Once Upon a Time in America: Swan Song for Sergio
Robert De Niro betrays his friends and they get killed. He spends the next 30 years of his life feeling guilty about. This shit takes FOUR HOURS!! And it stands as one of the best gangster films of all times.
This isn't an idle claim; there are a lot of good gangster films: Godfather 1 and 2, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, and Mean Streets, to name a few. Once Upon a Time in America stands near the top of that last, slightly ahead of Goodfellas, in my opinion. And you've never heard of it. Why have you never heard of it? Primarily because you are very adept at depriving yourself of things that rule. However, a lot of the blame rests with Warner Bros., who cut the original version of the film by an hour and a half and put it into chronological order, thereby ruining it. However, the original version was released on DVD and is now available to rock your world.
The film starts with De Niro's friends from childhood getting killed in a botched raid on the Federal Reserve. De Niro is now on the lam from other mobsters because he tipped off the cops about the robbery. The story then proceeds through a series of flashbacks and flashforwards. We see De Niro as an old man coming back to his old stomping ground after he receives a mysterious letter. We then see De Niro as a young boy as he crushes on Jennifer Connelly, meets James Woods, and viciously stabs a rival gangster (and a cop, which is awesome, cause cops suck).
Like Vanilla Sky, OUATIA operates on several levels and it can be interpreted in different ways. Some view it as a trip down memory lane, as the old De Niro looks back on his life. Others (including Richard Schickel on the commentary track) argue that the whole film is an opium induced dream sequence. The film works on both levels because it is ambiguous in nature. The film piles layers upon layers of ambiguity, leaving the viewer to sort things out. OUATIA doesn't tell who the villains are and who are heroes. (The protagonist, De Niro, commits one of the most vivid rapes in all of filmdom, whereas a corrupt politicians turns out to be a former Socialist agitator). The editing by Nino Baragli and Zach Staenberg lets the film segue from time period to time period, with subtle aural or visual cues letting the viewer know that we've shifted forward or back. The ultimate ambiguity is the final shot of De Niro smiling at the camera through a screen. Add in spot on performances by De Niro, Woods, William Forsythe, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, and supporting performances from Treat Williams and Joe Pesci (who doesn't get killed, for once), and you have a recipe for an underrated and overlooked gem.So if you have 4 fours to kill, go check out Once Upon a Time in America.
Robert De Niro betrays his friends and they get killed. He spends the next 30 years of his life feeling guilty about. This shit takes FOUR HOURS!! And it stands as one of the best gangster films of all times.
This isn't an idle claim; there are a lot of good gangster films: Godfather 1 and 2, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, and Mean Streets, to name a few. Once Upon a Time in America stands near the top of that last, slightly ahead of Goodfellas, in my opinion. And you've never heard of it. Why have you never heard of it? Primarily because you are very adept at depriving yourself of things that rule. However, a lot of the blame rests with Warner Bros., who cut the original version of the film by an hour and a half and put it into chronological order, thereby ruining it. However, the original version was released on DVD and is now available to rock your world.
The film starts with De Niro's friends from childhood getting killed in a botched raid on the Federal Reserve. De Niro is now on the lam from other mobsters because he tipped off the cops about the robbery. The story then proceeds through a series of flashbacks and flashforwards. We see De Niro as an old man coming back to his old stomping ground after he receives a mysterious letter. We then see De Niro as a young boy as he crushes on Jennifer Connelly, meets James Woods, and viciously stabs a rival gangster (and a cop, which is awesome, cause cops suck).
Like Vanilla Sky, OUATIA operates on several levels and it can be interpreted in different ways. Some view it as a trip down memory lane, as the old De Niro looks back on his life. Others (including Richard Schickel on the commentary track) argue that the whole film is an opium induced dream sequence. The film works on both levels because it is ambiguous in nature. The film piles layers upon layers of ambiguity, leaving the viewer to sort things out. OUATIA doesn't tell who the villains are and who are heroes. (The protagonist, De Niro, commits one of the most vivid rapes in all of filmdom, whereas a corrupt politicians turns out to be a former Socialist agitator). The editing by Nino Baragli and Zach Staenberg lets the film segue from time period to time period, with subtle aural or visual cues letting the viewer know that we've shifted forward or back. The ultimate ambiguity is the final shot of De Niro smiling at the camera through a screen. Add in spot on performances by De Niro, Woods, William Forsythe, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld, and supporting performances from Treat Williams and Joe Pesci (who doesn't get killed, for once), and you have a recipe for an underrated and overlooked gem.So if you have 4 fours to kill, go check out Once Upon a Time in America.