Once Upon a Time in America has great cinematography. Amazing period detail. The sets, wardrobe and music are spot on. The casting and acting are great too, with fine performances from its dream cast (hence the FG rating), so what's the problem then?
The film glamourizes the gangster lifestyle. It asks us to root for De Niro's Noodles and his character is scum.
We discover why these young men are drawn to this lifestyle, but none of the characters are likable (perhaps the point) and there is no one to hang your hat on.
None of these people are good, we wait for their downfall. Their views on women are abhorrent and their destructive lifestyles are not to be admired.
One of the worst scenes sees the criminal gang swapping newborns' name tags in a hospital. This means none of the parents will have their correct baby going forward.
The movie is extremely misogynistic, women are abused, cast aside, raped, ogled and stared at through a peep hole (as Noodles, a young man, watches a 12 year old girl undress.)
The whole thing is played as a joke, that women are on earth to be used and abused by men.
It's disjointed (see below) and tasteless.
FG FG F
CAST: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams. DIRECTED BY: Sergio Leone. SCREENPLAY BY: Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone. RUNNING TIME: 229 minutes. CERTIFICATE: 18 / R. USA.
When the film came out, early reviews of the 229 minute version weren't kind in previews, the audience called it mediocre, so the film was re-edited in chronological order to less than two hours. Critics hated this American version and love the full length - out of sequence - European 229 minute version. From a length of allegedly, originally 6 hours, this film still feels disjointed.
