Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Title: 'Once Upon a Time in America' (1984)
Genre: Sergio Leone Epic... Of the gangster variety
Rating: 8.5/10

I didn't think their were many of these left. I'm talking about pleasant surprises. Especially of this scale. Any one of these elements would make this worth a watch, and when factored together make me feel like I've been living under a rock to have missed this. What did Wonka say? 'And so shines a good deed in a weary world'. Fucking A, right:

Robert DeNiro. Remember back before DeNiro killed his solid-gold agent? Before he was making shite and shallow comedy attempts with Billy Crystal or Ben Stiller? Before he was a parody of his former self? Before he shared screentime with Bullwinkle?
The DeNiro I like to remember was a fucking shattered Taxi Driver/Boxer/Veteran or a badass gangster... And the gangster list is unparalleled, from Corleone to Capone to Conway to McCauley to Rothstein... And now, 'Noodles', 'I like the stink of the streets. It cleans out my lungs. And it gives me a hard-on'.

James Woods. I figured this guy had fallen off the map when I saw him in John Carpenter's 'Vampires' (1998). But I don't reckon I ever saw him when he was on the map. Until this movie. What a frickin all-star. This is why he still gets more work than a San Pablo hoochie. I loved him in 'Casino' (1995). He was awesomely pathetic and played like magic off'a DeNiro just as he does in this film. Somebody should sew these guys together, there's not much else like it . They're the Matthau and Lemmon of Gangster pics. I can't overstate this enough. You gotta see these two on screen together, your pulse will change.

Jennifer Connelly. Do they make femme fatales that young? Holy. Fourteen years old. This was her big break. The kind of performance that shuffles the rolodex in your brain. She grows up to be Elizabeth McGovern. Frickin' of course she grows up to be Elizabeth McGovern. The casting in this movie is bat-shit insane. It's like they knew about some hidden genealogy information that only the Scientologists reveal to level 5 Thetan Counselors.

And finally, Sergio Leone:


This is a 4 hour movie. So plan accordingly. I had intended to break it up over two nights, but I caved and crammed it into one. There was no way I could have waited. If I can have Christmas now, I'll have it now. Damn it.

This movie is on par with 'The Godfather' (1972) and 'Goodfellas' (1990). For reals.

Judgement: Fucking own it.