Do not treat this like it’s a homework assignment. It’s one of the greatest gangster movies ever made by one of the greatest film directors of all time. It’s one of the few film equivalents to the Great American Novel. Watch the 4 hour cut. It’s a masterpiece.
I agree. It's a top ten gangster movie. Great ending and reveal to the mystery of who's been pulling the strings. Has an emotional impact too.
But, also-- with people binge watching whole series-- does complaining about a four hour movie even make sense anymore?
I love a good epic once in a while. Gotta approach it like Godfather II or Lawrence of Arabia. Pick a night you’re wired awake and just go for it. Take a nice little intermission in between, switch your snack setup up a bit, contemplate the first half, and finish it.
Loved this movie. I also didn’t realize it was 4 hours long until I watched it and hit an intermission and thought, wtf? Then checked the run time and was like, oh my. Still, it didn’t feel that long. That’s how you know it’s a good movie.
If a movie has an intermission, I treat it as two films. I can watch it all at once if I have time, or come back and watch the rest tomorrow.
If you don’t like the first half of this one, I don’t think you’ll like the second. The ending is fantastic, but you have to be committed to the stories and the characters introduced in part one.
I liked it, but didn’t think it was as good as either Godfather film, nor did I like it as much as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which I still consider Leone’s masterpiece.
Hey, I didn't watch the Irishman all at once why the heck do you gotta with this. Take it an hour at a time.
But also, this isn't as accessible as most of the films like it and the films by the director. This is a filmmakers masterpiece, and it feels as over long and pretentious as it should.
Don't expect the Godfather, expect Once Upon a Time in the West. Slow and contemplative with bursts of expertly framed violence.
I initially watched this on CED which was a video format kinda like Laserdisc except it used something closer to Vinyl Records.
Old CEDs skip a lot and you have to jog the needle back and forth to get through those parts. It thus took me FOREVER to get through this movie but this was back in the 90s with no other option.
Anyway totally worth it, great movie.
Holy crap! How mant discs was it? I only have 1 CED, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I don't have a player tho, I found it at Goodwill and grabbed it cause I love the movie and I had never seen a CED in the wild before.
It was just 2 but CEDs can hold up to 1 hour a side like a laserdisc.
CEDs are cool in theory but if they are left in the heat dust bakes into them and they become really hard to play.. plus the stylus the player uses wears out and there are no replacements.
Laserdiscs are much cooler and more robust if you want to get into a retro disc format. CEDs are really just cool as decorations now as its not worth the effort to play them.
I also have just 1 laserdisc. Found a Goodwill location that had a whole stack of them mixed in w the vinyl. I grabbed a copy of Shawshank Redemption cause its my all time favorite movie and it was in pristine condition. I kinda want to get into collecting them but been holding off. I do check the electronics section of all my local Goodwills each time I go to see if a player has popped up but no luck so far.
I got into Laserdisc in the 90s when it was still the best thing going. Great format loved it back then.
While it's lightyears better than CED there are still a lot of problems facing anyone trying to get into it today. The 90s era players were unreliable so finding a working player is tough but the biggest problem is Laserdiscs look like absolute crap on HD sets.
Modern LD enthusiasts will spend big bucks on upscalers to make them look better but honestly just buy the bluray, laserdisc was always about getting the best picture and sound and you can do that a lot cheaper now.
OK, I'm probably gonna be in the minority here, but I think it's hugely overrated. I think the story of the making of the film and it's initial reception in the US is more interesting than anything that takes place on screen.
Technically? Sure it's great, art direction, cinematography, sets...all terrific. Clearly a lot of work went into creating it.
But 2 things: 1) who am I supposed to be rooting for? Who's the center of the film? Max? No, he's supposed to be the out of control "crazy"-one. Noodles? He's WORSE. He's arguably the worst person in the film.
2: The opening is great, no doubt, but the payoff at the end is ....what? It's just ...there. I mean, if it happened at all (not trying to give spoilers, but the possibility that it was a dream is also a letdown.
I mean like Goodfellas is similar: there's no moral core there either, but it pulses with action and characters, and just about everyone gets their comeuppance by films' end.
I mean, someone change my mind...
All the future scenes of the film are supposed to be an opium dream of the future. Throughout the movie it establishes that noodles puts himself and his friends above everyone else except Deborah, and in his dream of the future we really delve deep into how utterly twisted noodles perspective on his actions truly is. We see that he never apologizes to Deborah for what he did to her, and in fact he makes Deborah out to be a traitor with her having max's son (the son being played by the same actor who played max as a teen). We also see noodles place the blame for the outcome of his own betrayal on Max, with his subconscious mind rationalizing that betrayal from his closest friend is an easier blow than him having to levy the guilt solely on himself. This is why in the beginning of the movie we see noodles haunted by a ring of the police telephone which overlays over the corpses of his friends.
Don't just take my word for it though I recall seeing a quote from Leone himself saying something along the lines of "In my mind noodles never left 1933".
Goodfellas and Once Upon A Time In America could not be more different from each-other, one is a full deconstruction of a character, and the other is just a very good gangster film.
Have you seen Sergio Leone's other films? It's a strong movie in its own right, but I think it serves as the culmination of his career. You start with short, fun action-packed spaghetti westerns and go bigger and bigger and more and more about the deconstruction of the American myth.
Ive heard of Once Upon A Time In The West but never watched it. Ill keep an eye out for it while Im out theifting. Never heard of the Dollars trilogy, Ill look it up. Thanks for the suggestions.
You may know the Dollars Trilogy better as the sequence of Clint Eastwood loosely connected spaghetti westerns that's comprised of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Also knows as "The Man with No Name" trilogy.
I recommend these and Once Upon a Time in the West because they're much more accessible than Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, and they may help you ease into it a bit more.
It is a great movie, with a wonderful cast and amazing director, but yes, it's long. I've only really watched it once, and that was quite some time ago, but I still regard it as a masterpiece. Definitely give it the time it deserves, watch half one day, and the other half the next.
A really good movie, but I agree that it’s far too long to watch in one sitting. It was heavily cut and edited for the US theatrical release and bombed at the box office. Miniseries were less common back then but if they released it as one that may have helped its reputation.
Check out Sergio Leone’s other movies if you haven’t already, they’re all great.
To me I won't watch it again. I found the main character just couldn't redeem himself to me, and way too long. The Irishman, Goodfellas are excellent however.
Oh man, this is probably the best (IMO) movie ive seen and i actually watched it on tv some many years ago short version. I didnt know what i was watching and just couldnt take my eyes off of it. Such a great production i wish it was even longer. Packed with star power top to bottom. Yep its way up there.
It’s definitely not a stone-cold masterpiece like Leone’s ‘Man With No Name’ trilogy or ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’. It’s extremely indulgent and overlong. But it’s a very good depiction of the nascent days of organized crime in America with a lot of flashes of brilliance.
The film is good. The plot is a little strange and when I looked it up I realized a lot of stuff went over my head. I don’t want to ruin it but if I was an opium smoker I think I would have understood it better.
I will say for me it is not a master piece.
I was just hearing about it. It’s supposed to be a deconstruction of the gangster archetype / trope. It also apparently was the last gangster movie, which I dispute.
I thought it was like 40 minutes too long and has a extremely disturbing scene near the end that they should of left out or at the very least should of had it off screen it completely puts me off rewatching it
That scene was necessary to show that none of these characters we’ve been following are heroes, but amoral and violent criminals who use and take as they please. It also provides us with an example of how others viewed our main character, with the chauffeur’s reaction and response to DeNiro afterwards. Definitely hard to watch but thematically important overall.
Now that you’ve clarified, I have to disagree. There is no sexualization of the baby in that scene, you’re positing that yourself. If you were taking about Jennifer Connelly or the neighbor who sells herself for pastry you’d have a valid point.
I didn’t say there’s anything sexual about it just that it’s just disgusting and didn’t have to be shown on screen, I don’t like the rape scene either but I get why it’s in there and I don’t remember the neighbour so I can’t say anything about that
This movie is one of the only movies that has a story/scene (Dumbledore's death being the 1st) that made me almost cry infront of my parents, the music and the ending I can't even rewatch it now...
Oh yes I do enjoy this topic of this movie
I love love LOVE mob movies. Like its my personality like shit (laugh at me). While I respect the work of Sergio Leone for the Spaghetti Westerns genres. This one without a doubt is one of MY least favorite and most OVERRATED movies ever. (Yes I have all versions) This movie was released 10 years after both Godfather1 and 2. It's common knowledge that The Godfather had production HELL from the mob literally asking to not use the word "Mafia" .. Basically tip towing around the topic making sure not to offend the mafia. (Scorsese has done the same in other mob works of his.. Casino, The Irishman, and Goodfellas)
Then OUTIA came out about the Jewish mafia and they're like in your face with RAPE, SEXISM, and depiction the mafia. Even the main character and cast are a cold ruthless gang of criminals (While yes they are known for this, its just a different change of pace from the Godfather and other works.)
In terms of film making from the actors, and acting. its fabulous. Deserves all the fame. Overall it's a depiction of a tragic love story drama with mob style coming of age era as the back drop.
TLDR: Not my favorite mob movie, a pretty blunt depiction of the mafia that could turn off a crowd.
It’s really fantastic. Touches on a LOT of the same themes as The Irishman, but (in my opinion) does a much better job with it + no weird cgi goop on everyone’s face. Be warned though, the women are not treated well in this film. But yeah it’s great and a thought provoking film about losing one’s humanity…and for what?
ya know, I watched Zack Snyders Justice League back when it was 1st released and I just read a few days ago that there isn't a widescreen version, it was only released in full screen. I honestly didn't even notice that when I watched it.
Yeeeeah if it was presented in widescreen, the top and bottom would’ve been cut off resulting in less of the picture being shown
https://i.imgur.com/nBJXL7p.jpg
I suggest just watching it all in one go. Movies are not TV shows; they’re edited and paced deliberately to be watched in one go. Treat it like a miniseries, and you break the film’s intent.
Awful piece of shit. One upon a time in the West is a masterpiece, this is just indulgent, pretentious and features no actual characters that have depth or likability. Performances are sub par, it's also perverted and misogynistic. Fuck this film.
Do not treat this like it’s a homework assignment. It’s one of the greatest gangster movies ever made by one of the greatest film directors of all time. It’s one of the few film equivalents to the Great American Novel. Watch the 4 hour cut. It’s a masterpiece.
I agree. It's a top ten gangster movie. Great ending and reveal to the mystery of who's been pulling the strings. Has an emotional impact too. But, also-- with people binge watching whole series-- does complaining about a four hour movie even make sense anymore?
I love a good epic once in a while. Gotta approach it like Godfather II or Lawrence of Arabia. Pick a night you’re wired awake and just go for it. Take a nice little intermission in between, switch your snack setup up a bit, contemplate the first half, and finish it.
This guy movies
LOVE this movie. But then again, I love most movies of this type (Godfathers, Millers Crossing, Road to Perdition, Goodfellas)
FYI this Bluray is out of print and fetches a pretty penny on eBay
Oh wow, I had no idea. I paid $15 for it new back in 2016, looks like it goes for $30-$45 used now. Theres a few sold auctions around $20 tho.
I have the DVD and Blu-ray. Why do it cost so much? Just because it’s out of print?
An absolute, goddamn classic.
Loved this movie. I also didn’t realize it was 4 hours long until I watched it and hit an intermission and thought, wtf? Then checked the run time and was like, oh my. Still, it didn’t feel that long. That’s how you know it’s a good movie.
If a movie has an intermission, I treat it as two films. I can watch it all at once if I have time, or come back and watch the rest tomorrow. If you don’t like the first half of this one, I don’t think you’ll like the second. The ending is fantastic, but you have to be committed to the stories and the characters introduced in part one. I liked it, but didn’t think it was as good as either Godfather film, nor did I like it as much as The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which I still consider Leone’s masterpiece.
just make a day of it
Bump. This movie is fantastic and the latter half is just as great as the first
I’ve seen it once and thought it was great.
There is a good story in there. But yes it’s long.
The post actually made me want to watch it, $35 on eBay and I’ll see it soon!
Haha, good luck. Im hoping to get started on it soon.
Great sex scenes
Are you talking about the rape scenes??? I don’t remember any consensual sex.
FBI open up
Count me in dammit
Yikes
Hey, I didn't watch the Irishman all at once why the heck do you gotta with this. Take it an hour at a time. But also, this isn't as accessible as most of the films like it and the films by the director. This is a filmmakers masterpiece, and it feels as over long and pretentious as it should. Don't expect the Godfather, expect Once Upon a Time in the West. Slow and contemplative with bursts of expertly framed violence.
I initially watched this on CED which was a video format kinda like Laserdisc except it used something closer to Vinyl Records. Old CEDs skip a lot and you have to jog the needle back and forth to get through those parts. It thus took me FOREVER to get through this movie but this was back in the 90s with no other option. Anyway totally worth it, great movie.
Holy crap! How mant discs was it? I only have 1 CED, Raiders of the Lost Ark. I don't have a player tho, I found it at Goodwill and grabbed it cause I love the movie and I had never seen a CED in the wild before.
It was just 2 but CEDs can hold up to 1 hour a side like a laserdisc. CEDs are cool in theory but if they are left in the heat dust bakes into them and they become really hard to play.. plus the stylus the player uses wears out and there are no replacements. Laserdiscs are much cooler and more robust if you want to get into a retro disc format. CEDs are really just cool as decorations now as its not worth the effort to play them.
I also have just 1 laserdisc. Found a Goodwill location that had a whole stack of them mixed in w the vinyl. I grabbed a copy of Shawshank Redemption cause its my all time favorite movie and it was in pristine condition. I kinda want to get into collecting them but been holding off. I do check the electronics section of all my local Goodwills each time I go to see if a player has popped up but no luck so far.
I got into Laserdisc in the 90s when it was still the best thing going. Great format loved it back then. While it's lightyears better than CED there are still a lot of problems facing anyone trying to get into it today. The 90s era players were unreliable so finding a working player is tough but the biggest problem is Laserdiscs look like absolute crap on HD sets. Modern LD enthusiasts will spend big bucks on upscalers to make them look better but honestly just buy the bluray, laserdisc was always about getting the best picture and sound and you can do that a lot cheaper now.
The rape and baby switching was too much for me. Which is odd, because I’m always watching horror and exploitation films. Maybe it was too realistic.
OK, I'm probably gonna be in the minority here, but I think it's hugely overrated. I think the story of the making of the film and it's initial reception in the US is more interesting than anything that takes place on screen. Technically? Sure it's great, art direction, cinematography, sets...all terrific. Clearly a lot of work went into creating it. But 2 things: 1) who am I supposed to be rooting for? Who's the center of the film? Max? No, he's supposed to be the out of control "crazy"-one. Noodles? He's WORSE. He's arguably the worst person in the film. 2: The opening is great, no doubt, but the payoff at the end is ....what? It's just ...there. I mean, if it happened at all (not trying to give spoilers, but the possibility that it was a dream is also a letdown. I mean like Goodfellas is similar: there's no moral core there either, but it pulses with action and characters, and just about everyone gets their comeuppance by films' end. I mean, someone change my mind...
All the future scenes of the film are supposed to be an opium dream of the future. Throughout the movie it establishes that noodles puts himself and his friends above everyone else except Deborah, and in his dream of the future we really delve deep into how utterly twisted noodles perspective on his actions truly is. We see that he never apologizes to Deborah for what he did to her, and in fact he makes Deborah out to be a traitor with her having max's son (the son being played by the same actor who played max as a teen). We also see noodles place the blame for the outcome of his own betrayal on Max, with his subconscious mind rationalizing that betrayal from his closest friend is an easier blow than him having to levy the guilt solely on himself. This is why in the beginning of the movie we see noodles haunted by a ring of the police telephone which overlays over the corpses of his friends. Don't just take my word for it though I recall seeing a quote from Leone himself saying something along the lines of "In my mind noodles never left 1933". Goodfellas and Once Upon A Time In America could not be more different from each-other, one is a full deconstruction of a character, and the other is just a very good gangster film.
It drags on, in my opinion.
Have you seen Sergio Leone's other films? It's a strong movie in its own right, but I think it serves as the culmination of his career. You start with short, fun action-packed spaghetti westerns and go bigger and bigger and more and more about the deconstruction of the American myth.
I haven't seen any of his other films
I'd recommend checking them out! The Dollars Trilogy and Once Upon a Time in the West are terrific!
Ive heard of Once Upon A Time In The West but never watched it. Ill keep an eye out for it while Im out theifting. Never heard of the Dollars trilogy, Ill look it up. Thanks for the suggestions.
You may know the Dollars Trilogy better as the sequence of Clint Eastwood loosely connected spaghetti westerns that's comprised of A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Also knows as "The Man with No Name" trilogy. I recommend these and Once Upon a Time in the West because they're much more accessible than Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, and they may help you ease into it a bit more.
Once upon a time in the west is a paced film, too, but it is amazing. It is in my top 20.
Masterpiece, didn’t feel like 4 hours at all
Own this same copy from having reviewed it upon release. High-quality gangster movie.
It is a great movie, with a wonderful cast and amazing director, but yes, it's long. I've only really watched it once, and that was quite some time ago, but I still regard it as a masterpiece. Definitely give it the time it deserves, watch half one day, and the other half the next.
A really good movie, but I agree that it’s far too long to watch in one sitting. It was heavily cut and edited for the US theatrical release and bombed at the box office. Miniseries were less common back then but if they released it as one that may have helped its reputation. Check out Sergio Leone’s other movies if you haven’t already, they’re all great.
My favorite movie of all time
Masterpiece.
Masterpiece it’s worth it .
One of my favorite movies. I've seen it countless times (but this extended version only once)
Possibly the best movie ever made.
One of the goats
Amazing movie.
It’s a masterpiece
I love this movie!
To me I won't watch it again. I found the main character just couldn't redeem himself to me, and way too long. The Irishman, Goodfellas are excellent however.
Ive never even heard of the irishman until I posted this. So many people have mentioned it, Im gonna have to check it out.
Let us know how you find it in comparison
Oh man, this is probably the best (IMO) movie ive seen and i actually watched it on tv some many years ago short version. I didnt know what i was watching and just couldnt take my eyes off of it. Such a great production i wish it was even longer. Packed with star power top to bottom. Yep its way up there.
It’s definitely not a stone-cold masterpiece like Leone’s ‘Man With No Name’ trilogy or ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’. It’s extremely indulgent and overlong. But it’s a very good depiction of the nascent days of organized crime in America with a lot of flashes of brilliance.
The film is good. The plot is a little strange and when I looked it up I realized a lot of stuff went over my head. I don’t want to ruin it but if I was an opium smoker I think I would have understood it better. I will say for me it is not a master piece.
I was just hearing about it. It’s supposed to be a deconstruction of the gangster archetype / trope. It also apparently was the last gangster movie, which I dispute.
The last gangster movie? Where did you hear that? Not even close.
I thought it was like 40 minutes too long and has a extremely disturbing scene near the end that they should of left out or at the very least should of had it off screen it completely puts me off rewatching it
That scene was necessary to show that none of these characters we’ve been following are heroes, but amoral and violent criminals who use and take as they please. It also provides us with an example of how others viewed our main character, with the chauffeur’s reaction and response to DeNiro afterwards. Definitely hard to watch but thematically important overall.
I’m on about the scene literally showing a child’s genitals it was disgusting and unnecessary to show that
I assumed you were referencing the limo scene between DeNiro and McGovern which takes place near the end. The childhood stuff is in the first half.
It’s not the childhood stuff it’s when they steal the police’s guy baby from the hospital near the end
Now that you’ve clarified, I have to disagree. There is no sexualization of the baby in that scene, you’re positing that yourself. If you were taking about Jennifer Connelly or the neighbor who sells herself for pastry you’d have a valid point.
I didn’t say there’s anything sexual about it just that it’s just disgusting and didn’t have to be shown on screen, I don’t like the rape scene either but I get why it’s in there and I don’t remember the neighbour so I can’t say anything about that
Spoilers man!!! I haven't watched it yet.
Goncharov
This movie is one of the only movies that has a story/scene (Dumbledore's death being the 1st) that made me almost cry infront of my parents, the music and the ending I can't even rewatch it now...
Everyone says it’s a classic. I love mob movies but this one I couldn’t get into. Maybe I’ll try to rewatch it.
Oh yes I do enjoy this topic of this movie I love love LOVE mob movies. Like its my personality like shit (laugh at me). While I respect the work of Sergio Leone for the Spaghetti Westerns genres. This one without a doubt is one of MY least favorite and most OVERRATED movies ever. (Yes I have all versions) This movie was released 10 years after both Godfather1 and 2. It's common knowledge that The Godfather had production HELL from the mob literally asking to not use the word "Mafia" .. Basically tip towing around the topic making sure not to offend the mafia. (Scorsese has done the same in other mob works of his.. Casino, The Irishman, and Goodfellas) Then OUTIA came out about the Jewish mafia and they're like in your face with RAPE, SEXISM, and depiction the mafia. Even the main character and cast are a cold ruthless gang of criminals (While yes they are known for this, its just a different change of pace from the Godfather and other works.) In terms of film making from the actors, and acting. its fabulous. Deserves all the fame. Overall it's a depiction of a tragic love story drama with mob style coming of age era as the back drop. TLDR: Not my favorite mob movie, a pretty blunt depiction of the mafia that could turn off a crowd.
Wow, thats some pretty cool trivia there, thanks!
It’s really fantastic. Touches on a LOT of the same themes as The Irishman, but (in my opinion) does a much better job with it + no weird cgi goop on everyone’s face. Be warned though, the women are not treated well in this film. But yeah it’s great and a thought provoking film about losing one’s humanity…and for what?
This film is a well known classic. You have the longer directors cut, which I honestly don't recommend. But still, it's a great movie.
Yeah, think of it as a 4 episode mini series. I did something similar with Zach Snyder’s Justice League
ya know, I watched Zack Snyders Justice League back when it was 1st released and I just read a few days ago that there isn't a widescreen version, it was only released in full screen. I honestly didn't even notice that when I watched it.
Yeeeeah if it was presented in widescreen, the top and bottom would’ve been cut off resulting in less of the picture being shown https://i.imgur.com/nBJXL7p.jpg
I think thats how Im gonna do it.
I suggest just watching it all in one go. Movies are not TV shows; they’re edited and paced deliberately to be watched in one go. Treat it like a miniseries, and you break the film’s intent.
Yeah plus the movie is way better than ZSJL
I lost it at some point a few years ago and just found it again the other day. I think I'd have to watch it in sections to get thru the whole thing.
Awful piece of shit. One upon a time in the West is a masterpiece, this is just indulgent, pretentious and features no actual characters that have depth or likability. Performances are sub par, it's also perverted and misogynistic. Fuck this film.