Notes on Once Upon a Time In America

Background Info

• “Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.” A short summary of the plot taken from the IMBD website, written by Andrew Welsh.
• First released in 1984.
• Directed by well-known auteur director Sergio Leone, famous for ‘spaghetti westerns’ such as The Good The Bad and The Ugly.
• Complex loop narrative told by flashbacks from 1960’s to the 1920’s around the time of the end of the prohibition.
• Story based largely around the prohibition that was set in place from 1920-1933. The prohibition was the banning of the consumption, import, manufacture and selling of alcohol which gave rise to a dramatic increase of gang crime due to bootlegging and demand on the black market.
• Literary adaptation of Harry Grey’s ‘The Hood’.
• Pays tribute to the classic 1940s noir thrillers like Gilda.
• Shows a direct intertextual link to Italian director, Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978) by way of an aural signifier, in using the same song God Bless America to open Once Upon a Time In America as Cimino did in the closing scene of his film. In using this song, irony is created by the comparison of the song lyrics and the bleak plots of both productions which suggests that both Italian directors may have been mocking the United States.
• The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss, broken relationships, and the rise of mobsters in American society.
• The original version by the director was 4 hours and 29 minutes long, but when the film premièred at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, Leone had cut it down to 3 hours and 49 minutes to appease the distributors. This was the version that was to be shown in European cinemas. 
• For the US release it was edited down even further to 2 hours and 19 minutes by the studio and against the director's wishes. In this short version, the flashback narrative was also changed, by re-editing the scenes in chronological order.
• A third version was made in 2011 by a film lad in Italy under the supervision of Leone’s children and the film's original sound editor, Fausto Ancillai, for the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

How Does Leone Establish Genre In The Opening Scene?

• Characters: From the outset it is clear that Leone has stuck to the generic characters commonly found within the crime thriller sub-genre; Eve as the femme fatale, the three threatening men as suspected corrupt cops and the beaten victim. It is made clear, from her entrance, that Eve is a wealthy, appearance-proud woman from the glamorous costume, jewellery and make-up worn. The string of pearls worn around the neck and on the earrings could be taken as symbolic for tears which suggest some sort of loss or despair which would be common for the femme fatale of a crime thriller. We can tell that she is a deviant woman from the way in which she withholds information from the three criminals however, whereas the classical femme fatale is strong, dangerous and deceptive, the generic femme fatale is challenged here in that Eve seems to be more vulnerable and weak; an image that is soon after confirmed when she is killed without fight. The three unknown criminals are suspected to be corrupt law-enforcers from the traditional dark-coloured costumes worn; all three wear a trilby hat, suits and a long dark overcoat, two of which brandish a gun. Guns are very common props seen in crime thriller productions and help to establish genre in the opening scenes. This technique of including the prop to define genre has been used in many other crime thriller films such as Pulp Fiction’s (1994) opening café scene in which they use them to attempt to rob the café of its money. Each criminal is shown wearing a similar outfit to the others to show the bond or connection between the three, reinforced by the archway in which they are all framed in together. The character ‘Fat Moe’ is shown as a victim, suffering from harsh torture forced upon him by the criminals first seen in the opening scene. Fat Moe is shown covered in blood, weak and strung up by a rope around his throat. Victims such as this are commonly shown to be exposed to great physical violence in crime thrillers, to engage the audience and create emotions of guilt and sympathy. Although seen as the victim in this scene, Moe is dressed in dark, scruffy clothing, suggesting that he too has been involved in some sort of dark, gang crime.
• Location/setting: In both locations in the opening 4 minutes of the film, the rooms are dimly lit with little light, mostly non-ambient. These shadowy, overcast locations are traditional to the thriller genre in creating and reflecting the bleak, tenebrous atmosphere and plot. Aphotic shadows create feelings of fear and lead the audience to anticipate violence and fright, for example when Eve enters her house, the light switch does not work at first and the audience is in fear of what lurks in the shadows. Pathetic fallacy is used within this film; rain, wind and general bad weather reflect the tone of the scene and create a gleaming street which is typical to the thriller genre.
• Camera Angles: Close up shots are used frequently throughout the opening scenes of Once Upon a Time In America to show the intensity of the characters feelings whether they are fearful, threatening, angry or hopeless; a popular technique used within the genre to aid in creating a sympathetic relationship or understanding between the audience and the character. Over-the-shoulder shots are used several times within the opening to show significant shots in the point of view of the certain character so that the audience may gain a better understanding of the feelings shown by the character in the shot and also to provoke feelings of guilt and sympathy. Low angle shots are also used throughout, most frequently when showing the three suspected mobsters, to give an impression of power, strength and status.
• Lighting: Throughout the film, Leone pays tribute to the classic Noir Thrillers that were so popular in the 1940’s by using dark, bleak locations and settings, and the utilisation of selective lighting. Most lighting during the production is non-ambient and has been used to highlight or give special attention to a particular part of the shot. Equipment such as spot lights would have helped achieve the chiaroscuro effect that is so frequently utilised.