Should I get "Once Upon A Time In America"?

Hey, it's only $5.99! Not bad for a running time of...251 minutes?!?! Wha?!?!
Has a lot of good reviews, I just wonder is this worth it and so classic? Or will I go out of my mind first? Or get bunions while sitting watching? Or should I subject my wife to Ben-Hur first as a warmup? (That one at least she would like the theme of the movie). Heh, I was about to ask if Once is too violent-which is kind of a silly question since I was just watching Crank 2!

 

I love the film, but I only have the 229 minute blu-ray.
I haven't seen the "director's cut" 251 minute version as I'm under the impression that the additional scenes are of a lesser/lower picture quality to the rest of the film.
I personally would find that to be an annoyance.

Though that's a tempting price from amazon right now.

 

I've always liked this film very much. My current version is the now OOP Digibook : Once Upon a Time in America Blu-ray

 

Absolutely.

 

Seen it once, thought it was a drag. And I usually love long epic dramas

 

IMO Once Upon A Time In America isn't as good as The Godfather or Goodfellas but it's still a decent gangster flick just the same. Definitely epic in it's scope and story. I would be brazen to say, though, that some of the stuff De Niro's character does (and gets away with) in the film would not pass muster had the film been made in 2018- fair warning, a couple of scenes can make for some uncomfortable viewing, I'll leave it at that.

 

It's a great movie, and yes, it's a classic. Also, the music/soundtrack is fantastic.

 

It's ok but a long way down on the list of those type of gangster/mafia films imo. I found it a bit boring.

 

Save your money and get Once Upon a Time in the West!

 

I think I have this film and Once Upon a Time in America. The latter film was a charity shop buy though, and I probably wouldn't have bought it otherwise.

 

Excellent movie and repeated viewings are recommended. Not as strong as The Godfather films, as the pacing is a bit weak in spots, but many memorable scenes and a great story to tell.

 

Well, that set does have the 229 cut so I'd buy it but use the 251 disc as a coaster.

 

It's great but one of those that I only feel the need to watch once.

 

The LEAST recommendable of all the classic mob flicks. A 1st class production but ultimately a failure. I've owned it 4ever and watched it numerous times but haven't in quite some time. In retrospect, it's actually kind of a drag.

 

No!
For a 50cent second hand DVD you don't need to ask.

 

I really like the story spanning over 40-50 years, the acting, I even like the pan-flute score but find it to drag on. I think they could have cut the the movie to 130-140 minutes and had the same appeal and affect.

 

I've watched it several times and I still don't 'get' it.........

 

Once Upon a Time in America - Wikipedia

When I feel that way, I do a little research, and I love that moment when it comes. Good luck.
.

 

I think the movie’s a little overrated. When it originally came out it was wrecked by being drastically shortened and re-edited into chronological order, and it failed critically and commercially. So of course the much longer and correctly-structured Leone cut looked like a masterpiece in comparison. But viewed now, away from that history, I think the movie still has flaws... when I watched it again recently I felt the characters weren’t really all that interesting and the story ultimately didn’t justify the epic treatment. (I also feel like the music, while beautiful, is too repetitive, with the same flute theme heard over and over...) I think the best part of the movie is the section where the characters are kids.

 

Thank goodness I'm seeing so many "meh" reviews here. I feel exactly the same way about it. The whole thing feels off to me. I can't jive with Ital-english feel of the whole thing. Easier to dub a Western or forget the awkward dialog.

 

Like a lot of the others in this thread I like it, yet don't consider it to be on par with a lot of great films. You would think it is, considering it has DeNiro, James Woods, Joe Pesci (spoiler alert: he's in it for about 5 minutes), and Jennifer Connelly as a young girl. Like @Ghostworld, the movie feels off to me, too. I don't know if it's the editing or the story itself (to be honest, I think the story seems a little far fetched, not to mention confusing). The first time I saw it, when it was over I remember thinking 'man, that was weird!'. The soundtrack is rad, though.

 

YES.
The 229 minute film is a masterpiece. It may not be for everyone but it is a supremely mature work of substance and far better than Godfather Part II.
And at the price it’s a steal. However do stick with the 229 minute version as the new extended cut is arguably not Leone’s intended edit and has different color timing-and the newly reinstated scenes are of terrible quality.

While being an old master the 229 minute disc has proper color and a good transfer. The only downside is that no release has the original mono mix. For that you need the Laserdisc.

And avoid the commentary unless you want to live with four hours of Richard Shickel droning on merely collecting a paycheck.

 

I'm with captainsolo on calling Once Upon A Time In America a masterpiece. I think this was released in 1984. My wife and I used to watch Siskel and Ebert religiously (we lived in Chicago from 1980-87). I do know that a new print of Once Upon A Time in the West was released during that period and, on their recommendation, we went to some little theater along the lake shore in downtown Chicago and were thoroughly entertained by that movie.

Again, Once Upon A Time in America was reviewed by S&A who gave it a heartily thumbs up. Since had enjoyed Leone's western, we took their recommendation again and saw Once Upon A Time in America. I was mesmerized and thoroughly entertained by this movie. Yes, it may be long and meandering at times, but I was immersed the story and the characters. I imagine the shorter cut only exacerbated any problems.

I have avoided purchasing it on blu-ray because of my dissatisfaction with available versions. There have been some incredibly meticulous restorations done, some in Europe. for example, the German series Heimat has literally been resurrected from the grave; see the screen captures of before and after here: Heimat Blu-ray - Marita Breuer
(and BTW, of the three [NTSC, PAL, blu-ray], one can see how poor the NTSC DVD is]).

Again, the classic film The Battle of Algiers was drastically improved by the Criterion blu-ray, and a Region B,C release made use of the same restoration: The Battle of Algiers Blu-ray

I think it is a travesty that the missing scenes reinserted in the movie were clearly inferior. Either clean then up to the point that they are practically seamless, or leave them out. I recognize the film elements were piss poor, but I also think that commercial interests rode rough shod over the whole project.

 

I can't disagree more. I don't think the film is long enough or leaving out the scenes if they don't look great....HECK NO. I would rather have lower quality as a WIP then nothing at all.

The extra scenes that were unearthed were amazing and absolutely moved the plot even more forward and that is what is important. The original cut of the film was 269 minutes and because of rights issues that is why the extra footage is not there. An Ultimate cut may still be to come.

I am happy to see a preview of that. Thankfully people have choices. If you want the 229 minute cut, well go back to the other bluray. There is no way I am going back. This movie gets better with every longer cut to me.

 

This release at 5.99 is essential since you get both versions. Any fan should own it but the downside is there’s no original mono.
Even the 229 minute BD does have some advantages over the DVD despite all being from the same source used since the Laserdisc.

That said if you have an LD player these days, the letterboxed LD has the original mono and is a stunning disc for 420i. Literally one of the best laserdiscs I've ever seen.