Leone's masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (4 April 2001)

Its inconceivable to me, how anyone viewing this great film in its 4 hour version could not be moved, excited & ultimately overwhelmed by it. From the opening with that Goddamn ringing phone, to the last shot of a smiling stoned out DeNiro this film is a true work of art. Complicated & personal, Leone weaves an epic tale about a bunch of Jewish gangster-friends from their criminal childhood on New York's lower eastside in the 1900's to the 1960's. And like many films of the genre,Once Upon touches on the themes of friendship, loyalty & betrayal but does so in what some find an unsettling structure. The film constantly weaves from past to present and back again & I think that this form of filmmaking makes some American moviegoers uneasy. They like their films with beginnings, middles & hopefully happy endings. Now this is a film that is all over the place, with characters that come & go impolitely & age without aging. Leone the artist takes a sacred genre and does marvelous tricks & turns to it. Its also a very violent & sexy film, a little too "European" for a mainstream American film, so the film is butched down to a 2 hour version that gets bombed by critics, and hated by audiences who came expecting another Godfather sequel, because hey after all DeNiro is in it. Also in the film is James Woods & the always great Tuesday Weld. The music is by Ennio Morricone & the beautiful cinematography is by Tonino Delli Colli. I'm delighted to see how many positive and interesting comments this film has gotten here, and I too can't wait for it to be on DVD. There is also a longer version than the 4 hour one, in which Louise Flecher has a part, I've seen the stills.