Of all the movies I have seen, I like this the best.

Rating: Null/10 (18 April 2000)

For me, this is as close as anyone as ever come to make the perfect movie. It is sheer poetry in motion. Sergio Leone, the man who revolutionized the western genre with the Clint Eastwood trilogy, now gives us an absolute masterpiece. This movie features an Italian all-star trio (Leone-deNiro-Morricone) who have really excelled themselves in this one. The story tells us of young Noodles and his three friends, Maxie, Patsie, and Cockeye, who soon realize they have got to stick together, for protection as well as profit. This bond they formed as boys was to them as sacred as blood, and would affect each of them profoundly, as long as any of them lived. One of the things that struck me first about this movie was its music. Ennio Morricone has created a masterpiece inside another one. All of the tunes, but especially Cockeye's song, the one with the pan flute, are absolutely fabulous. It enthralls us from the first minute, and we are still whistling it long after the movie has ended. The actors and actresses are brilliant. The fact that the movie failed to reap a handful (or two) of Academy Awards really makes us shun such dubious criteria. I feel it was as big an injustice as Kafka never winning the literary Nobel prize. I have praised this movie as much as I could muster the words, and yet I know I have fallen short of its greatness. If you have not watched this movie yet, please do so. For your own benefit. If you have watched it already, then I reckon you will agree with me that this movie is just as good as they get. Bravo!