Blu-Ray Review: Classic ‘Once Upon a Time in America’ With Robert De Niro

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CHICAGO – The entertainment machine often turns in an unusual way that allows for a wave of material featuring the same star in the same month. Just as Robert De Niro was preparing his odd speech for the Golden Globe Awards, two of his most beloved films were being released on Blu-ray in “Raging Bull” and “Once Upon a Time in America,” while one of his 2010 works in “Stone” was about to hit the market as well. January 2011 is De Niro month. Sadly, while the “Raging Bull” Blu-ray is a gorgeous must-own, “Once Upon a Time in America” is merely satisfactory. The film is still strong but the release is nothing special.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

The story behind the release of “Once Upon a Time in America” is a fascinating one. One of the best international filmmakers of his era, the man who made “For a Few Dollars More,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” and “Once Upon a Time in the West” took the skill he had displayed in the Western genre and brought it to the saga of the American mobster. Despite acclaim at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, the film was mangled and cut by 100 minutes by the time it came to the U.S. and Leone reportedly hated the truncated, edited version of his movie. He never made another one.

Once Upon a Time in America was released on Blu-Ray on January 11th, 2011
Once Upon a Time in America was released on Blu-Ray on January 11th, 2011
Photo credit: WB Home Video

Like most Leone movies, “Once Upon a Time in America” is beautiful. The man knew how to frame a shot like an artist and the 229-minute running time of this version (the true version) of “Once Upon a Time in America” is a perfect fit for HD. It’s nice to have the movie on the new format.


But that’s about it. The new version doesn’t include the mono track that many people have been asking for and includes no new special features, merely the ones available on the standard DVD years ago. This is literally purely a video quality upgrade and if you already own it on DVD it’s probably not worth the expense. Given the fact that last year was the 25th anniversary of this excellent film, one would have hoped that WB would have taken the opportunity to give this film the Special Edition treatment it deserves. Then again, this is a movie that’s not new to studio neglect.

Synopsis:
“Considered to be Sergio Leone’s masterpiece and one of the finest works within the gangster genre, Once Upon A Time In America (1984) debuts for the first time on Blu-ray Disc and as a two-disc Special Edition on January 11 from Warner Home Video. Recognized by director Martin Scorsese as a major influence on his career, the film features a star-studded cast of Oscar® winners including, Robert De Niro (“Goodfellas,” “The Godfather ll,” “Little Fockers”), Joe Pesci (“Goodfellas,” “Casino,” “My Cousin Vinny”) and Oscar® nominee James Woods (“Ghosts of Mississippi,” “Salvador”). The film will be offered in its full length – three hours and forty-nine minutes – and will feature four hours of bonus content including commentary by noted film historian Richard Schickel, a making-of documentary and theatrical trailers.”

“Once Upon a Time in America” was released on Blu-ray by Warner Bros. on January 11th, 2011. It stars Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Treat Williams, and Tuesday Weld and was directed by Sergio Leone. It is rated R and runs 229 minutes.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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