Review of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) by Libero S — 14 Dec 2014
Once Upon a Time in America is a perfectly crafted masterpiece by Sergio Leone which covers the lives of four Jewish boys in New York City. The film covers from the 1920's right up until the 1960's, the long period of time covered is well put together into three sections, the 1920's, the 30's and then the 60's.
The film really captures the period it is set in and the location with one hundred percent accuracy, which enhances the experience a great deal. The acting I felt was just superb, not one actor/actress in the movie did a bad job in their roles, beside being what I feel is De Niro's best performance, James Woods really stands out in the film, the two both give fantastically emotionally fuelled performances which should have easily been an oscar nomination for best actor of that year.
Although many avoid the film because of it's running time, I felt this was a great bonus, it would have been a crime if the film was only one and a half to two hours long, as every second of the film is jaw droppingly impressive.
The newly released Extended-Director's Cut is something I need to see, this extended cut adds an additional twenty two minutes to the two hundred and twenty-nine minute running time. I cannot understand why the film didn't pick up any wins or nominations for that matter, the only reasons I can put it down to is the cut made for cinema, in cinemas at the time of it's release, the film had to be trimmed down to one hundred and thirty-nine minutes which meant viewers weren't seeing the finished product.
Even in the 229 minute version there are still some scenes which I feel were scrapped, the main one is when Joe Pesci's character walks into a hospital and presses an elevator button, then the scene cuts, I feel that there is even more of the movie we are not seeing which is a great shame.
The movie isn't your average gangster flick, this is a film based around tormented souls, relationships, love, greed , betrayal and power that has such lasting resonance. The film does leave us with some unanswered questions, whether max did throw himself into the garbage shredder or whether the whole 1960's sequence was just an opium dream.
The one thing that is certain is that this film is a triumph of cinema. 5/5.
This review of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) was written by Libero S on 14 Dec 2014.
Once Upon a Time in America has generally received very positive reviews.
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