Monday, April 19, 2010

Once Upon a Time in America (DVD)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Tuesday Weld. Directed by Sergio Leone. Sprawling, violent epic of Jewish mobsters in the 1920s in New York. Directed by Leone and with a score by Ennio Morricone, it often has the feel of a spaghetti Western. It is told in flashback fashion, with De Niro returning 35 years after his heyday to do one last job. Extreme length of film works against it -- at three hours, 45 minutes, I can't imagine sitting through it in a theater. The subtitles are pretty good. Grade: C

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