Too much of everything

Memorable, crazy movie

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Where do I start? This review is for the 229 minutes Director's Cut that I saw once last year on the Internet. I must say that there is too much praising of a worthless movie that I myself find nothing to like about at all. All the nudity and rape scenes are enough for me to want to grab the DVDs all across the world and throw it in garbage bins. When that is said, I can only imagine how much worse the actual movie is (I believe I read that it's 6 hours and 30 minutes long). Seriously, this is the worst movie I've ever seen, even worse than the Saw-movies, because the Saw-movies were at least a little bit of thrilling. This on the other hand is nothing of value! And I know that people think that I'm not being serious about this. I am serious. If it's true that Sergio Leone spent 10 years to make this trash, then that makes me sick to my stomach. The only reasons to why people like it are, A: They are Robert De Niro-fanatics, B: They are addicted to porn and violence and C: They are delusional and not true to themselves. Stay away at all costs!

Is "Once Upon a Time in America" praised because of what it is, or because of who made it? I would argue that it is the latter, as Sergio Leone has been raised to a mythical status due to his unique directing talents and the success of the four western films he directed. Despite what Leone brought to this film (and his signature techniques are all at work here), that alone does not make a great film, and unfortunately "Once Upon a Time in America" suffers from several key shortcomings. The main one of these shortcomings is simply the plot, which is too cumbersome, and once put through the wringer of the pacing and time-jumping, simply doesn't hold up as interesting enough to justify the 4 hour runtime of the extended version (the version Leone intended, apparently). By the end of the film I was deflated and bored, and the ending itself did nothing to change that. There was a gem of a good story in here - Leone knew that - but I don't think he succeeded in bringing it out. And many of the scenes seemed to be there only to provide shock value. Leone's earlier work was much "tighter," where every shot seemed to matter.The music and soundtrack are also a bit jarring. I think this was Leone's weak spot through most of his films. His repetition of musical themes in a film worked OK for his westerns, but in this film in particular, it becomes wearisome to hear the same cloying theme for the 50th time over 4 hours. I found myself distracted by the music and wishing it wasn't there behind the dialogue much of the time. So despite some glimmers of brilliance, even the fully restored version of "Once Upon a Time in America" rings flat for me. Due to the years of delays in getting this film off the ground, he missed his window and the "gangster" genre was already tired when this film came out (and arguably it's even more tired today). And unlike his westerns, which were sort of meta-films as they came after the hay-day of the format. "Once Upon a Time in America" just feels like one of the pack.

Look I sat through four hours of this just because I started it and frankly did not have anything else to watch, but this film surely proves that the reviewers on this website are dolts.One can appreciate the corrupt pig, the sexy girl and the doggy sex, but beyond that there is so little to watch. I don't know if a subplot of Jews was added so the director can get funding in Hollywood, but the characters were so boring and the film so slow moving it really made me wonder.A mafioso grows up and out of New York and then reappears having lived n the area in hiding.

Bravo! Everyone connected with this movie should take a long well-deserved bow. Most excellent entertainment across the board bar none. All my favorite actors are at their peak plus the supporting players came through as well. If that is not enough, treat yourself to one of the best scores you will ever hear too. The music when applied to certain scenes just tugs and pulls on you until you give in and you are glad that you did too. There are different versions out there to experience. I found the blue-ray 251 minute version which Leone had a hand in and it made good sense. I have seen the other versions and I couldn't quite figure out what was going on even after I was captivated. Imagine that if it held you when chopped up it will spellbind you when complete. It does! Let us not forget that the story itself of gangsters, murders, robberies prostitution etc. can never be glorified and encouraged as a way of life in real life. Quite the opposite. It is a life misspent even it is exciting and dangerous to live in a perverted way. It reminds me of The Godfather movie where we fall in love with Don Corleone but lets be clear he was a bad man. What comes through here in this movie is the magic of growing up, having friends, doing things together, first loves and adventures. What hurts is seeing all those things fail or not complete themselves. This movie gives you both and then some. You have to stop and think about what Tuco said in the Good, Bad & Ugly to his brother. In this town, in order to survive, one becomes a priest or a bandit. Same with this movie only minus the priest part. These kids growing up on the streets have nothing worthwhile to look forward to accept trouble that brings excitement or jail. In between they hope for money, food, a better life and that it gets easier not harder. Street life is like that. You get to glimpse very well this no where type of existence courtesy of expert directing here. It would take someone who knew about this type of growing up to present correctly and more importantly with deep feeling and genuineness. This movies delivers that and more. Haunting, reflective, deep, pain, sorrow and mystery rolled up altogether using peoples lives to make the points. That's why the viewer can relate so well. It could have been and in many cases was...your life too. Recommend a meal while watching with a tasty drink and a decent snack. Make sure you have enough for three plus hours. I have seen this at least three times. I am not through either.....