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 (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern

Top Rated Movies #72 | Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Noodles
James Woods	...	Max
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Deborah
Treat Williams	...	Jimmy O'Donnell
Tuesday Weld	...	Carol
Burt Young	...	Joe
Joe Pesci	...	Frankie
Danny Aiello	...	Police Chief Aiello
William Forsythe	...	Cockeye
James Hayden	...	Patsy
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Eve (as Darlanne Fleugel)
Larry Rapp	...	Fat Moe
Dutch Miller	...	Van Linden
Robert Harper	...	Sharkey
Richard Bright	...	Chicken Joe

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:

corrupt police | police corruption | pig | bacon | doggystyle sex | 

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Taglines:

As boys, they made a pact to share their fortunes, their loves, their lives. As men, they shared a dream to rise from poverty to power. Forging an empire built on greed, violence and betrayal, their dream would end as a mystery that refuse to die.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

18A

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

When the cargo floats to the surface in the scene in the harbor, the crates are floating with the balloons out and on top of the water, offering no extra buoyancy, and therefore not needed. This was because the crates did not contain glass bottles, which would have kept the crates submerged.

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Quotes

[first lines]
[In 1933, three goons question a young woman about Noodles]
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?
[second goon shoots her dead]
Beefy: [to third goon] Stay here in case that rat shows up.
One of Beefy's Thugs: Okay.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

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

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Alternate Versions

The Brazilian DVD (Warner) is heavily censored by blurring and re-framing in the scene a woman pretends to be dead in the back of a hearse by blurring and re-framing. These cuts were originally made in the Korean release. The first Brazilian release by Flashstar is uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Pastewka: Der Gutschein (2006)

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Soundtracks

St. James Infirmary Blues
(uncredited)
Traditional. sometimes credited as written by Irving Mills (1930)

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.

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian French

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Il était une fois en Amérique

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,412,014, 3 June 1984

Gross USA:

$5,321,508

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,472,914

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Ladd Company, Warner Bros., Producers Sales Organization (PSO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

229 min 139 min (re-cut) 250 min (extended cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1