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Once Upon a Time in America

  • 19841984
  • RR
  • 3h 49m
IMDb RATING
8.3/10
343K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
307
5
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Trailer 2 for Once Upon A Time In America
Play trailer2:41
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

IMDb RATING
8.3/10
343K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
307
5
  • Director
    • Sergio Leone
  • Writers
    • Harry Grey(based on novel "The Hoods" by)
    • Leonardo Benvenuti(screenplay by)
    • Piero De Bernardi(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Robert De Niro
    • James Woods
    • Elizabeth McGovern
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sergio Leone
  • Writers
    • Harry Grey(based on novel "The Hoods" by)
    • Leonardo Benvenuti(screenplay by)
    • Piero De Bernardi(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Robert De Niro
    • James Woods
    • Elizabeth McGovern
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 788User reviews
    • 132Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #80
    • Won 2 BAFTA Awards
      • 12 wins & 12 nominations total

    Videos2

    Once Upon a Time in America
    Trailer 2:41
    Once Upon a Time in America
    What Roles Has Jennifer Connelly Turned Down?
    Clip 3:18
    What Roles Has Jennifer Connelly Turned Down?

    Photos222

    Robert De Niro and Tuesday Weld in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Robert De Niro and James Woods in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Brian Bloom, Rusty Jacobs, Noah Moazezi, and Scott Tiler in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Robert De Niro and Elizabeth McGovern in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Jennifer Connelly, Brian Bloom, Rusty Jacobs, Noah Moazezi, and Scott Tiler in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Robert De Niro and James Woods in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Joe Pesci and Burt Young in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Robert De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, William Forsythe, and Burt Young in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Robert De Niro and Elizabeth McGovern in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
    Jennifer Connelly and Scott Tiler in Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert De Niro
    Robert De Niro
    • Noodlesas Noodles
    James Woods
    James Woods
    • Maxas Max
    Elizabeth McGovern
    Elizabeth McGovern
    • Deborahas Deborah
    Treat Williams
    Treat Williams
    • Jimmy O'Donnellas Jimmy O'Donnell
    Tuesday Weld
    Tuesday Weld
    • Carolas Carol
    Burt Young
    Burt Young
    • Joeas Joe
    Joe Pesci
    Joe Pesci
    • Frankieas Frankie
    Danny Aiello
    Danny Aiello
    • Police Chief Aielloas Police Chief Aiello
    William Forsythe
    William Forsythe
    • Cockeyeas Cockeye
    James Hayden
    • Patsyas Patsy
    Darlanne Fluegel
    Darlanne Fluegel
    • Eveas Eve
    • (as Darlanne Fleugel)
    Larry Rapp
    Larry Rapp
    • Fat Moeas Fat Moe
    Dutch Miller
    • Van Lindenas Van Linden
    Robert Harper
    Robert Harper
    • Sharkeyas Sharkey
    Richard Bright
    Richard Bright
    • Chicken Joeas Chicken Joe
    Gerard Murphy
    • Crowningas Crowning
    Amy Ryder
    • Peggyas Peggy
    Olga Karlatos
    • Woman in the Puppet Theatreas Woman in the Puppet Theatre
    • Director
      • Sergio Leone
    • Writers
      • Harry Grey(based on novel "The Hoods" by)
      • Leonardo Benvenuti(screenplay by)
      • Piero De Bernardi(screenplay by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    With the vivid memory of his long-gone childhood friends Max, Patsy, and Cockeye etched in his mind, his ferociously loyal partners-in-crime during their rise to prominence in New York's Prohibition-era Lower East Side, the defeated, penniless, and guilt-ridden former gangster David "Noodles" Aaronson returns to Manhattan. Not knowing what to expect on his mission to shed light on his opaque past, grizzled Noodles reunites with his only living friend Fat Moe after 35 haunted years of self-exile. However, the relentless, piercing sound of culpability stands in the way of finding closure, as the inscrutable content of a well-worn leather suitcase further complicates matters. And now, against the backdrop of a torn conscience, the sad, bittersweet recollections of more than 50 years of love, death, and everything in-between become inextricably intertwined, leading to even more puzzling questions. But what are a man's options when he is left with nothing? —Nick Riganas
    • police corruption
    • gangster
    • prohibition
    • sex scene
    • female rear nudity
    • 249 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Crime, passion and lust for power - Sergio Leone's explosive saga of gangland America.
    • Genres
      • Crime
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When filming was completed, the footage ran to a total of eight to ten hours. Director Sergio Leone and editor Nino Baragli trimmed the footage to around six hours, with the plan of releasing the film as two three-hour movies. The producers refused this idea, and Leone had to further cut the film down to three hours and forty-nine minutes.
    • Goofs
      When Young Noodles holds Young Peggy in the toilet and she says "You better stop squeezing me, or I'm gonna poop in my pants", the beginning of her line sounds twice, as if two different takes have been overlapped with a cross-fade.
    • Quotes

      Noodles: [to Deborah] There were two things I couldn't get out of my mind. One was Dominic, the way he said, "I slipped," just before he died. The other was you. How you used to read me your Song of Songs, remember? "How beautiful are your feet / In sandals, O prince's daughter." I used to read the Bible every night. Every night I used to think about you. "Your navel is a bowl / Well-rounded with no lack of wine / Your belly, a heap of wheat / Surrounded with lilies / Your breasts / Clusters of grapes / Your breath, sweet-scented as apples." Nobody's gonna love you the way I loved you. There were times I couldn't stand it any more. I used to think of you. I'd think, "Deborah lives. She's out there. She exists." And that would get me through it all. You know how important that was to me?

    • Crazy credits
      Joey Faye is credited as the "adorable old man."
    • Alternate versions
      For its U.S. theatrical release the film was cut by 90 minutes from 3 hours and 47 minutes to 2 hours and 19 minutes despite the original cut gaining rave reviews at the film's premiere at Cannes. Many film critics gave two separate reviews for the film. While the complete European version was highly praised, the heavily edited US theatrical release was critically butchered.
    • Connections
      Edited into Bellissimo: Immagini del cinema italiano (1985)
    • Soundtracks
      God Bless America
      Music by Irving Berlin

      Irving Berlin Music Corporation

      Performed by Kate Smith

      Courtesy of RCA Record

    User reviews788

    Review
    Top review
    Leone's ultimate film
    Sergio Leone's films are all love letters to America, the American dreams of an Italian who grew up at the movies, who apprenticed with Wyler, and Aldrich, signed himself Bob Robertson, and gave us Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Charles Bronson as we know them. Sadly, America didn't always repay the compliment. Leone's were "spaghetti westerns", money makers to be sure, but deemed disrespectful of the great tradition of Ford, Walsh and Hathaway. Many critics and Holllywood insiders called his earlier Eastwood films cynical and violent bottom-line commercial exploitation. By the time that they caught on to Leone's genuine popular appeal, the director had already moved on. And, his Once Upon a Time in the West was damned as pretentious, bloated, self-indulgent: an art film disguised as a Western, the Heaven's Gate of its day. That film's canny blend of pop appeal and pure cinematic genius gradually dawned on the powers that be (or were), and helped give rise to the renaissance of American filmmaking in the early seventies. It is worth noting that The Godfather could have been made by Leone, had he chosen. Leone had been pitching a gangster film that would encompass generations, for a generation or two, himself. Rather than do the Puzo version finally thrown back at him, he waited an eternity, and finally realized this, his last finished project. That ellipse of a decade or so between conception and completed movie is paralleled in the film, itself, by Robert De Niro's ("Noodles'") opium dream of the American twentieth century, its promises, and betrayals. Naturally, Leone was betrayed, once again, himself, by America, and this truly amazing film, with its densely multi-layered, overlapping flashback structure was butchered upon its release, becoming a linear-plotted sub-Godfather knockoff in the process. Luckily, the critics had grown up enough in the meantime to finally get a glimmering of what Leone was up to, and demand restitution. Very few saw it properly in theaters, but the video version respects the director's intentions, more or less. Ironically, Leone had foreseen television screen aspect ratios as determining home viewing of the future, and abbreviated his usual wide screen format for this movie, so this most troubled last project was the first released on video to most properly resemble the true cinematic experience. For diehard fans of the Eastwood westerns impatient with this at first, watch those movies till you want and need more. This will eventually get to you. For art film fanatics who don't get the earlier Leones, travel in the reverse direction, and you will be pleasantly surprised. This is the movie that Leone spent a decade conceiving. It will deliver for decades of viewing to come.
    helpful•189
    199
    • tenco
    • May 16, 1999

    FAQ11

    • How did the invention Noodles' shows to Capuano work?
    • Is 'Once Upon a Time in America' based on a book?
    • What is the book Noodles reads as a kid when he's in the bathroom?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 1, 1984 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Warner Bros. (United States)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Italian
      • French
      • Yiddish
      • Hebrew
    • Also known as
      • Bilo je nekoč v Ameriki
    • Filming locations
      • Williamsburg Bridge, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • The Ladd Company
      • Warner Bros.
      • Producers Sales Organization (PSO)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $30,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $5,321,508
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $2,412,014
      • Jun 3, 1984
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,473,337
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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