Review of Once Upon a Time in America (1984) by Ryan H — 20 Jun 2012

A true masterpiece and one of the greatest pieces of cinema. Before going into this film I was like "crap, this film is close to 4 hours long." Of course Gone With the Wind is 9 minutes longer, but I still get uneasy about sitting through long epics such as these.

However, I was completely blown away. From the beginning where we hear the phone ringing and it takes us through different pieces of the story with the ringing overlaid had me entranced. I knew I wasn't about to see a film that was a classic because it was just a well made film, but this one is going to try new things and do them well.

Leone takes us through Noodles's life as a kid all the way up to when he's an old man. I personally loved being with Noodles for an hour at that age. It never felt like a minute was wasted. Perhaps this is due to the fact that there's a strong setup before we dive into the introductions.

Noodles gets a phone call and is taken out of his drug daze and he comes back into the world. He goes to see Fat Moe because he got an invitation to some party but he shouldn't have gotten anything because he shouldn't have been found.

He's been in hiding. They wonder what happened to the million dollars, which then cuts over to the story of them as kids. It created mystery. I truly wanted to know who these characters were and what's going on.

This all happens within about 30 minutes of the movie, but I never felt like screaming "get on with it, then!" It's all paced beautifully. Then we see them as kids, how Noodles was a horny young guy who caused trouble, but had a secret love for Deborah.

He meets Max while trying to rob a drunk guy of his watch, which comes back in the end in a great way. It shows all of their shenanigans, while showing how they will be when they grow up. It sets up for why the don't want bosses and why they are so attached.

One of my favorite scenes was when Patsy buys the Charlotte Rousse to get laid, but ends up eating it when he gets a taste. He paid 5 cents for it and he's probably a poor and hungry kid, so his hunger was more important than his sex drive.

I don't think Max or Noodles would have chosen that route no matter how hungry they were. Noodles ends up killing Bugsy after he shoots one of their friends, then even kills a cop after that, which sends him to prison for about 12 years (what I was guessing from the 4,000 some odd days Deborah says she has waited).

It's strange to watch a film about guys that we understand their motivation, but absolutely hate what they're doing. Max and Noodles only work with the union guy because they don't want a boss and still want to make money, just like what they did with Bugsy in the old days.

But when Noodles comes back he doesn't feel like he's really part of the gang anymore. He tries things like taking the car into the water and talking out at a meeting to set himself back up, but we always see under the surface he just doesn't feel right.

He's been gone too long. Leone and DeNiro set things up perfectly that we don't need much of an explanation. We get it because we are really getting to know the characters. Just by simple looks that Noodles gives we understand.

As the film progresses we see the madness of Max come out and more evil from Noodles because he doesn't know how to show his true emotions. He loves Deborah more than anything, but he rapes her. That scene was ridiculously difficult to watch.

It's not too graphic, but the emotions we understand is what makes it so tough. He's raping her because he doesn't know what else to do. I almost felt bad for him, but at the same time I just wanted her to snap off his dick.

When he gets old he sees Deborah again, and she actually moved in with Max, even though he thought Max has been dead for 35 years. He alerted the cops about the Federal Reserve robbery Max has planned and he thinks he was killed there.

Nope. It was a trick for the million dollars. He stole his money and his girl. And now he wants to be killed by Noodles while posing as a different man. That's who found him from the beginning. It's all brilliant and astounding.

Every single shot was beautiful and I was completely taken by the whole film. To the people who think the smile in the freeze frame means it's a dream: that's preposterous. That takes away from the classic.

This is a true humanist piece that takes no easy exits. I absolutely loved Once Upon a Time In America.