Once Upon a Time in America - Wikipedia Once Upon a Time in America Once Upon a Time in America Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung Directed by Sergio Leone Produced by Arnon Milchan Screenplay by Leonardo Benvenuti Piero De Bernardi Enrico Medioli Franco Arcalli Franco Ferrini Sergio Leone Based on The Hoods by Harry Grey Starring Robert De Niro James Woods Elizabeth McGovern Joe Pesci Burt Young Tuesday Weld Treat Williams Music by Ennio Morricone Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli Edited by Nino Baragli Production company The Ladd Company Embassy International Pictures PSO Enterprises Rafran Cinematografica Distributed by The Ladd Company Warner Bros. Release date May 23, 1984 ( 1984 - 05 - 23 ) ( Cannes ) June 1, 1984 ( 1984 - 06 - 01 ) ( United States ) Running time 229 minutes ( European release ) 139 minutes ( US release ) Country United States Italy Language English Budget $30 million Box office $5.3 million Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime drama film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. 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. Based on Harry Grey 's novel The Hoods, 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 in New York City 's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships ; love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society. It was the final film directed by Leone before his death five years later, and the first feature film he had directed in 13 years. The cinematography was 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, and rearranged the scenes into chronological order, without Leone 's involvement. The shortened version was a critical and commercial flop in the United States, and critics who had seen both versions harshly condemned the changes that were made. The original `` European cut '' has remained a critical favorite and frequently appears in lists of the greatest gangster films of all time. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Development 3.2 Casting 3.3 Filming 3.4 Editing 3.5 Music 4 Release 4.1 Versions 4.1. 1 US excisions 4.1. 2 USSR 4.1. 3 TV compilation 4.1. 4 Restored original 4.1. 5 Home media 5 Critical reception 5.1 Interpretations 5.2 Accolades 6 See also 7 References 8 Bibliography 9 External links Plot This article 's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. ( March 2017 ) Gangsters enter a Chinese puppet theater, looking for a marked man. The proprietors slip into a hidden opium den and warn a man named `` Noodles '', but he pays no attention. In a flashback, he watches the police remove three disfigured corpses from a street. He successfully kills one of the three thugs that are after him but learns that the thugs have murdered his girlfriend while looking for him and finds that someone else has stolen his money. He leaves the city. David `` Noodles '' Aaronson struggles as a street kid in Manhattan 's Lower East Side in 1920. He and his friends Patrick `` Patsy '' Goldberg, Philip `` Cockeye '' Stein, and little Dominic commit petty crimes under the supervision of local boss Bugsy. Planning to rob a drunk at the moment a passing truck hides them from a policeman, they 're foiled by the older Max Bercovicz, who jumps off the truck to rob the man himself. Noodles confronts Max, but a crooked policeman steals the watch they were fighting over. Later, Max 's camera enables them to blackmail the policeman, who was having sex with a teenage girl, and thus start their own gang independent of Bugsy, who had previously enjoyed the policeman 's corrupt protection. The boys establish a suitcase money fund, which they hide in a locker at the railway station, giving the key to Fat Moe, a reliable friend who 's not part of the operation. Noodles is in love with Fat Moe 's sister Deborah, who aspires to be a dancer and actress. One day, Bugsy ambushes the boys and shoots little Dominic, who dies in Noodles ' arms, Noodles then stabs Bugsy to death and injures a police officer who tried to intervene. Noodles is arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Adult Noodles is released from jail in 1932 and is reacquainted with his old gang : Max, Patsy, and Cockeye, who are now major players in the bootlegging industry during Prohibition. Noodles reunites with Deborah and tries to rekindle their relationship. Meanwhile, during a robbery, the gang meets Carol, who soon becomes Max 's girlfriend. The gang prospers from bootlegging under Prohibition, providing muscle for union boss Jimmy Conway O'Donnell. Noodles tries to impress Deborah on an extravagant date, then rapes her on their way home in a limousine, after which he becomes remorseful. The gang 's financial success ends with the repeal of Prohibition, when Max considers a suggestion to set up what was to become the Teamsters ' union, which Noodles refuses and leaves. Max runs after him and they go to Florida together. While there, Max suggests robbing the New York Federal Reserve Bank, but Noodles sees it as suicidal. Carol, who also fears for Max 's life, convinces Noodles to call the police on his friend for a minor offence, just to keep him in jail for a short time. Noodles does this at an end - of - Prohibition party. Shortly after, Max, who has followed him to the office, knocks him unconscious for calling him crazy. Regaining consciousness, Noodles finds out that Max, Patsy, and Cockeye have been killed by the police, and is consumed with guilt over making the phone call that led to the beginning scenes of the film. Noodles is then seen boarding the first bus to leave New York, going to Buffalo, where he will live in hiding under a fake identity for the next 35 years. In 1968, Noodles receives a letter informing him that the cemetery where his friends are buried has been sold and asking him to make arrangements for their reburial. Realising that someone has deduced his identity, Noodles returns to Manhattan and stays with Fat Moe above his still - open restaurant. While visiting the new cemetery, Noodles finds there, visibly hung for him to take it, a key to the railway locker once kept by the gang, and further notes the license plate of a car that is following him there. Opening the locker, he discovers a suitcase full of cash, like the one kept there and taken away, now with a note saying the money is a down payment on his next job. Noodles hears about the lavish estate of Secretary Bailey, an embattled political figure whose name has been mentioned in news reports of the car explosion that killed the District Attorney. Noodles visits Carol, who lives at a retirement home run by the Bailey Foundation. She tells him that Max planted the idea of Carol and Noodles tipping off the police because he wanted to die rather than go insane like his father, who died in an asylum. He opened fire on the police to ensure his own death. While at the home, Noodles sees a photo of Deborah at the institution 's dedication. Noodles tracks down Deborah, now a successful actress. He questions her about Secretary Bailey, telling her that he has received an invitation to a party at Bailey 's house. Deborah claims not to know much about Bailey, but Noodles already knows they have lived together for years. In the end, Deborah tells him Bailey was a starving immigrant who married a very wealthy woman who died in childbirth. She begs him to not go to the party but leave via the back exit and not the main door of her dressing room, where a young man named David is waiting for her. Noodles leaves via the main door and Deborah explains that the young man is Secretary Bailey 's son, named David ( which is also Noodles ' given name ). David bears an obvious resemblance to Max as a young man ( and is played by the same actor ), implying that Secretary Bailey is Max. Secretary Bailey is revealed to be Max. Noodles meets with Max in his private room at the party. Max explains that corrupt policemen helped him fake his own death so that he could steal the gang 's money and steal Noodles ' love interest, Deborah, in order to begin a new life as Mr. Bailey, a man with contacts to the Teamsters ' union. Now faced with ruin and the spectre of a Teamster assassination, Max asks Noodles to kill him. Noodles refuses despite Max 's permission and goading, because, in his eyes, Max died with the gang. As Noodles leaves Bailey 's estate, he hears a garbage truck start up and looks back to see a man standing at the driveway 's gated entrance. As he begins to walk towards Noodles, the truck passes between them. As the truck passes, Noodles sees its auger grinding down rubbish, the man nowhere to be seen. In a flashback, a young adult Noodles enters the opium den after his gang 's murder, taking the drug and broadly grinning. Cast Robert De Niro as Noodles Scott Tiler as Young Noodles James Woods as Max Rusty Jacobs as Young Max / David Elizabeth McGovern as Deborah Jennifer Connelly as Young Deborah Treat Williams as Jimmy O'Donnell Tuesday Weld as Carol Burt Young as Joe Joe Pesci as Frankie Danny Aiello as Police Chief Aiello William Forsythe as Cockeye Adrian Curran as Young Cockeye James Hayden as Patsy Brian Bloom as Young Patsy Darlanne Fluegel as Eve Larry Rapp as Fat Moe Mike Monetti as Young Fat Moe Richard Bright as Chicken Joe Amy Ryder as Peggy Julie Cohen as Young Peggy Olga Karlatos as Woman in the Puppet Theatre Noah Moazezi as Dominic James Russo as Bugsy The cast also includes Robert Harper as Sharkey, Mario Brega as Mandy, Paul Herman as Monkey, Marcia Jean Kurtz as Max 's Mother, Estelle Harris as Peggy 's Mother, and Richard Foronji as Whitey. Louise Fletcher appears in the 2012 restoration as the director of the cemetery Noodles visits in 1968. Production Development During the mid-1960s, Sergio Leone read the novel The Hoods by Harry Grey, a pseudonym for the former gangster - turned - informant whose real name was Harry Goldberg. In 1968, after shooting Once Upon a Time in the West, Leone made many efforts to talk to Grey. Having enjoyed Leone 's Dollars Trilogy, Grey finally responded and agreed to meet with Leone at a Manhattan bar. Following that initial meeting, Leone met with Grey several times throughout the remainder of the 1960s and 1970s to understand America through Grey 's point of view. Intent on making another trilogy about America consisting of Once Upon a Time in the West, Duck, You Sucker ! and Once Upon a Time in America, Leone turned down an offer from Paramount Pictures to direct The Godfather in order to pursue his pet project. Casting Leone considered many actors for the film during the long development process. Originally, in 1975, Gérard Depardieu, who was determined to learn English with a Brooklyn accent for the role, was cast as Max, with Jean Gabin playing the older Max. Richard Dreyfuss was cast as Noodles, with James Cagney playing the older Noodles. In 1980, Leone spoke of casting Tom Berenger as Noodles, with Paul Newman playing the older Noodles. Among actors considered for the role of Max were Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Harvey Keitel, John Malkovich, and John Belushi. Early in 1981, Brooke Shields was offered the role of Deborah Gelly, after Leone had seen The Blue Lagoon, claiming that `` she had the potential to play a mature character. '' A writers ' strike delayed the project, and Shields withdrew before auditions began. Elizabeth McGovern was cast as Deborah and Jennifer Connelly as her younger self. Joe Pesci was among many to audition for Max. He got the smaller role of Frankie, partly as a favor to his friend De Niro. Danny Aiello auditioned for several roles and was ultimately cast as the police chief who ( coincidentally ) shares his surname. Claudia Cardinale ( who appeared in Once Upon a Time in the West ) wanted to play Carol, but Leone was afraid she would not be convincing as a New Yorker and turned her down. Filming The film was shot between June 14, 1982, and April 22, 1983. Leone tried, as he had with A Fistful of Dynamite, to produce the film with a young director under him. In the early days of the project he courted John Milius, a fan of his who was enthusiastic about the idea ; but Milius was working on The Wind and the Lion and the script for Apocalypse Now and could not commit to the project. For the film 's visual style, Leone used as references the paintings of such artists as Reginald Marsh, Edward Hopper, and Norman Rockwell, as well as ( for the 1922 sequences ) the photographs of Jacob Riis. F. Scott Fitzgerald 's novel The Great Gatsby influenced Noodles ' relationship with Deborah. Most exteriors were shot in New York City ( such as in Williamsburg along South 6th Street, where Fat Moe 's restaurant was based, and South 8th Street ), but several key scenes were shot elsewhere. Most interiors were shot in Cinecittà in Rome. The beach scene, where Max unveils his plan to rob the Federal Reserve, was shot at the Don CeSar in St. Petersburg, Florida. The New York 's railway `` Grand Central Station '' scene in the thirties flashbacks was filmed in the Gare du Nord in Paris. The interiors of the lavish restaurant where Noodles takes Deborah on their date were shot in the Hotel Excelsior in Venice, Italy. The gang 's hit on Joe was filmed in Quebec. The view of the Manhattan Bridge shown in the film 's poster can be seen from Washington Street in Brooklyn. The shooting script, completed in October 1981 after many delays and a writers ' strike between April and July of that year, was 317 pages in length. Editing By the end of filming, Leone had eight to ten hours worth of footage. With his editor, Nino Baragli, Leone trimmed this to almost six hours, and he originally wanted to release the film in two parts, each three hours. The producers refused, partly because of the commercial and critical failure of Bertolucci 's two - part 1900, and Leone was forced to further shorten it. The film was originally 269 minutes ( 4 hours and 29 minutes ), but when the film premiered out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, Leone had cut it to 229 minutes ( 3 hours and 49 minutes ) to appease the distributors, which was the version shown in European cinemas. However, the American wide release was edited further to 139 minutes ( 2 hours and 19 minutes ) by the studio, against the director 's wishes. Music The musical score was composed by Leone 's longtime collaborator Ennio Morricone. The film 's long production resulted in Morricone 's finishing the composition of most of the soundtrack before many scenes had been filmed. Some of Morricone 's pieces were played on set as filming took place, a technique that Leone had used for Once Upon a Time in the West. `` Deborah 's Theme '' was written for another film in the 1970s but was rejected ; Morricone presented the piece to Leone, who was initially reluctant to include it, considering it too similar to Morricone 's main title music for Once Upon a Time in the West. The score is also notable for Morricone 's incorporation of the music of Gheorghe Zamfir, who plays a pan flute. At times this music is used to convey remembrance, at other times terror. Zamfir 's flute music was used to similarly haunting effect in Peter Weir 's Picnic at Hanging Rock ( 1975 ). Morricone also collaborated with vocalist Edda Dell'Orso on the score. Once Upon a Time in America Soundtrack album by Ennio Morricone Released June 1, 1984 October 17, 1995 ( Special Edition ) Recorded December 1983 Studio Forum Studios, Rome Genre Contemporary classical Label Mercury Records Producer Ennio Morricone Special Edition cover 1995 Special Edition A soundtrack album was released in 1984 by Mercury Records. This was followed by a special - edition release in 1995, featuring four additional tracks. Side one No. Title Length 1. `` Once Upon a Time in America '' 2 : 11 2. `` Poverty '' 3 : 37 3. `` Deborah 's Theme '' 4 : 24 4. `` Childhood Memories '' 3 : 22 5. `` Amapola '' 5 : 21 6. `` Friends '' 1 : 34 7. `` Prohibition Dirge '' 4 : 20 Side two No. Title Length 8. `` Cockeye 's Song '' 4 : 20 9. `` Amapola, Part II '' 3 : 07 10. `` Childhood Poverty '' 1 : 41 11. `` Photographic Memories '' 1 : 00 12. `` Friends '' 1 : 23 13. `` Friendship & Love '' 4 : 14 14. `` Speakeasy '' 2 : 21 15. `` Deborah 's Theme -- Amapola '' 6 : 13 Bonus tracks ( 1995 Special Edition ) No. Title Length 16. `` Suite from Once Upon a Time in America ( Includes Amapola ) '' 13 : 32 17. `` Poverty ( Temp. Version ) '' 3 : 26 18. `` Unused Theme '' 4 : 46 19. `` Unused Theme ( Version 2 ) '' 3 : 38 Besides the original music, the film used source music, including : `` God Bless America '' ( written by Irving Berlin, performed by Kate Smith -- 1943 ) -- Plays over the opening credits from a radio in Eve 's bedroom and briefly at the film 's ending. `` Yesterday '' ( written by Lennon -- McCartney -- 1965 ) -- A Muzak version of this piece plays when Noodles first returns to New York in 1968, examining himself in a train station mirror. An instrumental version of the song also plays briefly during the dialogue scene between Noodles and `` Bailey '' towards the end of the film. `` Summertime '' ( written by George Gershwin -- 1935 ) An instrumental version of the aria from the opera Porgy and Bess is playing softly in the background as Noodles, just before leaving, explains to `` Secretary Bailey '' why he could never kill his friend. `` Amapola '' ( written by Joseph LaCalle, American lyrics by Albert Gamse -- 1923 ) -- Originally an opera piece, several instrumental versions of this song were played during the film ; a jazzy version, which was played on the gramophone danced to by young Deborah in 1922 ; a similar version played by Fat Moe 's jazz band in the speakeasy in 1932 ; and a string version, during Noodles ' date with Deborah. It has been suggested that Leone used this piece after hearing a version of it in the film Carnal Knowledge, though this has not been confirmed. Both versions are available on the soundtrack. `` La gazza ladra '' overture ( Gioachino Rossini -- 1817 ) -- Used during the famous baby - switching scene in the hospital. `` Night and Day '' ( written and sung by Cole Porter -- 1932 ) -- Played by a jazz band during the beach scene before the beachgoers receive word of Prohibition 's repeal, and during the party at the house of `` Secretary Bailey '' in 1968. `` St. James Infirmary Blues '' is used during the Prohibition `` funeral '' at the gang 's speakeasy. Release Once Upon a Time in America premiered at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May and received a `` 15 - minute standing ovation ''. In the United States, the film received a wide release in 894 theaters on June 1, 1984 and grossed $2.4 million during its opening weekend. It ended its box office run with a gross of just over $5.3 million on a $30 million budget, and became labeled as a box office flop. The financial and critical disaster of the American release almost bankrupted The Ladd Company. Eventually, the film premiered in Leone 's native Italy out of competition at the 41st Venice International Film Festival in September 1984. That same month, the film was released wide in Italy on September 28, 1984 in its 229 - minute version. Versions Several different versions of Once Upon a Time in America have been shown. The original European release version ( 1984, 229 minutes ) was shown internationally. US excisions This section may be confusing or unclear to readers. In particular, its use of the term `` excised ''. Please help us clarify the section. There might be a discussion about this on the talk page. ( April 2018 ) The film was shown in limited release and for film critics in America, where it was slightly trimmed to secure an `` R '' rating. Cuts were made to two rape scenes and some of the more graphic violence at the beginning. Noodles ' meeting with Bailey in 1968 was also excised. The film gained a mediocre reception at several sneak premieres in North America. Because of this early audience reaction, the fear of its length, its graphic violence, and the inability of theaters to have multiple showings in one day, the decision was made by The Ladd Company to make many edits and cut entire scenes without the supervision of Sergio Leone. This American wide release ( 1984, 139 minutes ) was drastically different from the European release, as the non-chronological story was rearranged into chronological order. Other major cuts involved many of the childhood sequences, making the adult 1933 sections more prominent. Noodles ' 1968 meeting with Deborah was excised, and the scene with Bailey ends with him shooting himself ( with the sound of a gunshot off screen ) rather than the garbage truck conclusion of the 229 - minute version. Ussr In the Soviet Union, the film was shown theatrically in the late 1980s, with other Hollywood blockbusters such as the two King Kong films. The story was rearranged in chronological order and the film was split in two, with the two parts shown as separate movies, one containing the childhood scenes and the other comprising the adulthood scenes. Despite the rearranging, no major scene deletions were made. It was rated `` 16 + '' by the Goskino. Tv compilation A network television version was shown in the early to mid-1990s with a running time of almost three hours ( excluding commercials ). While it retained the film 's original non-chronological order, many key scenes involving violence and graphic content were left out. This version was a one - off showing, and no copies are known to exist. Restored original Robert De Niro and Elizabeth McGovern at the screening of the film 's restored version, during the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. In March 2011, it was announced that Leone 's original 269 - minute version was to be re-created by a film lab in Italy under the supervision of Leone 's children, who had acquired the Italian distribution rights, and the film 's original sound editor, Fausto Ancillai, for a premiere in 2012 at either the Cannes Film Festival or Venice Film Festival. The restored film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, but because of unforeseen rights issues for the deleted scenes, the restoration had a runtime of only 251 minutes. However, Martin Scorsese ( whose Film Foundation helped with the restoration ) stated that he is helping Leone 's children gain the rights to the final 24 minutes of deleted scenes to create a complete restoration of Leone 's envisaged 269 - minute version. On August 3, 2012, it was reported that after the premiere at Cannes, the restored film was pulled from circulation, pending further restoration work. Home Media In North America, the heavily edited 139 - minute version was made available on DVD in the late 1990s. This was followed by a two - disc special edition release on June 10, 2003, featuring the 229 - minute version of the film. This special edition was rereleased on January 11, 2011, on both DVD and Blu - ray. On September 30, 2014, Warner Bros. released a two - disc Blu - ray and DVD set of the 251 - minute restoration shown at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, dubbed the Extended Director 's Cut. This version was previously released in Italy, on September 4, 2012. Critical reception This paragraph needs additional citations for verification. ( October 2017 ) The initial critical response to Once Upon a Time in America was mixed, because of the different versions released worldwide. While internationally the film was well received in its original form, American critics were much more dissatisfied with the 139 - minute version released in North America. This condensed version was a critical and financial disaster, and many American critics who knew of Leone 's original cut attacked the short version. Some critics compared shortening the film to shortening Richard Wagner 's operas, saying that works of art that are meant to be long should be given the respect they deserve. Roger Ebert wrote in his 1984 review that the uncut version was `` an epic poem of violence and greed '' but described the American theatrical version as a `` travesty ''. Ebert 's television film critic partner Gene Siskel considered the uncut version to be the best film of 1984. It was only after Leone 's death and the subsequent restoration of the original version that critics began to give it the kind of praise displayed at its original Cannes showing. The uncut original film is considered to be far superior to the edited version released in the US in 1984. Ebert, in his review of Brian De Palma 's The Untouchables, called the original uncut version of Once Upon a Time in America the best film depicting the Prohibition era. James Woods, who considers it to be Leone 's finest film, mentioned in the DVD documentary that one critic dubbed the film the worst of 1984, only to see the original cut years later and call it the best of the 1980s. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 86 % approval rating with an average rating of 8.6 / 10 based on 50 reviews. The website 's consensus reads, `` Sergio Leone 's epic crime drama is visually stunning, stylistically bold, and emotionally haunting, and filled with great performances from the likes of Robert De Niro and James Woods. '' The film has since been ranked as one of the best films of the gangster genre. When Sight & Sound asked several UK critics in 2002 what their favorite films of the last 25 years were, Once Upon a Time in America placed at number 10. In 2015, the film was ranked at number nine on Time Out 's list of the 50 best gangster films of all time. Interpretations As the film begins and ends in 1933, with Noodles hiding in an opium den from syndicate hitmen, and the last shot of the film is of Noodles in a smiling, opium - soaked high, the film can be interpreted as having been a drug - induced dream, with Noodles remembering his past and envisioning the future. In an interview by Noël Simsolo published in 1987, Leone confirms the validity of this interpretation, saying that the scenes set in the 1960s could be seen as an opium dream of Noodles '. In the DVD commentary for the film, film historian and critic Richard Schickel states that opium users often report vivid dreams, and that these visions have a tendency to explore the user 's past and future. Many people ( including Schickel ) assume that the 1968 Frisbee scene, which has an immediate cut and gives no further resolution, was part of a longer sequence. Ebert stated that the purpose of the flying disc scene was to establish the 1960s time frame and nothing more. Accolades Despite its modern critical success, the initial American release did not fare well with critics and received no Academy Award nominations. The film 's music was disqualified from Oscar consideration for a technicality, as the studio accidentally omitted the composer 's name from the opening credits when trimming its running time for the American release. Award Nominee Result 38th British Academy Film Awards Best Costume Design Gabriella Pescucci Won Best Film Music Ennio Morricone Won Best Direction Sergio Leone Nominated Best Actress in a Supporting Role Tuesday Weld Nominated Best Cinematography Tonino Delli Colli Nominated 42nd Golden Globe Awards Best Director Sergio Leone Nominated Best Original Score Ennio Morricone Nominated 8th Japan Academy Prize Outstanding Foreign Language Film -- Won 10th Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Film -- Nominated Best Director Sergio Leone Nominated Best Music Score Ennio Morricone Won See also List of films cut over the director 's opposition References Jump up ^ `` Once Upon a Time in America ''. Trove. Retrieved October 11, 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Once Upon a Time in America ( EN ) ( Original title ) ''. European Audiovisual Observatory. Retrieved February 17, 2016. 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Bullets Over Hollywood : The American Gangster Picture from the Silents to `` The Sopranos ''. Boston, Massachusetts : Da Capo Press. p. 235. Retrieved March 26, 2015. Jump up ^ `` History of the Venice Film Festival : The 1980 's ''. Carnival of Venice. Retrieved March 27, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Once Upon a Time : Sergio Leone ( Documentary ) ( in English and Italian ). CreaTVty, Westbrook. January 8, 2001. Jump up ^ Variety ( 10 March 2011 ) : `` ' Once Upon a Time ' to be restored '' Retrieved April 21, 2011 Jump up ^ The Film Forum ( 13 Mar 2011 ) : `` Once Upon a Time in America -- 269 minute version in 2012 '' Retrieved April 21, 2011 Jump up ^ Barraclough, Leo ( May 16, 2012 ). `` Another chance for ' Once ' -- Entertainment News, Film Festivals, Media ''. Variety. Retrieved May 19, 2012. Jump up ^ Gallman, Brett ( April 21, 2012 ). `` ' Once Upon a Time in America, ' Other Director 's Cuts Worth Watching -- Yahoo ! Movies ''. Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved May 19, 2012. 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Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ Turan, Kenneth ( July 10, 1999 ). `` A Cinematic Rarity : Showing of Leone 's Uncut ' America ' ''. The Los Angeles Times. Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger ( June 3, 1987 ). `` The Untouchables ( 1987 ) ''. Chicago Sun - Times. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Once Upon a Time in America ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Modern Times ''. Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. December 2002. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The 50 best gangster movies of all time ''. Time Out. Time Out Limited. March 12, 2015. p. 5. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ Simsolo, Noël ( 1987 ). Conversations avec Sergio Leone. Paris : Stock. ISBN 2 - 234 - 02049 - 2. Jump up ^ Once Upon a Time in America commentary with film historian Richard Schickel Jump up ^ Once Upon a Time in America DVD audio commentary Jump up ^ `` Snubbed by Oscar : Mistakes & Omissions ''. AMC Networks. American Movie Classics Company. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ Ibid Jump up ^ `` Film in 1985 ''. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved March 25, 2015. Jump up ^ Thomas, Bob ( January 8, 1985 ). `` Amadeus, '' The Killing Fields, '' Top Nominees ``. Associated Press Archive. Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 27, 2015. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ `` 8th Japan Academy Prize ''. Japan Academy Prize Association ( in Japanese ). Retrieved March 27, 2015. Jump up ^ `` 10th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ''. Los Angeles Film Critics Association. 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2015. Bibliography Hughes, Howard ( 2002 ). Crime Wave : The Filmgoers ' guide to the great crime movies. External links Once Upon a Time in America on IMDb Once Upon a Time in America at Rotten Tomatoes Once Upon a Time in America at Box Office Mojo Once Upon a Time in America at AllMovie Unofficial movie site Films directed by Sergio Leone They Stole a Tram ( 1954 ) ( uncredited ) The Last Days of Pompeii ( 1959 ) ( uncredited ) The Colossus of Rhodes ( 1961 ) A Fistful of Dollars ( 1964 ) For a Few Dollars More ( 1965 ) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ( 1966 ) Once Upon a Time in the West ( 1968 ) Duck, You Sucker ! ( 1971 ) A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe ( 1975 ) ( uncredited ) Once Upon a Time in America ( 1984 ) BNF : cb165019655 ( data ) GND : 4633532 - 8 SUDOC : 149807961 VIAF : 316751724 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America&oldid=842277146 '' Categories : 1984 films English - language films 1980s crime films American crime films American epic films Italian crime films Italian epic films Italian - language films Yiddish - language films Films directed by Sergio Leone Screenplays by Sergio Leone Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films about Jewish - American organized crime Films about prohibition in the United States Mafia films Films about Jews and Judaism Films based on American novels Films set in Brooklyn Films set in New York City Films set in 1920 Films set in 1932 Films set in 1933 Films set in 1968 Films shot in Italy Films shot in New Jersey Films shot in New York City Regency Enterprises films Warner Bros. films The Ladd Company films Hidden categories : CS1 Italian - language sources ( it ) CS1 Japanese - language sources ( ja ) Use mdy dates from September 2016 Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention from March 2017 All Wikipedia articles with plot summary needing attention Articles which use infobox templates with no data rows Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats Album infoboxes lacking a cover All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2018 All Wikipedia articles needing clarification Articles needing additional references from October 2017 All articles needing additional references Articles using small message boxes Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Azərbaycanca Български Bosanski Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Italiano עברית ქართული Magyar मराठी მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Română Русский Shqip Simple English Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 32 more Edit links This page was last edited on 21 May 2018, at 12 : 08. 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Question: what is the movie once upon a time in america about
Answer: 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 in New York City's world of organized crime