Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
- Directed by
- Sergio Leone
- Genre
- drama film, documentary film, Western film, action film, period drama film, epic film
- Country
- France, Italy, United States
- Runtime
- 3h 49m
- Rated
- R
- Rating
- 8.4 of 10 from 6,100 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
It is about two Jewish friends who rise from a New York ghetto to become powerful gangsters. The story follows them through decades of friendship, betrayal, and loss.
epicmelancholicnostalgicslow-burnbleaklushviolenttragicsprawling
What happens
Once Upon a Time in America (Italian: C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film based on Harry Grey's semi-autobiographical 1952 novel The Hoods. Directed by Sergio Leone from a screenplay he co-wrote with Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli and Franco Ferrini, the film stars Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld and Treat Williams. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Embassy International Pictures, PSO Enterprises and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by Warner Bros. It chronicles the lives of best friends David "Noodles" Aaronson and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz as they lead a group of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence as Jewish gangsters in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss and broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society. It is the final film in the 'once upon a time' trilogy and also the last film directed by Leone before his death five years later, and the first feature film that he had directed in 13 years. It is the third installment of Leone's Once Upon a Time Trilogy, which includes Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and Duck, You Sucker! (1971). The cinematography is by Tonino Delli Colli, and the film score by Ennio Morricone. Leone originally envisaged two three-hour films, then a single 269-minute (4 hours and 29 minutes) version, but was convinced by distributors to shorten it to 229 minutes (3 hours and 49 minutes). The American distributors, The Ladd Company, further shortened it to 139 minutes (2 hours and 19 minutes), and rearranged the scenes into chronological order, without Leone's involvement. The US edit was a critical and commercial flop in the United States, and critics who had seen both versions harshly condemned the changes made. While sometimes considered one of Leone's most overlooked films, the original European cut of Once Upon a Time in America has remained a critical favorite and frequently appears in lists of the greatest films of all time, especially in the gangster genre. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Il futuro è donna (1984)
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La Cassure (1984)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.