Plot: What’s it about?
David “Noodles” Aaronson (Robert De Niro) has spent many years in prison, thanks to his involvement in organized crime. Even as a child, Noodles and his chums would get into all kinds of trouble. He and his friends even worked for Bugsy (James Remar), a thug who would give them low level capers to engage in. Once the assignment had been completed, the payment was offered with an option, either one dollar for the crew or the chance to rob someone, taking whatever could be removed from the person. Around that time, Noodles finds himself locking horns with a young man named Max, who is also interested in underhanded activities. At first, the two have a sort of rivalry, but over time, a friendship and strong bond develops. The spree continues for a while, but comes to a close when a crew member dies and Noodles is put behind bars. After a number of years had passed, Max (James Woods) is in charge of the crew and its bootlegging operation, which has been a massive success. When he is released, Noodles rejoins his old friends and the boys are back to the old ways. But when the bond between Max and Noodles begins to unravel, what will become of the one time friends?
This one has been a long time in the coming, but at last Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America has arrived on Blu-ray. This epic tale of organized crime has influenced countless filmmakers, not to mention the massive critical acclaim and audience approval the film has garnered. Leone (A Fistful of Dollars, Once Upon a Time in the West) assembled a masterful cast here, one which includes Robert De Niro, James Woods, Treat Williams, Elizabeth McGovern, and Joe Pesci, as well as numerous other gifted workers. So you know the performances are excellent across the board, given the talent on both sides of the camera. This release includes the full version of the movie, as shown to audiences at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, which is offered for the time on home video. So unless you’ve imported a foreign version, this is the first time most fans can see this extended cut, which is a real treat. At almost four hours, you’d think the movie hits slow stretches, but this is still a well paced picture. The characters are well developed, the storyline is given ample room to unfold, and thanks to the depth of the material, we’re taken inside this world and allowed to absorb its contents. But even with a wide, epic scope, the film remains personal in nature, so we never lose perspective. This is one of the best mafia movies out there, but even if you’re not into that genre, give Once Upon a Time in America a look. Warner’s release is solid in all respects.
If you sit down and list the greatest mafia movies of all time, one actor will surface in almost all of the pictures listed. He is Robert De Niro, of course and he is not only an icon in organized crime cinema, but in cinema as a whole. I do have to agree with his critics to an extent, as his range has lagged off in more recent years, but De Niro is still fun to watch. And in his heyday, he was among the elite workers in the business, turning in some of the most effective, powerful, and memorable performances out there. De Niro didn’t take the cake roles either, he took on the harsh, tough roles and delivered each and every time, without fail. These days, he seems satisfied to work in fluff and lackluster projects, but when he was more careful with his career choices, he nailed some excellent roles. In this movie, he brings a real sense of honor and control to the role, which he unrolls in a natural, believable fashion. Other films with De Niro include Taxi Driver, Meet the Parents, Casino, Cape Fear, Raging Bull, and Mean Streets. The cast also includes James Woods (Any Given Sunday, Videodrome), Joe Pesci (Goodfellas, The Death Collector), and Elizabeth McGovern (The House of Mirth, King of the Hill).
Video: How does it look?
My experience with this movie is limited in that I’ve only seen it twice now. The film is now over a quarter of a century old and some of that age does show on this new VC-1 HD transfer. There are some notable differences between this and the 2003 two disc DVD edition, namely (as we might expect) the detail. There’s a bit more definition and the image doesn’t appear nearly as soft as its DVD predecessor. The color palette looks about the same, still with the same washed out appearance, but that’s the way it’s supposed to look. The film never appears too defined and it hasn’t been the victim of digital noise reduction. It’s an improvement in regards to image quality, but it’s not a night and day difference.
Audio: How does it sound?
Just as the two disc DVD version some years back got a new Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, we get a new DTS HD Master Audio mix here. To be blunt, it sounds about the same. Yes, there are a few instances in which I noticed something a bit more, but they were few and far between and for a film that’s over 220 minutes, those instances are very few and far between. The surrounds are present, but the main draw here is the score. Dialogue sounds about as we’d expect and not too dated.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This new Blu-ray release has the same features as the previous two disc DVD released back in 2003. The main supplement is an audio commentary track from film critic Richard Schickel. The session proves to be a good one, though because of the length of the movie, some slow stretches do surface. But Schickel provides a lot of worthwhile comments, from production information to his own personal analysis. This allows for a nice balance between his comments, though he does sometimes slack off and simply narrate, which is pretty much a waste of time here. This release also includes a twenty minute excerpt from Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone, some still photos (96 in all), and the film’s theatrical trailer.
