Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Second viewing; the first one was in October or November of 1984.

Based on the novel The Hoods, by Herschel Goldberg (as Harry Grey), first published in 1952.

The story of four friends growing up in New York City during the 1920s, then becoming gangsters during Prohibition. Another section set in the 1960s is interspersed with the earlier time frame.

An imperfect film, but a strong one. The tone is clearly pulpish, and very Italian in style. Maybe it has to do with a taste for the grotesque, which seems to be alien to Anglo-Saxon sensibilities. It is hard for me to make a strictly rational sense of the movie in all its details. I think the basic point is how when you are a child there is a purity of emotion that gets screwed in a thousand ways as you grow old. A psychoanalytical interpretation wouldn't be too off, 'Max' perhaps being a pure Id version of 'Noodles', a la Jekyll and Hyde. I misinterpreted the ending on both viewings, and even the IMDb FAQ gets it wrong, in my opinion (the 'contract on Noodles' hypothesis seems very far-fetched). After I read a statement from a Leone interview I think I got it right (it is supposed to be a murder, not a suicide). But this is not clear on the screen, so I suppose anyone may think what he pleases.

Rating: 71 (up from 69)