Once Upon a Time in America (1984)'s comments

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BarbieLover

''E che cosa hai fatto in tutti questi anni....
Sono andato solo a letto presto.''

7 months 2 weeks ago

Okay so this is the spaghetti western dude trying to do Coppola. Well fuck it, here goes....

Day 1 of trying to watch this self indulgent garbage -- I made it like 5 minutes in where he's getting on a bus, a bus to anywhere he says, then it's like New York or some shit? And this song plays like "Remember the good old days when you used to be in the place you liked" and shit like that and it's so on the nose I had to fucking drop it.

Day 2, tried to pick this turd back up, brought some tongs this time. Made it to the part where some dude is talking to this other dude and then Deniro is like in some jew place or whatever. Frankly it's confusing as fuck. I heard this was originally a 6 hour movie they cut down to 3 hours. I'm watching the 2 hour version, is probably why I don't know what the fuck is going on. I deleted the file in a fit of anger but I'm gonna try it again sometime.

1 year 7 months ago

CynInFlicks

I was sure I loved this when watching it a couple of times over the years, but having now seen it again for the first time in 10 years, my opinion is a resounding 'no, thanks'. Between the horrible treatment of all the women and girls and almost comically poor ages/ageing - Elizabeth McGovern is meant to be 60? DeNiro and co 20something? Ha! - and some loose ends, I'm not a fan. At least I know I don't need to see it again. Pity.

2 years ago

Siskoid

An approach that prioritizes visual storytelling rather than dialog, stylish direction and cinematography, an Ennio Morricone score, harsh violence... Once Upon a Time in America is a Sergio Leone spectacular all right, and it's one of the great ones though it has a couple of irredeemable flaws, in my opinion. Moving back and forth over three time periods - with wonderful transitions, I should add - the film tracks the rise of a criminal gang from kids trying to make a buck on the streets at the turn of the 20th Century through the Prohibition era and to "respectable" white collar crime. It's the story of crime in America, as told through a cinematic, i.e. glamorous filter, which is how most gangster epics go, really. The rise, the opulence, the inevitable fall, we've seen it many times, and it's up to each of these films to have memorable scenes and characters to define them. In this case, the shared focus on the gang as kids is its main draw, with an interesting but dangerous friendship at the center of it (between, as the adult versions, Robert DeNiro and James Woods), and I quite like that final scene between them. Also props to whoever cast baby Jennifer Connelly as Elizabeth McGovern's younger self - they could be mother and daughter. HOWEVER. Once our lead becomes a rapist, it pulls you out of the film. Leone may or may not be pushing the glamor with the cinematography and music as a contrast, which is to say KNOWING it is ironic, but it feels like the movie excuses the behavior. My other problem with the film is that the climax really tips into melodrama with its last-minute revelations (and at the same time, the gist of it is kind of predictable). Though the final sequence walks us back from it, I'd rather not have had to BE walked back from the twist. That backdrop with the bridge tho!

4 years 3 months ago

MattKassimo

A masterpiece. One of the greatest movie ever made. A perfection, period.

8 years 1 month ago

kzer_za

The rape scene is really, really awful and pointless. It's ugly, goes on forever, doesn't really add anything to the plot, and (so I hear) isn't even in the book. It's probably the worst scene I've ever seen in a good movie. And depending on how you count the bank, there might even be a second rape scene! I get the feeling Leone had issues with women.

Fortunately, at least in the 4-hour cut it's long enough that one terrible scene doesn't completely kill it. Besides that serious flaw, I loved this movie and thought the length was appropriate. So many masterful shots, a great understated RDN performance, and Morricone's score is amazing as usual. Skillful use of three time periods too. It really left a strong impression on me.

8 years 4 months ago

BigAwesomeBLT

Amazing and Breathtaking. I almost cried in the credits. Beautiful.

8 years 5 months ago

nicolaskrizan

takes forever going nowhere – in style

https://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/backtrack-once-upon-a-time-in-america-1983/

8 years 7 months ago

Omgitsadie

Great film in many ways, but extremely misogynistic! It's disgusting how women are treated/portrayed in this movie. There may be many reasons behind this, but I found scenes with women in very hard to watch. It seems to be a pattern with Sergio Leone movies. However, it still remains a masterpiece. Robert De Niro is fabulous, of course.

9 years 1 month ago

boomdiddly

Watching this movie was like spending an entire day at a stranger's family reunion. The nostalgia is everywhere, but there's no reason to care about anyone.
I think this film succeeds in its cinematography but lacks a good script (and plot). I understand why people love it, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

9 years 7 months ago