Once Upon a Time in America (1984) - IMDb

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and ... MenuMoviesReleaseCalendarDVD&Blu-rayReleasesTop250MoviesMostPopularMoviesBrowseMoviesbyGenreTopBoxOfficeShowtimes&TicketsInTheatersComingSoonMovieNewsIndiaMovieSpotlightTVShowsWhat'sonTV&StreamingTop250TVShowsMostPopularTVShowsBrowseTVShowsbyGenreTVNewsIndiaTVSpotlightWatchWhattoWatchLatestTrailersIMDbOriginalsIMDbPicksIMDbPodcastsAwards&EventsOscarsBestPictureWinnersBestPictureWinnersEmmysAPAHeritageMonthSTARmeterAwardsSanDiegoComic-ConNewYorkComic-ConSundanceFilmFestivalTorontoInt'lFilmFestivalAwardsCentralFestivalCentralAllEventsCelebsBornTodayMostPopularCelebsMostPopularCelebsCelebrityNewsCommunityHelpCenterContributorZonePollsForIndustryProfessionalsAllAllTitlesTVEpisodesCelebsCompaniesKeywordsAdvancedSearchWatchlistSignInENFullysupportedEnglish(UnitedStates)PartiallysupportedFrançais(Canada)Français(France)Deutsch(Deutschland)हिंदी(भारत)Italiano(Italia)Português(Brasil)Español(España)Español(México)OnceUponaTimeinAmerica19841984M18M183h49mIMDbRATING8.3/10342KYOURRATINGRatePOPULARITY5365Cast&crewUserreviewsTriviaIMDbProAlltopicsPlaytrailer2:412Videos99+PhotosCrimeDramaAformerProhibition-eraJewishgangsterreturnstotheLowerEastSideofManhattan35yearslater,wherehemustonceagainconfronttheghostsandregretsofhisoldlife.AformerProhibition-eraJewishgangsterreturnstotheLowerEastSideofManhattan35yearslater,wherehemustonceagainconfronttheghostsandregretsofhisoldlife.AformerProhibition-eraJewishgangsterreturnstotheLowerEastSideofManhattan35yearslater,wherehemustonceagainconfronttheghostsandregretsofhisoldlife.IMDbRATING8.3/10342KYOURRATINGRatePOPULARITY5365DirectorSergioLeoneWritersHarryGrey(basedonnovel"TheHoods"by)LeonardoBenvenuti(screenplayby)PieroDeBernardi(screenplayby)StarsRobertDeNiroJamesWoodsElizabethMcGovernTopcreditsDirectorSergioLeoneWritersHarryGrey(basedonnovel"TheHoods"by)LeonardoBenvenuti(screenplayby)PieroDeBernardi(screenplayby)StarsRobertDeNiroJamesWoodsElizabethMcGovernSeeproduction,boxoffice&companyinfo787Userreviews132Criticreviews75MetascoreSeemoreatIMDbProTopratedmovie#80Won2BAFTAAwards12wins&12nominationstotalVideos2Trailer2:41OnceUponaTimeinAmericaClip3:18WhatRolesHasJenniferConnellyTurnedDown?Photos222TopcastEditRobertDeNiroNoodlesasNoodlesJamesWoodsMaxasMaxElizabethMcGovernDeborahasDeborahTreatWilliamsJimmyO'DonnellasJimmyO'DonnellTuesdayWeldCarolasCarolBurtYoungJoeasJoeJoePesciFrankieasFrankieDannyAielloPoliceChiefAielloasPoliceChiefAielloWilliamForsytheCockeyeasCockeyeJamesHaydenPatsyasPatsyDarlanneFluegelEveasEve(asDarlanneFleugel)LarryRappFatMoeasFatMoeDutchMillerVanLindenasVanLindenRobertHarperSharkeyasSharkeyRichardBrightChickenJoeasChickenJoeGerardMurphyCrowningasCrowningAmyRyderPeggyasPeggyOlgaKarlatosWomaninthePuppetTheatreasWomaninthePuppetTheatreDirectorSergioLeoneWritersHarryGrey(basedonnovel"TheHoods"by)LeonardoBenvenuti(screenplayby)PieroDeBernardi(screenplayby)Allcast&crewSeemorecastdetailsatIMDbProMorelikethis8.5C'eraunavoltailWest8.2Casino8.8TheGood,theBadandtheUgly8.7Goodfellas8.3ScarfaceWatchoptions8.3ReservoirDogs9.0TheGodfather:PartII8.5ApocalypseNow8.7OneFlewOvertheCuckoo'sNest8.32001:ASpaceOdyssey8.2RagingBull8.5ThePianistStorylineEditWiththevividmemoryofhislong-gonechildhoodfriendsMax,Patsy,andCockeyeetchedinhismind,hisferociouslyloyalpartners-in-crimeduringtheirrisetoprominenceinNewYork'sProhibition-eraLowerEastSide,thedefeated,penniless,andguilt-riddenformergangsterDavid"Noodles"AaronsonreturnstoManhattan.Notknowingwhattoexpectonhismissiontoshedlightonhisopaquepast,grizzledNoodlesreuniteswithhisonlylivingfriendFatMoeafter35hauntedyearsofself-exile.However,therelentless,piercingsoundofculpabilitystandsinthewayoffindingclosure,astheinscrutablecontentofawell-wornleathersuitcasefurthercomplicatesmatters.Andnow,againstthebackdropofatornconscience,thesad,bittersweetrecollectionsofmorethan50yearsoflove,death,andeverythingin-betweenbecomeinextricablyintertwined,leadingtoevenmorepuzzlingquestions.Butwhatareaman'soptionswhenheisleftwithnothing?—NickRiganaspolicecorruptiongangsterprohibitionsexscenefemalerearnudity249morePlotsummaryPlotsynopsisTaglinesCrime,passionandlustforpower-SergioLeone'sexplosivesagaofganglandAmerica.GenresCrimeDramaCertificateM18ParentsguideDidyouknowEditTriviaWhenfilmingwascompleted,thefootagerantoatotalofeighttotenhours.DirectorSergioLeoneandeditorNinoBaraglitrimmedthefootagetoaroundsixhours,withtheplanofreleasingthefilmastwothree-hourmovies.Theproducersrefusedthisidea,andLeonehadtofurthercutthefilmdowntothreehoursandforty-nineminutes.GoofsWhenYoungNoodlesholdsYoungPeggyinthetoiletandshesays"Youbetterstopsqueezingme,orI'mgonnapoopinmypants",thebeginningofherlinesoundstwice,asiftwodifferenttakeshavebeenoverlappedwithacross-fade.QuotesNoodles:[toDeborah]ThereweretwothingsIcouldn'tgetoutofmymind.OnewasDominic,thewayhesaid,"Islipped,"justbeforehedied.Theotherwasyou.HowyouusedtoreadmeyourSongofSongs,remember?"Howbeautifulareyourfeet/Insandals,Oprince'sdaughter."IusedtoreadtheBibleeverynight.EverynightIusedtothinkaboutyou."Yournavelisabowl/Well-roundedwithnolackofwine/Yourbelly,aheapofwheat/Surroundedwithlilies/Yourbreasts/Clustersofgrapes/Yourbreath,sweet-scentedasapples."Nobody'sgonnaloveyouthewayIlovedyou.ThereweretimesIcouldn'tstanditanymore.Iusedtothinkofyou.I'dthink,"Deborahlives.She'soutthere.Sheexists."Andthatwouldgetmethroughitall.Youknowhowimportantthatwastome?CrazycreditsJoeyFayeiscreditedasthe"adorableoldman."AlternateversionsForitsU.S.theatricalreleasethefilmwascutby90minutesfrom3hoursand47minutesto2hoursand19minutesdespitetheoriginalcutgainingravereviewsatthefilm'spremiereatCannes.Manyfilmcriticsgavetwoseparatereviewsforthefilm.WhilethecompleteEuropeanversionwashighlypraised,theheavilyeditedUStheatricalreleasewascriticallybutchered.ConnectionsEditedintoBellissimo:Immaginidelcinemaitaliano(1985)SoundtracksGodBlessAmericaMusicbyIrvingBerlinIrvingBerlinMusicCorporationPerformedbyKateSmithCourtesyofRCARecordUserreviews787ReviewTopreviewNotsimplythegreatestofgangstermovies,butoneofthegreatestmoviesever,amulti-layered,melancholicmasterpiecethatdemandsrepeatedviewingsOnceUponATimeInAmericaisthecrowningachievementofdirectorSergioLeone.It'snearlyfourhourslong,anddemandstotalconcentrationfrombeginningtoend.However,thosewillingtosubmitwillfinditmorethanworthit.ReminiscentattimesofsomeveryoldgangsterfilmssuchasTheRoaringTwenties,onewillfindalmosteverygangstermovieclichéonecanfind-onecanimagineLeonehalfrememberingbitsandpiecesfromfilmshesawasayouth.However,heneverglamouriseshisprotagonists-hemaydareustolikeRobertDeNiro's'Noodles'-amurderousthugandrapistwhoalwaysseemstomakethewrongdecisions-butthat'sdifferentfromglamourisinghim.ThenotoriousrapesceneisallthemorehardtowatchbecauseitspainfultowatchNoodlestrytodestroyhimselfandhisgirlfriendbygoingthroughwithit.Whatreallymakesthisfilmdifferentisit'soverwhelmingmelancholy.Leone'sfavouriteloyalty/betrayalthemeisthere,butthefilmisalsoastudyofmemory,ofalostsoulcomingtotermswithhispast.Therefore,startinginmid-plotinthe1930s,thanflashingbackandforthintime,wastherightchoice{ifinitiallyconfusing!}.ThisistheculminationofLeone'sincreasinginterestintheflashbackstructure-thinkespeciallyoftheparallelstorytoldinAFistfulofDynamite'sflashbacks.Thereisaction,butit'smostlyquickandbrutal,andthereisalsohumour,suchasaveryfunnyscenesettoRossini'sThievingMagpiewherethegangstersarelooseinahospitalfilledwithbabies.However,thebroody,melancholictoneneverreallygoesaway,andtowardstheend,thefilmgrindstoavirtualhalt.Bewarned,thereisnoactionclimax,justaseriesofsomewhatobliquedialoguescenesandrevelations.TheexpectedLeoneflamboyancyishardlytobefound,butthefilmstilloftensoarsmostwhendialogueiskepttoaminimumandEnnioMorricone'sgorgeousmusictakesover.SomeofthemostbrilliantscenesjustconsistofNoodlesseeingandreflecting.Inoneespeciallyeffectiveandpoignantsceneneartheend,anoldNoodlesisleavinghisloveDeborahasherachinglysadthemeplays,andheseesherson,whoisthespittingimageof,well,Itrytoavoidspoilers!Asthemusicchangesintothestillsadbutmoremajesticmaintheme,thecameraslowlyzooms,asitoftendoes,intoNoodles'sadeyes.Wegotowhatisinitiallyablur,untilwerealiseit'scurtains.Thepersonwhoholdsthekeytoallthisappears,likeaghost,throughthecurtainsandgoesontoabalcony,fromwhereheseesthesame'son'withagirlfriend.Sheerbrilliance,andnotaguninsight!OfcourseDeNiroisgreat,buthe'sobviouslyveryrestrainedandreflective.It'sJamesWoodswhoreallydominates,sodynamichere,thisshouldhavemadehimabigstar.OnemustalsomentionTonniDelliColli,whophotographsthreetimeperiodswithslightlydifferenthuesbutstillsubtly.Leone'soriginalcutwasfivehoursandifyouwanttobepickythereareholesintheplot.Leoneleavesagreatmanythingsambiguous,butshouldn'tallgreatartaskquestions?OnceUponATimeInAmericaisnotnecessarilyeasyviewing,butitISgreatart,thefinalstatementofoneofthebestfilmmakersofalltime.helpful•6457DrLeneraSep13,2005FAQ11HowdidtheinventionNoodles'showstoCapuanowork?Is'OnceUponaTimeinAmerica'basedonabook?WhatisthebookNoodlesreadsasakidwhenhe'sinthebathroom?DetailsEditReleasedateJune1,1984(UnitedStates)CountriesoforiginItalyUnitedStatesOfficialsitesOfficialFacebookWarnerBros.(UnitedStates)LanguagesEnglishItalianFrenchYiddishHebrewAlsoknownasBilojenekočvAmerikiFilminglocationsWilliamsburgBridge,NewYorkCity,NewYork,USAProductioncompaniesTheLaddCompanyWarnerBros.ProducersSalesOrganization(PSO)SeemorecompanycreditsatIMDbProBoxofficeEditBudget$30,000,000(estimated)GrossUS&Canada$5,321,508OpeningweekendUS&Canada$2,412,014Jun3,1984Grossworldwide$5,473,337SeedetailedboxofficeinfoonIMDbProTechnicalspecsEditRuntime3hours49minutesColorColorSoundmixMonoDolbyDigitalAspectratio1.85:1RelatednewsBestMoviesComingtoNetflixinMay2022May1DenofGeekHuluNewReleases:May2022May1DenofGeekContributetothispageSuggestaneditoraddmissingcontentTopGapWhatisthestreamingreleasedateofOnceUponaTimeinAmerica(1984)inIndia?AnswerSeemoregapsLearnmoreaboutcontributingEditpageMoretoexploreListThe10MostAnticipatedMarvelandDCMoviesSeethefulllist2:14TheMostAnticipatedMoviesandShowstoWatchinMayWatchthevideoRecentlyviewedPleaseenablebrowsercookiestousethisfeature. L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