Product description

Once Upon A Time In America [DVD] [1984]

Price: £4.88
RRP: £13.99
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : DVD
EAN : 7321931200264
Label : Warner Home Video
Manufacturer : Warner Home Video
Publisher : Warner Home Video
Release date : 2003-06-23
Title : Once Upon A Time In America [DVD] [1984]
Actor : Array
Audience rating : Suitable for 18 years and over
Format : Array
Languages : Array
Number of items : 2
Original release date : 1984-01-01
Region code : 2
Running time : 220
Studio : Warner Home Video
Theatrical releaseDate : 1984-06-01
Number of discs : 2

Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
IOnce Upon a Time in America/I has a chequered history, having been chopped from its original 229-minute director's cut to 139 minutes for its theatrical release. The longer edition presented here benefits from having the complete story (the short version has huge gaps) about turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrants in America finding their way into lives of crime, as told in flashback by an ageing Jewish gangster named Noodles (Robert De Niro). On the other hand, it's almost four hours long, and this sometimes-indulgent Sergio Leone film is no IGodfather/I. Still, it is notable for the contrast between Leone's elegiac take on the gangster film and his occasional explosive action, as well as for the mix of the stoic, inexpressive De Niro and the hyperactive James Woods as his lifelong friend and rival. --IMarshall Fine/I

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2009-05-25 rating:

Leone's swan song
I still remember coming out of the dark of the cinema dazed and stunned when I saw this movie the first time. I was a kid then and it was easily the best movie I'd ever seen and despite its 3 hours plus running time, it seemed too short. The dark and melancholic story, the cinematography, the mesmerising Morricone soundtrack, all perfect. br /Since then, I've watched it on DVD a few times (only a big cinema with comfortable chairs can do this movie justice, though) and I agree with some reviewers that maybe it is a bit long (in the same way that Once Upon A Time in the West isn't exactly fast moving). Still, for me it remains one of the best movies I've ever seen and I'll never forget how much I enjoyed it as a kid!

review by: Brian date: 2009-05-17 rating:

Once Upon A Time In America (DVD) 1984
br /This Film is one of the first great productions directed by Sergio Leone. br / br /It is a marathon at 3Hrs 40Mins, but it doesn't feel that length when you br / br /watch it since there is a full story with considerable periods of tension br / br /and suspense during the whole film. Well worth seeing. br / Brian Robinson

review by: date: 2009-04-01 rating:

Vastly Overrated
From previous posts I expect to be lambasted for this review but here goes anyway. I only gave this one star because less wasn't possible.I agree whole-heartedly with the R. Ahad "flush81" review I'm afraid. My husband bought this after hearing nothing but good about it but we were very disappointed indeed. We watched the 4 hour movie and kept waiting for it get going. We both really enjoy Robert de Niro and gangster movies. Scorsese movies all outclasses this tedious, overlong and cumbersome movie. The characters, male and female, were all thoroughly unpleasant and no empathy was possible with any of them. Even as children they weren't in the least bit appealing.I stuck with it hoping it might improve but frankly I've had more fun watching paint dry. However hard i try i cannot see what all the positive reviewers saw in this movie. Total waste of time, space and effort.

review by: date: 2009-03-17 rating:

Once Upon A Time in America - more than just another gangster movie
A true gem of a film. A visually stunning experience, wonderfully atmospheric and a pace that is refreshingly different from so many of the genre. Some have criticised the film's length and at 4+ hours it is longer than most, but patience is rewarded with something that is far removed from the usual Hollywood blockbuster gangster movie. So many opportunities to savour gentle and sensitively filmed character develpopment - a rare thing these days. Once Upon A Time in America is not The Godfather, nor is it Goodfellas, but it is visually probably more beautiful than both.

review by: brendoclarke date: 2009-02-08 rating:

"I've got to get where i'm going....to the top."
Cinema audiences 25 years ago in USA saw the 140 min version of this movie. Now we have the 228 min version on VHS and dvd. 228 min is a long bum-numbing time in front of the TV and unfortunately the great director Leone lost his magic touch during this movie. br / br /Regarding the plot, "Noodles" Aaronson (Robert De Niro) receives a mysterious job offer and returns to New York after a thirty-year absence. He tries to discern the identity of his prospective employer by recounting the events of his past. Noodles reminisces about the good times he had with his old gang of friends and the woman he loved since his youth, the fetching Deborah Gelly (Jennifer Connelly/Elizabeth McGovern). He also reflects upon the criminal endeavours he engaged in and wonders whether the sins of his past have finally caught up with him. br / br /There is much to admire about "Once Upon A Time in America." The production design accurately recreates industrialised America at the turn of the twentieth century. The acting is first-rate with the adult cast turning in passionate and savage performances and the youthful ensemble doing astounding work in the flashback sequences. br / br /The Ennio Morricone soundtrack is as lush and memorable as his earlier masterpieces on the Leone westerns. However, Once Upon a Time in America is overlong and curiously devoid of the energetic spark that powered Leone's earlier brilliant Westerns. Perhaps the years were catching up with him but Leone's direction has a listless quality to it this time around. His "darker" filmmaking approach in this film also does not help matters as it gives an uneasy and disturbing feel to the events of the story. There are some admirable narrative turns toward the end and the DVD release features the original cut of the film instead of the heavily-edited original American theatrical version. Yet, the positives are overshadowed by the negatives in the end and "Once Upon A Time in America" ultimately comes across as a disappointment. br /

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