Leone died of a broken heart because of what the studio did to his movie. Now on DVD in fully restored version. I hadn't seen it before except in brief snatches on TV. The review I read carped that the intermission is placed in the midst of disc 2, but what it didn't warn is that the interruption from disc 1 to 2 is jarring. Holy laserdisc, Batman. I need a DVD changer.
They did that to even out the bitrate for a more uniform video quality. I would have accepted this without complaint if disc two did not force you to go through the logos, menus, and such to start watching the rest of the film. It's still a great release of Leone's last brutal poetic masterpiece. Regards,
Not only that, but as you know there's a bunch of FBI warnings about copyright protection after the last scene on disc 1. Sheesh. I know you're a big Leone fan, how would you compare this film to The Godfather Part II?. I think the story is thin and lacks coherence, for example he seems to arbitrarily leave Miranda, the Joe Pesci character, standing at that elevator in the middle of nowhere. Or maybe I missed something. At any rate, the visuals and operatic quality of the mise-en-scene are extraordinary. I also like the actors who portray the principals as teenagers. Leone doesn't focus on the gangland culture, mores, and milieu the way Coppola does, his interest is in the basic personalities of the individual characters and their relationships.
I think the intercutting on Once Upon a Time in America is much more sophisticated than that in Godfather II, because there is an intricate logic built into when and how the cuts are made. That being said, you have already pointed out that they approach their subjects from very different perspectives, and content dictates style. The parallel stories in GF2 resonate strongly partly because of the context created by the first film whereas OUATIA has to be self-contained. Spoilers Ahoy! . . . You Have Been Warned! . . . I believe the appearance of Pesci at the elevator is meant for no other reason than to tip us off that Max was already working with the "Powers that be" behind Noodles' back. It only really makes sense after you see how it all plays out. Regards,
