Once Upon a Time in America

[LadyPowers]

Has anyone seen this movie "Once Upon a Time in America"? The movie was set in the 1920s, 1933, and 1960s (depends on which 3 versions you saw). Does anyone know if the hats, color/clothing styles were accurate for 1920s and 1930s?

Regards,

Lady Powers

 

[Quigley Brown]

I doubt it. It's a film by Sergie Leone. He's the guy who thought the American Civil War and wild west actually occured in Italy.

 

[LadyPowers]

I doubt it. It's a film by Sergie Leone. He's the guy who thought the American Civil War and wild west actually occured in Italy.

I didn’t think that it would be completely true to time period for a modern made film. The makeup for the actors/actress wasn’t that great either. I remember watching the movie in my teens with my Mom a few years before she died.

Regards,

Lady Powers

 

[gobler]

Sergie Leone made "Once Upon a Time in the West" As well as America. Yeah they were made in Italy but they are still great films.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[Mycroft]

I doubt it. It's a film by Sergie Leone. He's the guy who thought the American Civil War and wild west actually occured in Italy.

Thats great, hmm...can you say: BLONDIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
I saw part of Once upon a Time in America, it was cool.

Ouh Ouh Ouh Wa Wa Waaaaaaaaaaa...

 

[Marlowe]

Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were all shot in Spain (exteriors) and at an Italian studio, Cinecitta in Italy (interiors). Once Upon a Time in the West was filmed in the United States. They were backed by Italian and German investment money and used mostly Italian actors, screenwriters, production designers, etc. (Except for Once Upon a Time in the West, which used a few more American actors.) They were called "Spaghetti Westerns" because of the nationality of the movers and shakers in their creation.

 

[Mycroft]

"Spaghetti Westerns," are one of the most classical and orginal film sub-gerne that I really enjoy.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Leone's A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly were all shot in Spain (exteriors) and at an Italian studio, Cinecitta in Italy (interiors). Once Upon a Time in the West was filmed in the United States. They were backed by Italian and German investment money and used mostly Italian actors, screenwriters, production designers, etc. (Except for Once Upon a Time in the West, which used a few more American actors.) They were called "Spaghetti Westerns" because of the nationality of the movers and shakers in their creation.

If they were filmed in Spain then shouldn't they be called 'Tapas Westerns?'

 

[flat-top]

This film just got a re release last week in it's original 229 minute form. I've actually never seen this movie but the more I read about it the more I read about the more I want to.
Who's seen it?

http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Tim...ef=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1295491243&sr=1-3

 

[Yeps]

If they were filmed in Spain then shouldn't they be called 'Tapas Westerns?'

I think that would start to cause some rather awkward confusion. It is bad enough when one proposes going out to eat at the tapas bar. Sounds too much like something else.

 

[Talbot]

Is Woody Strode in it?

 

[S_M_Cumberworth]

This film just got a re release last week in it's original 229 minute form. I've actually never seen this movie but the more I read about it the more I read about the more I want to.
Who's seen it?

http://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Tim...ef=sr_1_3?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1295491243&sr=1-3

I've seen it. It's long, but intricate, and I can't imagine anything being cut from it. I haven't seen the shorter cut, though, so I can't comment on it.

That said, I still prefer Leone's older pictures. There's just something about this one that didn't capture me the way, say, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly or Once upon a Time in the West did (two of my favorite films, by the way). I probably even prefer Duck, You Sucker! over Once upon a Time in America. Call me crazy.

 

[The Good]

Being a Sergio Leone enthusiast, I saw Once Upon a Time in America once, last summer. It was a great film with a story to tell, but it was definitely long. It's on the scope of an epic, in length. While the length added depth to the film, it still felt a bit too long and drawn out. I actually prefer Leone's westerns, but I'm glad to have seen this at least once, with Robert De Niro in possibly his greatest role, maybe even tied with The Godfather Part II. Once Upon a Time in America certainly did feel more like The Godfather, than one of his previous films, though.

 

[Shangas]

I love OUTIA, but it's a damned long film, as others have already pointed out. In its uncut, original form, it's nearly three hours long. I love it. But don't ask me (or anyone for that matter) to explain the ending. I don't think anyone knows what the hell happened!

 

[Corky]

I have seen all of the versions of "Once Upon A Time In America".

I saw the original version on the day it was released in Los Angeles and it was evident even then that much had been cut.

Subsequent versions had some footage restored, but even the longer versions are somehow unsatisfying.

From WIKIPEDIA:

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 Italian/American epic crime film directed and co-written by Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The story chronicles the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's world of organized crime. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, broken relationships, and the rise of mobsters in American society.

Leone adapted the story from the novel The Hoods, written by Harry Grey, while filming Once Upon a Time in the West. From there, Leone began production of Once Upon a Time in America. The film went through various casting developments and production issues before filming began in 1982.

The film premiered out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival in its original running time of 229 minutes (3 hours 49 minutes) and also received critical acclaim. However, Once Upon a Time in America was heavily edited against the director's wishes for its June 1, 1984, release. The short version changed the flashback narrative by moving the scenes in chronological order. Leone was reportedly heartbroken by the American cut, and never made another film before his death in 1989, making this his final film.

IMDb page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America