Once Upon A Time In America
In his final outing behind the camera, spaghetti Western director Sergio Leone branches out in this 1984 American crime drama starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. Based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, it chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime.
In 1968, the elderly David 'Noodles' Aaronson (De Niro) returns to New York, his stamping ground of the '20s and '30s. Most of his old friends, like long-time partner Max (Woods), are long gone, yet he feels his past is unresolved. Told in flashbacks, the film follows Noodles as he climbs the ranks in the Lower East Side, eventually becoming a powerful mafia boss - a journey of violence, betrayal and remorse.
Winner of Best Costume Design and Best Score, BAFTA Awards 1985.
1984Rating: R18, Medium level violence, Medium level sex scenes229 minsUSA, Italy
CrimeDrama
- Director:
- Sergio Leone ('The Good, the Bad and the Ugly', 'A Fistful of Dollars', 'Once Upon a Time in the West')
- Writer:
- Leonardo BenvenutiPiero De BernardiEnrico MedioliFranco ArcalliFranco FerriniSergio LeoneStuart KaminskyErnesto Gastaldi
- Cast:
- Robert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernJoe PesciBurt YoungTuesday WeldTreat WilliamsDanny AielloWilliam Forsythe
Once Upon A Time In America / Reviews
Time Out
Sergio Leone's languid, lovely and lengthy ode to Lower East Side mobsters (more specifically, mobster films) ...
Full reviewThe New York Times
A lazily haullucinatory epic that means to encapsulate approximately 50 years of American social history into a single film.
Full review
Roger Ebert
There are times when we don't understand exactly what is happening, but never a time when we don't feel confidence in the film's narrative.
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Hollywood Reporter
As one would expect from Leone, the film is a brilliant stylistic accomplishment.
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