Es war einmal in Amerika (1984)

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.

Director:

Sergio Leone

Writers:

Harry Grey (novel), Leonardo Benvenuti (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern

Top Rated Movies #68 | Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	David 'Noodles' Aaronson
James Woods	...	Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Deborah Gelly
Joe Pesci	...	Frankie Manoldi
Burt Young	...	Joe
Tuesday Weld	...	Carol
Treat Williams	...	James Conway O'Donnell
Danny Aiello	...	Police Chief Vincent Aiello
Richard Bright	...	Chicken Joe
James Hayden	...	Patrick 'Patsy' Goldberg
William Forsythe	...	Philip 'Cockeye' Stein
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Eve (as Darlanne Fleugel)
Larry Rapp	...	'Fat' Moe Gelly
Richard Foronjy	...	Officer 'Fartface' Whitey (as Richard Foronji)
Robert Harper	...	Sharkey

Storyline

Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.

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Plot Keywords:

new york | childhood friend | 1920s | ambiguity | speakeasy | 

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Taglines:

Crime, passion and lust for power - Sergio Leone's explosive saga of gangland America. [Australia Theatrical]

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content, language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Es war einmal in Amerika

Filming Locations:

Intersection of Washington Street and Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,300,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ladd Company, The, Embassy International Pictures, Producers Sales Organization (PSO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

229 min 139 min (re-cut) 251 min (extended director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noodles is associated with the motif of doors and keys:

• in 1933 a Chinaman ushers Noodles in/out the opium den



• in 1933, Noodles steals the locker key and Fat Moe's clock key, and returns the clock key to Moe in 1968



• in 1968 Noodles reunites with Moe, who unlocks his door to let him in



• in 1923 Noodles surreptitiously unlocks the bathroom door to let Peggy in



• in 1923 Deborah (who is given a key) purposely leaves her door unlocked to let Noodles in, but after his fight with Bugsy she locks him out



• in 1933, Deborah charges Noodles of wanting to "lock her up and throw away the key"



• in 1933, when Noodles makes a phone call he makes sure the door is locked (and afterwards Max locks the door)



• in 1968, the cemetery caretaker unlocks the mausoleum door for Noodles (where he finds a key, which in turn opens a locker containing money and a contract)



• and in 1968, both Deborah and Max show Noodles an alternative back door to leave from.

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Goofs

A 1950s New York housing project is visible when Bugsy shoots Dominic in the early 1920s.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[In 1933, two goons rudely question a young woman]
Beefy: Where is he? Where's he hiding?
Eve: I don't know... I've been looking for him since yesterday.
[second goon slaps her harshly; she falls onto the bed]
Beefy: I'm gonna ask you for the last time: Where is he?
Eve: I don't know... What are you gonna do to him?
[Two shots are heard]
Beefy: [to his partner] Stay here in case that rat shows up...

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Crazy Credits

Joey Faye is credited as the "adorable old man."

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Connections

Referenced in Casino (1995)

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Soundtracks

Night and Day
Words and Music by Cole Porter
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Inc.

User Reviews

A masterpiece and an atrocity!

This movie was a masterpiece. It ranks as one of the very best in film history, if not the best. At Cannes people yelled and screamed, couldn't believe just how good it was. The profound atrocity was a combination of two completely brainless acts, the first being Zack Stienberg's hatchet job for US release, supposedly requested by either Warner Bros or The Ladd Company (one blames the other now) and the second was the lack of anyone (and everyone)to post anything in this great film for Academy Award consideration, of which probably as many as 14 nominations and 4 sure- fire Oscars went down the toilet.

These atrocities were perpretrated, I believe, with two reasons in mind, the first to preserve the dim hope of "The Killing Fields" (Daly & Semel's baby) of garnering any awards... and second, to try to boost up the non- foreign chances. Warner Bros knew just how good it was, that goes without saying. The problem was... they already had their share of cash cows and they wanted a real star- studded showpiece to point at. The small minds already had their showpiece but, alas, it was an "eye- tallyan" flick with a producer/director who didn't communicate well. The hatchet job was carefully planned, I believe... the so- called "sneak preview" was done in Canada and not well received, probably due to the fact that the sound system was over- amped and the film 'broke' 3 or 4 times during the showing, what a farce! The awards snub started with the GGs and carried right thru. What a myriad of stupid and utterly pointless decisions! Must have literally tore Leone's heart out when he learned what they had done.

Morricone's score was a sure- thing Oscar, no question about it. DeNiro and maybe even Woods would have fought it out for best actor, Tuesday Weld as supporting actress, any one of 4 or 5 other supporting actors & actresses, most notably William Forsythe, cinematography, film editing, the list goes on & on... (best picture...Amadeus???? give me a break!!) Just what in the hell were they thinking?

Saw it in a theater 20 years ago and then again on TV about 1998 and finally in its correct format(on DVD) about two years ago and again last week at a friend's house. Stirred up all those angry thoughts all over again... sorry about that, getting' old & crotchety.