Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3513 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-06-23
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Box set, Dubbed, PAL, Special Edition, Widescreen
• Original language: English, French, Italian
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 220 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Once Upon a Time in America 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 Godfather. 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. --Marshall Fine

Special Features
229-minute version
Feature-length commentary by Film Critic/Historian Richard Schickel
Revealing Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone documentary
Filmographies
Photo gallery
Theatrical Trailer
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1 English, French
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

Special Features

• 229-minute version
  
• Feature-length commentary by Film Critic/Historian Richard Schickel
  
• Revealing Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone documentary
  
• Filmographies
  
• Photo gallery
  
• Theatrical Trailer

DVD Technical Information:

• 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
  
• Dolby Digital 5.1 English, French
  
• Languages: English, French
  
• Subtitles: English, French, Arabic, Dutch

Customer Reviews

a paradise lost regained and lost again
a lost paradise regained to be lost again in the realms of time and tyranny of existence ,
for me this is 229minutes of pure NIRVANA,
the best movie ever from america and culminating the neo classic with modern cinema like caravaggio would merge with manet,the highest achievement in art,

leone leaves no stone unturned and it is delightful to see most sensible audience calling it a masterpiece as indeed everything from the haunting unforgettable score to the emotionally scarring theme of LOST LOVE AND FORGOTTEN MEMORIES is portrayed brilliantly in every glorious frame with deniro at his charismatic best as is the rest of the cast with james woods stealing the show and elizabeth mcgovern giving the perfect impression of a cod classical beauty .
but it is leone himself who surpasses every maker in recent times to give cinema a virtual jewel in the crown,this hallmarks the final arrival of style and realism from europe to embrace the gloss and energy of american cinema,this also marks the spirit of an artist who withstood the studio onslaughts to bring home his swansong,
viva de leone

the jewish mafia has never looked so menacing yet so original in their motivation sweeping through prohibition and their own demons .

the fragmented memories of an old man who is revisiting his lost love and deceptive friends after a self imposed exile sets a haunting tone which will always echo in your heart and mind if you have any sensitivity left in your contemporary modern consumer soul.

the mystery that lost love can be so enchanting is explored enigmatically by leone with a musical score that sets a landmark for cinema as it even exceeds the classic doctor zhivago in its mood setting and atmospheric charm .
the meticulous recreation of opium dens and gang street wars with waltzing on island piers and forced sexual encounters in classic plush limousines are indeed great cinema which is a magnum opus of blood and sweat set with alluring style and scorching genius .

the four friends and their lost friendship fascinates in every fragment and frame and this is an amazing monument the creative spirit of human mind.

a refreshing masterpiece which is immensely watchable at all times in all moods .

Leone's final masterpiece, finally on DVD.
Based on the dire pulp novel 'The Hoods' by Harry Grey (republished under this title by Bloomsbury), Once Upon a Time in America was the final film from legendary director Sergio Leone. Infamously it was edited from its 228minute duration- making it a nonsensical gangster flick. Leone never made another film again & eventually died in 1989...

Once...America is Leone returning to the form suggested by 1969's ultimate spaghetti western Once Upon a Time in the West- films like I'm Gonna Get You Sucka! (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) somehow mediocre. As with ...West, Leone failed to get Clint Eastwood on board here- though with a cast featuring great performances from De Niro (of course), James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams & a (very) young Jennifer Connelly, he's hardly missed. There are also some great cameos from stalwarts such as Joe Pesci (against type), Danny Aiello & Burt Young.

It seemed absurd that this film, occasionlly shown on TV, was not available on video/DVD, & yet you could buy the (excellent)BFI book on it. The extra features are wonderful additions to this great gangster epic. Once...America for me is the end of the gangster genres- while Goodfellas (1990) was the brilliant encore, yet to be bettered. It is easily up there with the first two Godfather films, or Mean Streets- though it's complex flashback structure has more in common with Godfather Part II, or more pertinently, Nic Roeg films like Don't Look Now & Performance.

The film starts somewhere in the middle of things, shifting backwards and forwards revealing more about the before & after- taking in a gang of Jewish criminals between 1922 & 1968. To say much more would give this epic classic away- it is wonderfully shot (as great looking as films like Gangs of New York & Heaven's Gate and with a cityscape that would influence films like Road to Perdition) and complemented by one of the greatest film scores from one of the greatest film scorers, Ennio Morricone. The 'child' parts are wonderfully acted- easily up there with the early part of Goodfellas & there are some great comic moments (notably the baby mix up) & nice to see Treat Williams character standing in for Jimmy Hoffa! There are a few duff/false elements- the terrible muzak take of The Beatles Yesterday, & the end might irritate people. But that is countered by a vile petrol soaking scene (easily beating that in Reservoir Dogs), a dire rape in the back of a limo, De Niro lost in an opium haze, an opulent Gatsby like luxury & the way the childhood friends are ultimately corrupted- the corpses on the road in the rain, who once joyfully collected salt-encrusted booty, or in my fave scene, consumed a wonderful cake rather than having a look at some tush!

Once Upon a Time in America is proof, along with Blue Velvet, River's Edge and Drugstore Cowboy, that some great films were made in the 1980s. Contrast this to Coppola's generally dire The Cotton Club (also 1984); a classic that anyone with an interest in De Niro or crime films should own, in this the definitive version

Leone's final epic
OUATIA is an epic film in every sense. It follows the life of 'Noodles' (Robert De Niro) from early adolesense to adult and then as an older man discovering the truth about his past that he thought was dead and buried.

The cast are superb with DeNiro and James Woods as Max (at his most charismatic) playing the two leading roles roles. In the fact if anything the sections with the younger actors playing the adolesent Noodles and Max were probably even better.

Leone's view of the American gangster era is a little more poetic than say Goodfellas and The Godfather. The pace of this film is more measured. Its beautifully shot and a wonderful looking film. When the violence happens though, it is as viseral as anything you will find in those other two great gangster films. In particular there are two rape scenes, which whilst not that explicit tell you a lot about 'Noodles' attitude to women.

One of the characters in the film is called James Conway O'Donnell (as displayed in the cast list), but he is referred to as Jimmy Conway in the film. Interestingly Jimmy Conway was DeNiro's character in Goodfellas.

For me its just short of 5 stars. The reason is the length. At three hours and 40 minutes its just too long. I felt that it could have been trimmed a little (say 20 mins) and the film would have a little sharper. But this is a very minor critcism of what is otherwise a superb film.