"The pleasure is all mine"

Rating: 10/10 (24 October 2018)

This was originally conceived as a six-hours long movie in two parts, but the producers forced Leone to reduce its length. There are several versions of this film and it is interesting that the same critic who declared two and a half hours long version as the worst film of the year, a few years later declared the version of three hours and forty-nine minutes as the best movie of the '80s. No one saw the original version of six hours, and at nine o'clock last evening I finally sat to watch the directors cut of little over four hours. I finished it at five in the morning. I paused it a few times to let the impressions settle, rewound many scenes several times to make sure that I understood them well, or that I did not miss a single detail, or simply because I wanted to see them again. And when the movie was over, I had that feeling that usually occurs after the last episode of your favorite series that you've been following for years.
The film is based on the semi-autobiographical novel "The Hoods" by Harry Grey, a former gangster, and it describes the path of a group of Jewish mobsters, since childhood in the streets of New York in the early twenties, through the rise in Prohibition, to the epilogue in the late sixties. The camera and directing are, expectedly, fantastic, and many of the scenes and details in the film are Leone's homage to gangster films from the first half of the twentieth century, but the story itself was nothing special to me. All the time while watching, I thought I'd rate it a seven or eight. But now, when it's over, I miss it. The film has a moderate pace, and the events are carefully weighed that at no time do they look movie-like, so that the story is very realistic and life-like. And the characters ... The characters are so well written and played that they feel real, and you will experience them as people you know and as if you are at every moment with them, somewhere just outside the reach of the camera. This is not surprising when you take into account that almost all the major roles are entrusted to Oscar-winning actors or those who have at least been nominated for this award.
Two leading roles are played by Robert De Niro, who has two Oscars behind him, five nominations and over a hundred roles, and James Woods, with two nominations and over one hundred forty roles. There are also Elizabeth McGovern and Tuesday Weld, with one nomination each, Burt Young with one nomination and over one hundred sixty roles, Oscar-winning legend Joe Pesci, a man born to play villain William Forsythe with over one hundred forty roles, Mario Brega who played in all Leone's films, and many other famous faces.
Leone's swan song is at the same time the first feature film of Jennifer Connelly, which was a stepping stone for the successful career of this Oscar-winning actress. Apart from acting skill, Jennifer is, especially to the male part of the audience, also known by the sexy body that she does not hesitate to show on the big screen. At the audition for the role of Deborah, Jennifer was less than twelve years old, and when the film was released in theaters she was fourteen. Although the credits state the name of the double who replaces Jennifer in the nude scene, some sources say that the scene was filmed with minor Jennifer, and that the name of the double is a scam to avoid legal consequences. It's a scene where Deborah gets undressed after exercising ballet (the ballet scene is inspired by Edgar Dega's paintings) and in which we see her only from behind, so I can not say anything with certainty, but it didn't seem like a double to me.
And of course, we must not forget the greatest surprise this movie brings - the music was done by, you won't believe this, Ennio Morricone.
10/10