Once Upon a Time in America - Definition and Overview

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 film directed by Sergio Leone (his last) starring Robert De Niro and James Woods as two Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in the New York organized crime world. Renowned for its beautiful cinematography, the detail of its three historical settings (turn of the 20th century, 1930's, 1960's) and its intricate, open-ended narration, the film was first released in the United States in a heavily edited version which cut almost 90 minutes of footage from the version released in Europe. The short version also eliminates the flashback structure of the film, placing the scenes in chronological order instead. The film was reasonably closely based on the novel "The Hoods" by Harry Gray (later re-released under the title Once Upon a Time in America). The novel helps to explain the development of the characters and delves much deeper into Noodles' Psyche, explaining many of the elements of the characters that the movie could only touch on. Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams, Tuesday Weld, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Danny Aiello, Jennifer Connelly, and William Forsythe are also featured.

The film first premiered in the 1984 Cannes Film Festival.