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 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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jennifer Connelly's performance in this film drew the attention of Italian director Dario Argento, who had worked closely with Sergio Leone on Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). He cast her in her first starring role in Phenomena (1985).

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Goofs

In the scene at Miami Beach which takes place in 1933, beach goers are seen playing with beach balls. The beach ball was not invented until 1938.

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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

When the 'complete' film was released on laser disc in America, it still had to be trimmed slightly from 229 minutes to 227 minutes, to secure an 'R' rating. Cuts were made to the two rape scenes, and some of the violence at the beginning. The final flashback montage of Max and Noodles as children was also eliminated from their final scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Homeland: Q&A (2012)

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Soundtracks

'Summertime' from 'Porgy and Bess'
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by DuBose Heyward (as Dubose Hayward) and Ira Gershwin
© 1935 by Gershwin Publishing Company
Copyright renewed: All rights assigned to Chappel and Co.

User Reviews

Leone's "Godfather" Version, And About As Good

This Godfather-type film was done by Sergio Leone, of spaghetti-western fame, so you know you will see and experience several of his trademarks. Namely: (1) a lot of facial closeups; (2) some slow-motion or slow-moving dramatic scenes; (3) good overall photography and (4) a unique soundtrack.

The period sets here are magnificent. You get a real feel of the time, whether it's 1910, 1933 or 1967. The colors are awash in blacks, browns and grays and the DVD brings all these out very well, especially considering the film is over 20 years old.

Despite some of Leone's slow moments, this is a fascinating film to watch for the story, too. There are numerous memorable scenes, some of them involving some downright shocking violence, even for today's movies. However, the amount of violence is less than what you see today.

The movie also sports an interesting twist near the end involving the two major characters, played by Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story is not always clear, either, so be prepared to be possibly confused about a few things....at least on the first viewing. Confused or not, this film always is fascinating to view, especially with intense actors such as the two men just mentioned, along with Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Joe Pecsi, Burt Young, Treat Williams and more.

The child actors in here take up almost half the movie and are excellent. What an injustice they don't receive any publicity for their acting, especially the kids who played De Niro and Woods as youngsters. One of the girls has become a famous adult actress: Jennifer Connelly. She was 12 years old in this film and was already alluring.

This is Godfather-type crime movie that ranks right up there with that famous film, not taking a back seat to it at all.

Details

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Italian French Yiddish Hebrew

Release Date:

1 June 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time in America

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