The white dress is light, the hair is fluffy, the eyes are clear, and the dance steps are graceful... The dancing Deborah is like a dream fairy settled in the heart of the voyeur and street gangster "Noodles" (played by Robert De Niro). He will always pursue and unforgettable beauty, and since then, the various life encounters and twists and turns of Noodles and Xiaodai have become each other's hidden pain and vicissitudes...
The little Jennifer Connelly back then was beautiful and clear, with a sparkling expression in her expression. Unbelievable acting talent, she endows Deborah with a touching charm, and also interprets her personality and heart: Persistent practice shows that Deborah is a person with ideal pursuits, and she seems to be able to stay away at any time in order to realize her dream of being an actress Love, and the occasional glance at the peephole showed her heart - she knew the noodle was peeking, and that deliberate glance showed that she cared about his peeping...
There was Coppola's "The Godfather I/II" before "(1972, 1974), followed by "The Godfather III", Sykes's "Goodfellas" (1990), this sentimental work did not achieve the expected transcendence and sensation (usually). People watch The Godfather first, then Goodfellas, and then the movie last). Putting aside the magnificent and vicissitudes of the "Godfather" series for the time being, as far as "Goodfellas" and "Once Upon a Time in America" are concerned, Martin Sykosese seems to be more rational and comprehensive in his control over gangster films. Also grasp it appropriately.
But even with this comparison, Sergio Leon's "Once Upon a Time in America" is still an excellent production about loyalty and betrayal in human nature. It is like the recollection and sobbing of an old man, and it brings inexplicable people to the heart. The film’s background spans events such as the Great Depression, Prohibition, and World War. The narrative adopts a flashback structure, as if the vicissitudes of time are released, leaving the viewer speechless. In the end, when a handful of noodles threw out the sentence "We wasted our life" to Max (played by James Woods) who had calculated his life for the rest of his life, the sense of identity and helplessness completely struck. This feeling Perhaps more intensely for those who are no longer young but have accomplished nothing.
As an Italian-born director, Leon used his "American Trilogy" (the first two are "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Once Upon a Time in the Revolution") to express the United States in the eyes of foreigners. His gangster interpretation is also different from the Hollywood model. It interprets the street stories of New York's Jewish Quarter with the eyes of European immigrants and an emotionally charged brush.
His narration method is actually implicit and does not reveal, presupposing a lot of interpretation details, and these details explain the depths of human nature very well. The film missed the response it deserved. For example, in the robbery of diamonds, the different practices of Noodles and Max reveal the differences in their personalities. For example, Noodle once thought that the ambitious Max was crazy, and Max, who has a family history of madness, was very sensitive to this remark, which paved the way for Max's crazy behavior later. For another example, when Max looked at Noodles when he was a teenager, his expression was always complicated and peculiar, as if mixed with envy and jealousy, admiration and resentment (some young people may still be able to see the element of homosexuality in it today), so, Noodles had feelings for them. With a mixed mentality, he always seems to be grabbing noodle women, whether it's the coquettish Carol or the charming Deborah...
The film uses the method of comparison many times to depict the essential difference between Noodles and Max. Noodles is a man of temperament, and he is loyal to friendship. This is an advantage and a weakness that is easily controlled by others. In order to avenge his younger brother, Noodles could risk his life or even go to jail, but Max, who was shocked by the side, would never give such a sacrifice, only showing admiration on his face. As for Max's shrewd and cunning side, as soon as he appeared on the scene, the film gave an explanation, and he effortlessly took away the noodles and the pocket watch of the drunken man who had been touched for a long time by the street brothers. This presentation seems to indicate that the noodles and the brothers will be played in the future, and it will be fatal. Max has an ideal and has a bigger plan, which not only takes away the money of the brothers, but also clears the obstacles and escapes smoothly. , into the upper class... In fact, it is not that he is too smart, but that the noodles are too kind. When he sharpens his knives, the noodles are either lost or enjoying themselves.
In the film, the second reunion between the old noodle and the famous actor Deborah after 35 years, and the final conversation with the big man Max, all reveal endless sadness, like an obscure gleam in the ashes of time. In order to reproduce the passing feeling of the years, the film also makes good use of props and backgrounds, such as the reproduction of the old pocket watch, and the Manhattan Bridge appears in the background from time to time due to the needs of the time period. From the head of the small gang, to the old age... the generation that could only come out at that time seemed to really waste a lifetime.
It has now been 25 years since the film's premiere in 1984, and it has been six years since I first watched it. After watching a lot of gangster-themed films, after a long period of time, I found the most unforgettable memory about the film. It's not the grievances of the rivers and lakes, the feud between brothers and sisters, but the dance posture of little Jennifer at that time and the classic soundtrack of the master Ennio Morricone (whose soundtrack masterpiece "Paradise Cinema", "Sea Pianist", etc.).
In order to set off the atmosphere of the film's sad memories, Morricone chose musical instruments with special sound quality such as Paxiao to bring the theme melody of sobbing and mournful, and supplemented by strings and vocals when appropriate, so that The meaning of the film is more long and painful. In other soundtrack passages, such as "Amapola Part II" and "Deborah's Theme", the film's sense of picture and subtext can be extended with the lyrical slowness or sentimental aesthetic mood, and it is indeed not unreasonable to win the best soundtrack award of the year. Second choice.
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