One of the Greats

Rating: Null/10 (3 April 2004)

Sergio Leone already had about 5 films before this which were masterpieces and as it was his last film we expect nothing less and that's what we got. Once Upon a Time in America is quite an unusual tale of Gangster's growing up. It was one of it kind for it's narrative story being chopped up into different parts so we don't really get meaning of the plot till the very end.
The story has to be one of the most beautiful stories I have ever heard and a depressing one at that. It has everything you want in a story as it keeps you guessing and wondering throughout it's nearly 4 hour run but without it being that long it would have never have been that good. This was different for Sergio Leone as we usually expect to see all his characters living in the west and wearing ponchos but what he brought to the screen in 1984 was probably the greatest gangster film of all time even beating the likes of The Godfather and Scarface. I once said that Goodfellas was the greatest gangster film ever but that was before I saw Once Upon a Time in America. Before this was released on DVD did anyone find it hard to find the original copy? I couldn't find it and it was becoming incurably frustrating as I ran sacked all the Car Boot Sales to try and bag myself a copy and I then come across this man on a market stall and asked if he had a copy and he said he's got one at home and he'll bring it in for me next time he is there. I agreed to this and asked him what his price was and he said Â£20 and this is for a VHS which in my opinion a classic or not is daylight robbery so I was back to square one. The angels were listening though as a couple of weekends later they showed it on BBC 2 and I got to witness one of the greatest films ever made but it just astounds me that this movie was so rare to own after it was released in the mid eighties and even then it was a cut version so I had to rely on the TV to come up trumps with it's full version and lucky for me it did.
There are some heartbreaking scenes here especially when Noodles rapes
Deborah only because he knows he can't have her any other way but I think it's great how Leone let's us get to know Noodles for him to then turn his back on us and show us his evil side by raping her or attempting to I couldn't really tell if he did or not. There is no future as far as love goes for Noodles as he doesn't know how to feel it after so much rejection. He is a broken man and is desperate for Deborah to love him but she resists only for him to do that to her.
Robert De Niro's performance is one of the best of his career especially when he is an older man because his eyes do all the talking as his age goes and his movements from place to place when reminiscing is just brilliant as the more he moves the more guilt runs through him. He is a lost soul and doesn't see anyway of putting his past behind and getting one with the future. His past haunts him and he won't let it rest as he grows more suspicious trying to find out why he was invited back to his hometown after being obsolete for the past 30 years and whilst that is happening he is trying to find out the truth and while this is going on we see how his life has come upon him in flashback. De Niro is not the only reason we should watch this but James Woods also as he gives the performance of his career as Noodles best friend Max. Once Upon a Time in America may come across slow in parts and when it's your first time it may not even make any sense to you anyway as it did me. It took me at least three watches to get what happened and what was De Niro's smile all about but once you have got past all that and have really taken it in you will see that Leone didn't make a great film before he died but he made one of the greatest films ever made.