Great mob epic and last film from the legendary Sergio Leone

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2016)

Sergio Leone's last film Once Upon A Time In America is a very well crafted gangster epic that looks and sounds great with excellent acting and direction. The film is somewhat in the same vein as The Godfather, but with more unexpected twists and turns and of course shot in Sergio Leone's distinct style. The film was supposed to be 6 hours long in Sergio's original cut, over 10 hours of footage was shot, the version that I have viewed clocks in at around 4 hours and is the closest version available to the directors cut. While some of this footage could have made the film more comprehensible, what is left is cohesive and much of what is missing is left to the viewers interpretation. Which is good, I think. Anyway, the film centers around the life of Noodles and his friends and business associates, who were street hoods as youths in NYC's lower east side and later bootlegger gangsters during the prohibition era. The cast is excellent with Robert De Niro, James Woods, William Forsythe and great looks and excellent performances from Tuesday Weld and Elizabeth Mc Govern. Joe Pesci and Burt Young have memorable cameos as well. Another thing that sets this apart from most other films in the genre is that these mobsters are not Italian or Irish, but Jewish. Once Upon A Time In America is a great film and is recommended viewing if you have seen The Godfather films, but are open to something a little more offbeat, but still very much high quality then you should give this film a go.