Brief comment on a masterpiece not without flaws

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2009)

I will keep my review to a minimum as so much has been written on this film. It is a fantastic film (up there with Once Upon a Time in the West as one of the greatest of all). I watched it again for the 8th time after not seeing it for 5 years or so, and had forgotten just how immersive the film is. My only negative comment, and I add this as I haven't heard this criticism before, is that this is one of the few films that would benefit from being a little longer. At times the film cuts between scenes too quickly and speeds through threads looking almost cartoony, which is at odds with the general mood of the film of a slow relaxed immersive experience. In particular consider when Tom visits Hollywood to get Johnny Fontane a role. The sequence seems almost rushed as one minute Tom is in NY then LA and then cut, cut, cut suddenly there's a horse's head.. This happens a number of times in the film and probably resulted from studio pressure to reduce the film's running length. Overall though a masterpiece.