Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: The only gangster film that is also a FILM
Review: This is the ONLY so called gangster film that is not just a fast moving thriller, where the killings seem just entertainment; it is a FILM. It is about friendship, betrayal and complexity of human emotions. And yes, Craig Bleakley, it HAD TO BE SLOW, because its main goal is to be a psychological drama, not a thriller. By being slow, it forces you not to concentrate on action but on the message of the film. Whoever watches this film needs to be aware of this, and approach it which correct mind set. The main characters of the film could have been shoemakers which almost the same success. The background they were from was chosen mainly to overstress the value of friendship these guys forged in tough circumstances.

Oh yes, the other one(Godfather). Read the book
instead.

WARNING: WATCH ONLY THE FULL VERSION. THE CUTTDOWN VERSION FOR DUMMIES IS TOTALLY USELESS AND DOES DISSERVICE TO THIS AWESOME MASTERPIECE.


Rating:
Summary: A Truly Weird Gangster Film
Review:
I am sure many people are turned off Once Upon a Time, as I was, the first time they see it. Not only is it confusing and strange, but it is filled with morally repugnant people doing morally repugnant things.

But OUATIA really grew on me, and I think it is a masterpiece. It is very different from the other great gangster films, Godfather and Goodfellas. But it is great in its own way.

Essentially this is the story of a loser. Noodles is the ultimate loser, played with great subtlety by De Niro. Noodles achieves absolutely nothing, in that Land of Opportunity, America. His childhood friends Max and Deborah go on to great things, and become wealthy and prominent.
But what was the point? At the end of the movie, it is Noodles who retains his sense of self-respect and is comfortable with where he is, even if he has many regrets. Max and Deborah are wrecks - they have had a lick of the brass ring, and have not survived well.

Have you ever noticed:
1. The similarities with Quentin Tarantino's movies? For example, the central moment of the film - the shootout where Noodles' entire gang is massacred, is never shown. Compare to Reservoir Dogs, where the central jewel heist is never shown, although it is absolutly central to the movie.
The mysterious briefcase from Pulp Fiction makes its appearance here, with the contents of the gang's suitcase mysteriously shielded from the audience, and then continually changing.
The character of Noodles, the washed-out ex-con, is remarkably like the Lewis character in "Jackie Brown". Clearly Tarantino liked De Niro's performance in OUATIA, for he plays both characters!
Last but not least, the fractured storyline, moving back and forth in time, is typical of Tarantino.
OUATIA is one of Tarantino's favourit films, as can be seen in the supplement to the DVD; obviously it greatly influenced him.

2. Ever notice that the character of Max keeps on disappearing? I am not quite sure what to make of this, but Max seems to have a tendency to cease to exist at strange moments, then to reappear weirdly.
First, he appears from nowhere in the Drunk scene, sitting on a chair on a wagon.
Then, at the start of the Bugsy attack scene, he whistles for Noodles. Noodles goes into an alley, and looks back and forth. No Max. Then he turns, and then sees Max behind a cart - he has mysteriously come from nowhere.
Then, in the New York Harbour scene, Max falls into the water. Noodles jumps after him, then cannot find him. Where is max? He has vanished! Then somehow he is sitting in the boat again, safe and well, grinning at Noodles.
Next, (Spoiler!) Max appears to die in the shootout. He reappears 35 years later, older and greyer, in his ultimate vanishing act.
Last of all, there is the haunting and unforgettable end to the Max character. He walks behind a garbage truck and then vanishes, for positively the last time.

3. I'd also like to share an idea I have. At the beginning of the very first flashforward to 1968, Noodles appears as a reflection in a mirror. He stares at the mirror for a while, as if wondering at how much he has aged. Then he walks, stiff and old, away from the mirror as a Beatles' song plays. This seems to me to be a very obvious reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey, where David Bowman stares into the mirror at the myserious hotel, and realises that he has aged. Noodles' walk and expression as he walks away from the mirror is EXACTLY like Keir Dullea's expression in Space Odyssey - you know when the old Bowman in his dressing gown shuffles to the table? Even his mouth looks like Keir Dullea's mouth!
And the year 2001: A Space Odyssey came out? 1968, of course!

I could (if the reader were obliging) go on in this vein for a while. But I hope these points are enough to show what I think is the staggering depth of this film. Don't just stop at the famous theory that the entire film is an opium dream (a theory I do in fact support). You can find endless fascinating things to notice in this extremely sumptuous film.