Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Calificación de los usuarios:

8.4/10   

Director:

Sergio Leone

Escritores:

Harry Grey (novel)
Leonardo Benvenuti (writer) ...

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

1 junio 1984 (USA)

Género:

Crimen | Drama

Frase comercial:

Crime, passion and lust for power - Sergio Leone's explosive saga of gangland America. [Australia Theatrical]

Plot:

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to Brooklyn over 30 years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Plot Keywords:

New York | Jewish | Gangster | Prohibition | Friend

Premios:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 11 wins & 3 nominations

Comentarios de los usuarios:

Leone's "Godfather" Version, And About As Good

Reparto

Robert De Niro	...	David 'Noodles' Aaronson
James Woods	...	Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz / Secretary Christopher Bailey
Elizabeth McGovern	...	Deborah Gelly
Tuesday Weld	...	Carol
Treat Williams	...	James Conway O'Donnell
James Hayden	...	Patrick 'Patsy' Goldberg
Joe Pesci	...	Frankie Minoldi
Larry Rapp	...	'Fat' Moe Gelly
Danny Aiello	...	Police Chief Vincent Aiello
William Forsythe	...	Philip 'Cockeye' Stein
Burt Young	...	Joe
Darlanne Fluegel	...	Eve (as Darlanne Fleugel)
Dutch Miller	...	Van Linden
Robert Harper	...	Sharkey
Richard Bright	...	Chicken Joe

También conocida como:

C'era una volta in America (Italy)
Érase una vez en América (Argentina) (Chile) (Colombia) (Mexico) (Peru) (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, sexual content, language and some drug use. (edited version)

Duración:

229 min | USA:139 min (re-cut)

País:

Italy | USA

Idioma:

Inglés | Italiano | Francés

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Relación de Aspecto:

1.85 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

Finland:K-16 (1990) | Finland:K-18 (1984) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (cut) | Brazil:14 | Germany:16 (f) (re-rating) (2003) | West Germany:18 (f) (original rating) (1984-2003) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:R | France:-12 (re-rating) (2003) | France:-16 (original rating) | Hong Kong:III | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Netherlands:16 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Locaciones de Filmación:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Compañía:

Embassy International Pictures

Trivialidades:

It is James Woods's opinion that this film was Sergio Leone's finest work, and that acting in it was the highlight of his career.

Errores:

Anacronismos: Just before the boys demonstrate the salt trick to the Italians, fluorescent lighting is visible inside the large buildings in the background. Flourescent lights weren't commercially available until the 1940's.

Citas:

[first lines]
[In 1933, two goons torture a young woman]
Beefy: Where is he? Where's he hiding?
Eve: I don't know... I've been looking for him since yesterday.
[a second goon slaps her harshly]
Beefy: I'm gonna ask you for the last time: Where is he?
Eve: I don't know... What are you gonna do to him?
[Two shots are head]
Beefy: [to his partner] Stay here in case that rat shows up...

Conexiones de Película:

Apareció en Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) (TV)

Banda de Sonido:

YESTERDAY

Leone's "Godfather" Version, And About As Good

This Godfather-type film was done by Sergio Leone, of spaghetti-western fame, so you know you will see and experience several of his trademarks. Namely: (1) a lot of facial closeups; (2) some slow-motion or slow-moving dramatic scenes; (3) good overall photography and (4) a unique soundtrack.

The period sets here are magnificent. You get a real feel of the time, whether it's 1910, 1933 or 1967. The colors are awash in blacks, browns and grays and the DVD brings all these out very well, especially considering the film is over 20 years old.

Despite some of Leone's slow moments, this is a fascinating film to watch for the story, too. There are numerous memorable scenes, some of them involving some downright shocking violence, even for today's movies. However, the amount of violence is less than what you see today.

The movie also sports an interesting twist near the end involving the two major characters, played by Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story is not always clear, either, so be prepared to be possibly confused about a few things....at least on the first viewing. Confused or not, this film always is fascinating to view, especially with intense actors such as the two men just mentioned, along with Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, Joe Pecsi, Burt Young, Treat Williams and more.

The child actors in here take up almost half the movie and are excellent. What an injustice they don't receive any publicity for their acting, especially the kids who played De Niro and Woods as youngsters. One of the girls has become a famous adult actress: Jennifer Connelly. She was 12 years old in this film and was already alluring.

This is Godfather-type crime movie that ranks right up there with that famous film, not taking a back seat to it at all.