Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone)

Man, Sergio Leone is just Mr. Man. A total legend.

And let’s be real, most of his movies are probably inspired by stuff that came before them. I mean, Spaghetti Westerns were basically built on the foundation of classic American Westerns anyway. And those Americans? They were borrowing heavily from Kurosawa back then.

It's the same deal with how Argento took cues from Hitchcockian classics, or how Fulci looked to Romero...

But even so, they packed enough soul and character into their films that you can't just call them copycats.

Sergio Leone is such an absolute genius. His masterpiece, good bad evil, is nothing short of legendary.

To refresh this thread,
I finally sat down a few days ago and binged the entire Dollar Trilogy. Honestly? I regret it. Now everything else I watch is just going to feel like total garbage. 🤣

Just kidding, obviously. But seriously, these films are untouchable. I can't wait to dive into "Once Upon a Time in America" and Kurosawa.

Does anyone remember when Ennio played at Madison Square Garden back in 2014, if I recall correctly?

John Vaughn13 said:To refresh this thread,
I finally sat down a few days ago and binged the entire Dollar Trilogy. Honestly? I regret it. Now everything else I watch is just going to feel like total garbage. 🤣

Just kidding, obviously. But seriously, these films are untouchable. I can't wait to dive into "Once Upon a Time in America" and Kurosawa.

Does anyone remember when Ennio played at Madison Square Garden back in 2014, if I recall correctly?

"Once Upon a Time in America" is one of those rare films that actually earns the title "epic." 😁
I even own a T-shirt inspired by the movie!

I was actually at that concert, and I remember it vividly. It was absolutely magical. 🙏

John Vaughn13 said:To refresh this thread,
I finally sat down a few days ago and binged the entire Dollar Trilogy. Honestly? I regret it. Now everything else I watch is just going to feel like total garbage. 🤣

Just kidding, obviously. But seriously, these films are untouchable. I can't wait to dive into "Once Upon a Time in America" and Kurosawa.

Does anyone remember when Ennio played at Madison Square Garden back in 2014, if I recall correctly?

It was 2015, actually. Incredible show. ☕

Personally, I actually prefer "Once Upon a Time in the West" over any of the films from the Dollar Trilogy. It’s quite simply the best Western ever made, paired with the greatest soundtrack of all time.

"Once Upon a Time in America" comes incredibly close; Leone is a legend.

I caught bits of it yesterday and the day before—not quite in one sitting... but I finally found the headspace and the time. I’ll hopefully sit down and watch the whole thing at once very soon.

The film is Magnificent. A true masterpiece. A genuine piece of art.
It’s a slow burn. The plot unfolds gradually. As you settle into the movie, you really feel the passage of time... the characters feel so incredibly real:

Jill ( Claudia Cardinale ). Absolutely stunning. Feminine. Natural. 😍 ( She's still with us, thankfully. )

The Trio, if you don't count Morton... the mysterious Harmonica, the villainous Frank, and the unlucky yet lucky Cheyenne... they are perfect.

And the music. It’s woven right into the narrative, flowing with the film itself... such infectious music.

I honestly don't know. I'll probably watch this another X times until I know it by heart.
Or maybe just until I've seen enough of a young Claudia Cardinale. 🤣 The very definition of beauty.

The film is brutal and gritty, but it possesses soul, spirit, humanity... it feels alive.

Sergio Leone... 🙏🙏

fadedwalker18 said:I caught bits of it yesterday and the day before—not quite in one sitting... but I finally found the headspace and the time. I’ll hopefully sit down and watch the whole thing at once very soon.

The film is Magnificent. A true masterpiece. A genuine piece of art.
It’s a slow burn. The plot unfolds gradually. As you settle into the movie, you really feel the passage of time... the characters feel so incredibly real:

Jill ( Claudia Cardinale ). Absolutely stunning. Feminine. Natural. 😍 ( She's still with us, thankfully. )

The Trio, if you don't count Morton... the mysterious Harmonica, the villainous Frank, and the unlucky yet lucky Cheyenne... they are perfect.

And the music. It’s woven right into the narrative, flowing with the film itself... such infectious music.

I honestly don't know. I'll probably watch this another X times until I know it by heart.
Or maybe just until I've seen enough of a young Claudia Cardinale. 🤣 The very definition of beauty.

The film is brutal and gritty, but it possesses soul, spirit, humanity... it feels alive.

Sergio Leone... 🙏🙏

👍

I remember the first time I saw it when I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten years old... those opening scenes where Frank and his crew take out McBain's people really burned themselves into my memory. I loved the movie back then, even if I couldn't actually remember the title—just that specific scene—so I had a bit of a hard time tracking it down once I hit my teens and started getting "serious" about cinema. Honestly, you can imagine how stoked I was when I finally tracked it down again. 😍

I'm pretty sure I've sat through this at least six or seven times by now. I agree with everything said here; it is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. We're never going to see anything quite like this again. Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone—what a legendary pairing. 🙏
As for the acting, there's no need to waste breath... Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, and Jason Robards. What a powerhouse cast. And Claudia Cardinale? One of the most beautiful women to ever grace the screen. Seriously, it's top-tier. Just incredible.

So, he spent 48 months playing in New York City—I honestly had no clue, and I don't think I ever have 😁
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If you were a projectionist, you could have sat there and watched him nearly 4,000 times, for instance. 🙂That’s probably enough content to last you through a good chunk of a decade
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