"Once Upon a Time in America" ​​Memories of 20th century America depicted through the lives of gangsters

"2 hours 24 minutes version", "3 hours 49 minutes version", "4 hours 11 minutes version"

At the end of filming, approximately 10 hours of footage remained. Sergio Leone plans to cut it down to about six hours and release the three-hour film as a two-part film. Of course, such a wild idea was rejected by the producer. One of the reasons was that Bernardo Bertolucci's ` `1900 '' (1976), which had a running time of over five hours, had failed at the box office. In a desperate move, Leone cuts the film further, shortening it to 3 hours and 49 minutes.

However, something unexpected happens here. The original 3 hour and 49 minute version premiered at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, but in American theaters a 2 hour and 24 minute version edited by production company Rudd Company was shown. The decision was made with the earnest desire to increase the turnover rate of movie theaters by shortening the screening time, but this was the worst possible move. By arranging all the scenes in chronological order, the movie's ``taiga feeling'' disappeared, and by cutting out a lot of scenes from the 1920s (when he was a boy), there was no trace of the ``lyrical feeling''. It disappeared without a trace.

"Once Upon a Time in America" ​​(c)Photofest / Getty Images

The movie was a huge failure both commercially and critically. The film only made $5.3 million against a budget of $30 million, pushing the Rudd Company to the brink of bankruptcy. Once the original 3 hour and 49 minute version was released on video and DVD, Once Upon a Time in America was hailed as a masterpiece and is now considered one of the best gangster movies. It has an unshakable status as a classic. According to James Woods, one critic called the 2 hour and 24 minute version the worst movie of 1984, but upon seeing the 3 hour and 49 minute version he praised it as "the best of the 1980s!"

By the way, there is also a 4-hour, 11-minute version of this movie that includes 22 minutes of unreleased footage (what a surprise!!). Louise Fletcher, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for One One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), appears as the cemetery caretaker, and a conversation scene between the limousine driver and Noodles has been added (the limousine driver She is played by producer Arnon Milchan), and there is a scene where Deborah plays ``Cleopatra'' on stage. At this rate, Leone's dream of creating a two-part series with a total of six hours might become a reality. No, not.

Manhattan Bridge reflects the “transition of time”