Once Upon a Time in America (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,

Stars:

Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern

Top 250 #79 | Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 13 wins & 4 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 | jewish | gangster | prohibition | friend | 

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Taglines:

As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.

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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:

28 September 1984 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Érase una vez en América

Filming Locations:

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, PSO International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

229 min 139 min (re-cut) 259 min (2012)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filming went on from 14 June 1982 to 22 April 1983.

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Goofs

In the very first scene, when the woman is shot, her shirt is covered in blood. When she is shot again, even more blood stains her shirt, but when she falls back, her shirt is completely free of blood.

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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

For his cameo, Joey Faye is listed in the credits as playing the "adorable old man."

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Connections

Referenced in Sass (2001)

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Soundtracks

"'Summertime' from 'Porgy and Bess'"
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by DuBose Heyward (as Dubose Hayward) and Ira Gershwin
Courtesy of Gershwin Publishing Company/Chappel and Co.

User Reviews

Mesmerizing and haunting tale of love, greed, regret, betrayal and revenge

This is, for me, one of the finest examples of cinematic art. It isn't a simple, cut-n-dried 90 minute little package that gets wrapped up with a pretty bow at the end. You get pulled in by the enigmatic opening that unwinds the threads of the story to be found later. For many people having half an hour of purely visual story telling, of stories that are only mysteries at that point, before anything becomes truly linear is difficult to follow and discourages to many people. Our own memories are only snippets that only become linear as we concentrate on scenes from our lives. Once Upon a Time in America is like that as we follow Noodles through the `significant' part of his life - the times that formed him. When the story actually starts, we meet the girl that he always loved but could never have.

David `Noodles' Aaronson (DeNiro) was a kid on the very mean streets of Brooklyn when organized crime was born in America and he grew into and out of it. That's the simplest synopsis of the plot. The reality is that this isn't a movie about gangsters. Being a gangster is the easiest way for Noodles to survive and get ahead, but it also alienates and ruins his one love. Whenever he is close to giving himself to Deborah he always gets pulled back into the gang, in some form or another.

DeNiro's portrayal is of a gangster, through and through, who also has a conscience that, while not preventing him from being a ruthless killer, rules his life with regret, remorse and guilt. Leone takes a bit of poet/historic license by showing the Brooklyn Bridge being built in the background (the bridge had been built 40 years before), but it symbolizes Noodles' own growth. When the bridge is just pilings and incomplete towers, Noodles is just forming his future. By the time the bridge is complete, Noodles is nothing but a gangster and the bridge is majestic. When he returns 35 years later our view of the bridge is from under a freeway -- the world has moved along, but the bridge and Noodles are just as they were.

The length: If you're looking for a brief distraction that you'll barely remember 30 minutes later, this isn't the movie for you. However, if you are prepared and able to be undistributed for the nearly 4 hours that this film uses to compress a lifetime -- you will be rewarded with many facets of thought and examination.