#55 Once Upon A Time In America

In Summary

Sergio Leone's final film, Once Upon A Time In America, took twelve years to make and was nearly lost over a battle in the edit. While the Italian saw his final masterpiece hacked down to an incoherent two-and-a-half hours for its release in American cinemas, the canonical four-hour version has survived the test of time.

A sprawling tale across various eras, Once Upon A Time In America tells the tale of David 'Noodles' Aaronson as he goes from street urchin to gangster to quitting from a life of crime completely. It is a story of love, friendship, betrayal, crime, honour and dishonour.

As you might be able to guess from the film's epic running time, Once Upon A Time In America is a film that rewards its audience for sticking with it. The opening period of the film is defined by this incessant ringing of a telephone, it rings and rings and rings, cutting through time, it keeps ringing, nagging at the audience's ears. It sets up this haunting, regretful tone that defines the rest of the film.

The film truly gets underway as we finally delve into Noodles' childhood, how he sets up a gang with his friends and has to learn the hard way the compromises required to be a successful criminal. There are two key relationships in Noodles' life, with his best friend, Max, and his childhood sweetheart, Deborah.

The next section of the film jumps forward in time after Noodles gets let out of jail, finding that his friends have become successful in the world of crime and that Deborah has become an actress. His friends are keen for him to join them - having kept them out of jail through his sacrifice - however, he knows it will lead him down a path further away from Deborah.

For much of the rest of this section of the film, Noodles is caught between being a criminal and the kind of man Deborah could want, never quite satisfying either demand. Noodles kids himself that he can be both, only to find that his only way to get Deborah is to take her by force.

It is that moment which kills off any hope of Noodles being with the love of his life. The film then builds towards a key moment where the gang are planning a heist, providing Noodles the opportunity to get himself out of a life of crime by turning Max into the authorities.

It is the repercussions of that night that influence the film's finale, set many years later, as a lifetime of friendship and rivalry between Noodles and Max comes to the ultimate head. It is that final twist of the knife which pays off the audience sticking with the film until its dying moments.

A Memorable Quote

I like the stink of the streets. It makes me feel good. And I like the smell of it, it opens up my lungs. And it gives me a hard-on.

Things You May Not Know

• There were up to ten hours worth of scenes filmed for Once Upon A Time In America, with Sergio Leone trimming it down to around six in his first cut of the film.
• Robert De Niro almost turned down the role of Noodles after meeting with Leone, who peed on the seat of his toilet.
• Sergio Leone considered cutting the film into two two-and-a-half hour long halves in order to get into cinemas but couldn't decide where to partition it.

One of the Greatest of All Time?
There is perhaps an unnecessary level of grandiosity to this film that comes from a filmmaker having been handed the level of creative freedom as Sergio Leone had earned at this point in his career. There are sections of the film that could have been sped up with punchier editing within scenes, however, by being so long and so grandiose, it lends a real weight to what is happening on-screen.

Once Upon A Time In America is one of those films you should watch at least once in your life. While there are a lot of details to hold onto that drive the plot forward, it is a film that can be enjoyed by letting it wash over you while Ennio Morricone's sweltering score carries you along.