Once Upon A Time In America (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in America - An absolute epic of a film released in 1984 and directed by Sergio Leone who has many foreign films under his belt, however this is different. Being Sergio Leone's final film 'Once Upon a Time in America' he really pulls out all the stops for this 229 minute masterpiece set in the early 1900's through to the 60's. It is also the third and final part of the 'Once Upon a Time' trilogy following Once Upon a Time in the West and A Fistful of Dynamit The story David 'Noodles' Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz (James Woods) are two young kids in the Jewish ghetto of New York City. After ...  Read the complete review

some years ago I remember seeing this film near the top of a "best of 100 films of all time list". It is generally regarded as a great film and amongst other awards and nominations won two BAFTAs (Best Costume Design, Best Score). When I first saw 'Once Upon a Time in America' I tended to go along with all the praise that was lauded upon the film at he time. However, after standing back a little, taking a breath and having another look I began to see it for what it really was: one of the most overrated movies to come out of Hollywood in the last thirty years. For director Sergio Leone this was his long-cherished project but for me it is his ...  Read the complete review

Having heard that Sergio Leone's last great epic 'Once Upon A Time In America' was finally being released as the director intended, and having heard from various credible sources (both personal and professional) that the final four hour long cut was the stuff of cinematic legend, I was very eager to snap it up at the earliest opportunity. The movie, when I eventually saw it, left me quite underwhelmed. The thing that struck me most was just how unbelievably *nasty* it was. No-one expects sunshine and lollipops from a gangster film, particularly one helmed by Leone, but the sheer lack of the merest scintilla of charm in any of the characters made the film a ...  Read the complete review

Blimey, Charlie -- I think I've just seen one of the best films ever! Once Upon A Time In America is a story of friendship and crime in Prohibition-era New York, and is, for want of a better word, a masterpiece. Rarely does a film leave me feeling both enriched and disembowelled at the same time (the Kubrick feeling, I've come to call it!) Laid back and meaningful, intelligent and well-crafted, the film plays out in front of us beautifully, rewarding the observant and interested. Once Upon A Time In America was released in 1984 and was directed by the late Sergio Leone. Not being interested in Westerns, this was the first of his films I saw. The ...  Read the complete review

WHAT IS IT ABOUT: This epic movie tells the tale of a group of New York gangsters through their childhood during prohibition, to a reunion in the 60s. Told in flash-backs and flash-forwards, the movie is nearly four hours long. WAS IT ANY GOOD: I'd have to answer the above with a resounding 'No'. This film is terrible, and suffers from many mistakes. Firstly, it's just too long - no gangster film should ever approach four hours! Films like The Lord of the Rings work at this length because of the YEARS of effort that have gone into the writing and production. The Godfather, at just under three hours, suffered from an over-long start, and to assume ...  Read the complete review