts of gangs... and that kid gang led by Max and Noodles feels exactly the same way.

Kids roaming the streets, stealing, acting like they own the neighborhood through petty crime. Noodles is head over heels for a young Jewish girl named Deborah, but her father—a local bar owner—is standing in the way of her dreams of becoming a dancer. As the group grows up, they swear eternal loyalty and brotherhood to one another. They set up a shared safe to stash away the cash, starting with small-time scams and eventually moving into much darker business...

It’s Prohibition era in the USA, and the gang is getting deeper into the criminal underworld. During a mob hit, the fifth member of their crew was taken out, so Noodles killed the shooter in retaliation. Now he's headed to prison...

Once Upon a Time in America... He steps out of prison an old man, returning to his hometown only to be haunted by memories of his youth. He remembers the days of childhood gangs, the Prohibition era, and the brutal mafia hits in New York City. He can't escape the events that forced him into exile—the loss of his friends Berkowitz, Stein, and Goldberg, and the sudden, violent end to his young romance with Deborah...

This film stays with you. It's easily one of the greatest and most iconic within its genre...

There’s this persistent theory floating around that suggests the entire movie—or at least a massive chunk of it—is nothing more than a hallucination experienced by De Niro 😁

graniteangler49 said:Once Upon a Time in America



Release year: 1984.

genre: Crime drama...

Roles: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elisabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci...

Director: Sergio Leone

An 80s gem. The golden age of cinema, at least in my book. It runs a bit long for my taste, but that doesn't take away from the quality. Every single element is masterfully executed... From the stellar performances, featuring the legendary Robert De Niro, to the top-tier direction and that incredible score by Maestro Morricone...

The Jewish ghetto in New York City during the 1920s was crawling with all sorts of gangs... and that kid gang led by Max and Noodles feels exactly the same way.

Kids roaming the streets, stealing, acting like they own the neighborhood through petty crime. Noodles is head over heels for a young Jewish girl named Deborah, but her father—a local bar owner—is standing in the way of her dreams of becoming a dancer. As the group grows up, they swear eternal loyalty and brotherhood to one another. They set up a shared safe to stash away the cash, starting with small-time scams and eventually moving into much darker business...

It’s Prohibition era in the USA, and the gang is getting deeper into the criminal underworld. During a mob hit, the fifth member of their crew was taken out, so Noodles killed the shooter in retaliation. Now he's headed to prison...

Once Upon a Time in America... He steps out of prison an old man, returning to his hometown only to be haunted by memories of his youth. He remembers the days of childhood gangs, the Prohibition era, and the brutal mafia hits in New York City. He can't escape the events that forced him into exile—the loss of his friends Berkowitz, Stein, and Goldberg, and the sudden, violent end to his young romance with Deborah...

This film stays with you. It's easily one of the greatest and most iconic within its genre...

If you'll allow me to expand on that particular thought of yours, I would argue that while it was undoubtedly the most ridiculous and entertaining era for movies, it was certainly far from being the best.

Frank Lee10 said:If you'll allow me to expand on that particular thought of yours, I would argue that while it was undoubtedly the most ridiculous and entertaining era for movies, it was certainly far from being the best.

Fine. Whatever works for you. For me, the 90s—specifically around 1994—produced a massive amount of great movies. And since I prefer older stuff over what’s out now, the 80s were actually incredible for me.

Maybe it's just my taste. Beyond that style, I'm into the classics... things like Schwarzenegger's hits, The Terminator, Predator, Aliens, Back to the Future, Scarface, Blade Runner, Mad Max 2, Top Gun, Die Hard, and Lethal Weapon.

You might be right. They aren't the greatest films ever made, but they're damn fun to watch...

Unfortunately, I have to say this is the worst film in Sergio Leone's filmography
It really would have been better if he had just stuck to making spaghetti westerns instead.

An absolute masterpiece. It’s been sitting in my Top 10 favorites for a long time now...

brighteagle39 said:Unfortunately, I have to say this is the worst film in Sergio Leone's filmography
It really would have been better if he had just stuck to making spaghetti westerns instead.

So now

My favorite Leone film, and quite possibly the greatest gangster movie ever made.

Absolutely, it’s easily the greatest gangster film ever made. At least, if you ask me.

Not bad at all!
It’s actually pretty tough to pin down which of his films stands out as the absolute best—it’s kind of like trying to pick a favorite classic from the Golden Age, you know?🙂

By the way, that young woman whom De Niro is watching while she performs her ballet routine is actually Jennifer Connelly. Not to sound like I'm bragging, but I recognized her instantly. It was much the same experience recently when I was watching some silly movie and saw a young girl playing Deborah; I immediately suspected it was Christina Ricci. In that film, Cher plays her mother, while Winona Ryder portrays her sister. Naturally, my intuition was spot on.☕

I suppose I just have a knack for this sort of thing.☕

Just finished watching this, what an absolute masterpiece. 🙏

The soundtrack really drives the emotional weight home. We're talking De Niro at his absolute peak here. Sure, it runs four hours, but I swear every single second is worth it—those idiots in the studio shouldn't have tried to cut it down. 🙄

Personally, I think this film gets way too little credit; in my book, it's right up there with The Godfather. Word is Leone actually shot about 7 or 8 hours of footage, wanting to split it into two 3-hour films, but the higher-ups wouldn't let him.

I think I actually prefer this over The Godfather. To me, The Godfather feels a bit drawn out, and maybe it's just become a little too cliché after those three long sequels. This one feels like a complete, self-contained story that doesn't really need any follow-ups. It’s just a solid film—a great human drama that covers those fundamental life motives and plot points, all while being beautifully shot and told.

Look, even if you take the bare minimum view, that level is an excellent film. Maybe the beginning didn't hit quite as hard for me, but by the end, everything comes together perfectly.

Honestly, this Film doesn't really have much going for it, and it definitely isn't on the same level or even better than The Godfather I or Godfather Part II.

That being said, every single second of it is totally worth your time, and since I haven't sat down to watch it in at least two years, I've actually been planning a rewatch since the start of the year!

My rating: 9/10

Truly one of the greatest films ever made.

cosmiclynx57 said:Honestly, this Film doesn't really have much going for it, and it definitely isn't on the same level or even better than The Godfather I or Godfather Part II.

That being said, every single second of it is totally worth your time, and since I haven't sat down to watch it in at least two years, I've actually been planning a rewatch since the start of the year!

My rating: 9/10

It all comes down to taste. Personally, I found the flashback sequences in Once Upon a Time in America to be better executed than those in Godfather Part II, and I actually felt the ending was more emotional than in The Godfather. It’s all subjective, really—for instance, I think Godfather Part II is superior to the first one. At the end of the day, it just depends on the individual.

I don't think you can even put this next to The Godfather, even if they both deal with the whole mafia/gangster thing. The entire vibe of Once Upon a Time in America is way more emotional, almost sentimental, and it constantly touches on this idea of those "better, old-school days." That first part—the childhood stuff—is probably some of the most unique filmmaking anyone will ever see on a screen.

And man, nobody talks about the soundtrack, which in my opinion, actually beats the movie itself. I still blast the whole thing on my player all the time... Maestro Morricone absolutely crushed it with those tracks for this film.

An absolute masterpiece for all time! 🙏

A perfect ten.

If I had to nitpick, the makeup was a bit off. Some of the characters don't seem to have aged nearly enough by the time the film reaches its conclusion.

Nancy Williams58 said:I don't think you can even put this next to The Godfather, even if they both deal with the whole mafia/gangster thing. The entire vibe of Once Upon a Time in America is way more emotional, almost sentimental, and it constantly touches on this idea of those "better, old-school days." That first part—the childhood stuff—is probably some of the most unique filmmaking anyone will ever see on a screen.

And man, nobody talks about the soundtrack, which in my opinion, actually beats the movie itself. I still blast the whole thing on my player all the time... Maestro Morricone absolutely crushed it with those tracks for this film.

It’s actually that hyper-sentimental tone, clashing with the fact that every single protagonist is just a filthy, corrupt scumbag—rapists, thieves, killers, and two-faced traitors—that leaves me feeling pretty conflicted about this one. The movie demands that you empathize with the lead, but he isn't exactly the kind of guy who earns my sympathy, is he?

I'll admit I haven't seen it in ages, so maybe my perspective would shift if I sat down for a rewatch, but for now? Despite being a beautiful piece of cinema, it just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.