Once Upon a Time in America movie

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to Brooklyn over 30 years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

Once Upon a Time in America (Italian title Cera una volta in America) (1984) is the last film by director Sergio Leone, and features Robert De Niro and James Woods as Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York Citys world of organized crime.Once Upon a Time in America explores the ideas of memory, violence and betrayal in the eyes of one person, Noodles. It is renowned for its cinematography, expansive extreme long shots and the detail of three historical settings and its intricate, open-ended narration.The film premiered at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival at its original running time of 229 minutes (3 hours 49 minutes). It was released in the United States in a heavily edited and truncated version, against Leones wishes, almost ninety minutes shorter than the original version released in Europe. The short version eliminates the flashback structure of the film, instead placing the scenes in chronological order.Original ProductionThe movie was supposed to run 6 hours long but the original shooting script got changed.

Originally Sergio Leone wanted to release the movie the way it was but the studio and producers refused. They said it was too expensive so the final movie length is 4 hours 30 or 35 minutes. This is an interview from a book called Italian Filmmakers Self PortraitsGili:With the passing of the years had the final screenplay become very different from the first adaptation?Leone:Yes, it had changed a lot. For example, there were, shall we say, historical things in the 1968 part that were clearly understandable; with the passing of the years, they became less so. We eliminated those. Initially the film was supposed to begin in a completely different way.

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Once Upon a Time in America Cast

• Burt Young
• Danny Aiello
• Darlanne Fluegel
• Dutch Miller
• Elizabeth McGovern
• James Hayden
• James Woods
• Joe Pesci
• Larry Rapp
• Richard Bright
• Robert Harper
• Treat Williams
• Tuesday Weld
• William Forsythe