A timeless classic that deserved far better than what it got!

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2008)

People have called "Once Upon a Time in America" a 'Jewish Godfather,' but it is so much more than Coppola's Oscar winning film. In fact, it is so much more than that; it is a pure Sergio Leone epic full of greed, wealth, love, deceit and betrayal. This would have swept the Oscars for 1984, been on the Best Films of All Time lists, and be an instant classic. Leone would win an Oscar for his comeback and become the biggest man in Hollywood. All this would have happened, had it not fallen victim to studio-forced editing. Roger Ebert praised the uncut original film that received a standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival and was released in its entirety in Europe, but he was disgusted with the 144 minute version that premiered in America. No wonder the film did not do well at the U.S box office, but it has since made more than its budget back in home video, DVD and TV airings. Sort of like The Shawshank Redemption (although that film made it's budget back but not enough to make a profit), but the sold fact that it was Leone who directed ''OUATIA'' makes the film talked about even today!
Aged gangster David "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro) returns to his old Brooklyn neighborhood in the late 1960s. In order to solve the mystery of who has been tracking him, he must look into his past to find the answers. Split up into two flashbacks of different time periods: the 1920s and the 1930s, which are regarded as the most famous parts of the film. We see Noodles and his gang as boys working for local hoods in the racketeering and extortion business, and they work their way up into the criminal underworld as adults. James Woods is Max, his best friend and partner in crime, and he is brilliant in portraying the character's ambition and lust for wealth. Several others include Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld and Larry Rapp. Joe Pesci is wonderful in his scenes, and the late James Hayden is perfect in the role of Patsy. Such a shame that he died less than a month shy of his 30th birthday; he had so much potential to become a legendary actor up there with De Niro and Pacino. Elizabeth McGovern is the stand-out as Deborah, the actress and opera singer who had a doomed romance with Noodles.
The young cast carries the picture for more than an hour of its four hour running time. Scott Tiler (Young Noodles) and Rusty Jacobs (Young Max) shine bright as the teenage counterparts of De Niro and Woods in the 1920s sequences of the film. Even Noah Moazezi is good in his minor role of Dominic, whose tragic fate shapes the boys' lives as adults. A twelve year old Jennifer Connelly can be seen as the young Deborah, for whom Noodles falls for.
It is sad that the studio butchered Leone's vision of life for a Jewish American growing up in the early 20th Century, and I know for a fact that he died depressed and upset over his troubled film career. However, he was still planning a comeback to the end: a Stalingrad film with De Niro that was scrapped when he died.
Once Upon a Time in America is a great classic for all De Niro and Leone fans, and it deserves to be up there in the Top 250!