mark-whait Review of Once Upon a Time in America

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Leone classic will live on for decades

[10/10 · 12 April 2011]

Master of the Western Sergio Leone swapped Clint Eastwood for Robert DeNiro, Cowboys for Gangsters and the Wild West for an even wilder New York, with this seminal masterpiece. It was Leone's last film before his tragically early death at just 60, and although he was working on a big budget World War II film at the time of his demise, in a way that is tragically fitting as no film could have topped this one. Of course, whilst Leone naturally made his name in the sixties with the infamous Spaghetti western, the sheer sprawling grandeur of OUATIA is an unforgettable experience that attacks the senses. From the opening image of Robert DeNiro's opium filled body to the final scene some 229 minutes later, the sensation carries on throughout and hits home more powerfully than any cheroot-chewing Clint or twanging Morricone soundtrack ever did. DeNiro plays 'Noodles', a young man who grew up with his compatriots in Prohibition America, who then returns to his old haunts three decades later to reflect on his life as a hard-bitten gangster. Every scene is pitch perfect, and whilst there are some caps doffed to the likes of The Godfather, Leone doesn't hold back with scenes of rape, murder and brutality that give the film an edge sharper than a month's worth of Eastwood stubble. It's amazing in that Leone was returning to the helm of a movie for the first time in over a decade - there is no let up in the brilliance and certainly no signs of rustiness. And legendary collaborator Morricone is also back in tandem. Morricone delivers one of his most mesmerising scores and it was reported that DeNiro demanded some music be pre-written for scenes and then played back whilst they were being shot just so he could pitch the mood of his character. It's hard to say that this is Morricone's best work because his career is generously decorated with brilliant soundtracks, but it's also the case that 'Deborah's Theme', for example, is even played at funerals these days, such is the power of the music. Even Lennon and McCartney's 'Yesterday' gets an airing. James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern provide faultless support from the cast, but this is a movie of colossal brilliance and will rightfully live on for many decades to come.