This issue shares the classic movie "Once Upon a Time in America". There are multiple versions of this movie. The first version released in the United States in 1984 was only 139 minutes long. Because the plot was too simplified, many people could not understand it. , the reputation and box office were both terrible. Later, there were two more common versions, namely the 3:49 version and the 4:12 extended version. After decades of word-of-mouth accumulation, it has become an undisputed classic. It is recommended to watch the extended version. ?
Because the film is too long and the narrative style is slow, it is easy to give up when you first watch it, but as long as you persist to the end, you will basically get into it. And because the film has a lot of interspersed narratives and flashbacks, it contains too much information. You can’t understand many details after watching it once. You can definitely watch it a second or third time. The interpretation methods and viewing angles are also diverse.
The purpose of this film review is to summarize it myself, and to introduce it to friends who haven’t gotten into it yet. Therefore, we rearrange the narrative structure in chronological order, first try to tell the story clearly, and then look for some details to appreciate and comprehend.
In 1921, in the slums of New York, USA, 14-year-old teenagers "Noodles", "Pan Flute", "Passie" and the younger Dominic were hanging out on the streets, helping gangs collect protection fees and commit crimes. Some deception and abduction activities. Until they met the newly moved boy MAX, the fate of several friends changed from then on. ?
The 1920s in the United States was the period of Prohibition, and the main income of gangs was the trafficking of illicit alcohol. Noodles thought of a way to successfully evade police tracking, which greatly increased the volume of private liquor transportation, and several friends also made their first pot of gold.
Twelve years later, MAX was released from prison with noodles. At Fatty Lao Mo's underground winery, Noodles learned that their business was doing very well, and Noodles had a share of all the money they had made over the years. Noodles naturally rejoined the gang, and MAX obviously regarded himself as the boss. Panxiao, Paixi and Noodles were under his command.
The gang of four became more and more active. After robbing jewelry and diamonds, they also wanted to take advantage of the gangsters. In the end, they actually participated in the union strike and even directly competed with the police. During this period of several actions, Noodles gradually became repelled by MAX's ambition, and he always cared about his first girlfriend Deborah. MAX was also very angry at Noodles' lack of progress.
Prohibition is about to be lifted, and the gang's income will be in trouble. MAX planned to rob the Federal Bank, but Noodles disagreed, and the two started arguing again. After making a painful decision, Noodles reported the smuggling activities of MAX and others to the police, hoping to save his brothers' lives through a few years' imprisonment. Unexpectedly, MAX, Panxiao and Paixi were all beaten to death that night. Full of regret, Noodles was hunted down by gangsters as a traitor and had to flee New York. At the station, he discovered that 1 million gang funds had mysteriously disappeared.
Thirty-five years later, Noodles received a mysterious letter and returned to New York alone, only to discover a heartbreaking twist in the story. MAX did not die, but deceived all his brothers, monopolized the gang funds, changed his name and joined the upper class, and became Minister Bailey. The most unacceptable thing is that Deborah, his first girlfriend at that time, actually became MAX's mistress and had a child with MAX.
Minister Bailey encountered an irreversible political crisis and wanted to die. He only felt that he owed Noodles too much and hoped to die in the hands of Noodles. After Noodles understood everything, he did not show his youthful impulsiveness, but left silently. Unable to find final psychological comfort, MAX committed suicide by throwing himself into a garbage truck.
The story is finished, but this can only be regarded as an outline.
If the story structure is told in a straightforward manner, except for the big twist at the end, everything else seems very bland. In fact, one of the best things about this movie is the way it intersperses its narrative.
For example, at the beginning of the movie, Noodles was smoking a big cigarette in a Chinese pipe and was drunk and dreaming. The harsh ringing of the phone kept irritating Noodles. Only later did we learn that the ringing of the phone was a hint that Noodles called to report, which led to the murder of his brother.
Next is Noodles' escape, which jumps directly to Noodles' return to New York 35 years later. The really amazing scene is 40 minutes into the movie, when the elderly Noodles recalls things from his youth through a peephole. Deborah as a girl is one of the most beautiful girls in the movies I have ever seen.
The emotional entanglement between Deborah and Noodles is also an important storyline of this movie.
Deborah is the daughter of a hotel owner, so her family background is slightly better. Her charm is not just pure beauty, but a firm ambition since she was a child to become a star and enter the above-mentioned society. Noodles' feelings for her are just like when we were young and saw the beautiful school belle from the next class, we didn't even dare to say hello, we could only peek at her. Noodles often peeked through the small hole in the toilet of Lao Mo Hotel to watch Deborah practice her dance. But Deborah had already discovered that Noodles was peeping, but she didn't reveal it, and even took off her clothes to expose her vagina to seduce Noodles.
Deborah’s emotion towards Noodles is also a clear emotion. As she said herself, Noodles is the only person she has ever cared about. When she read the Bible to Noodles, she made it very clear, "He can never be my lover." She felt from the bottom of her heart that it was impossible for her to marry a gangster, but she still gave her her first kiss. All this is seen by MAX, who has had a strong jealousy towards Deborah and Noodles since he was a child.
Noodles was 26 years old when he was released from prison. This was the only chance for Noodles to break away from the gang. When he saw Deborah, he felt like he had found his soul's destination, and this time he was deliberately targeted by MAX. Intervention interrupts. Later, Noodles went to the best hotel on Long Island to confess his love to his girlfriend, but Deborah remained as calm and clear-minded as ever. She was leaving Noodles to pursue a career in Hollywood. Noodles was heartbroken, but Deborah's gentle kiss goodbye led to an incredible... rape.
In the past, many people condemned this scene. At least 10 years ago, I personally couldn't understand it. In the final analysis, it was caused by the misunderstanding of two kinds of thinking. Deborah has planned a route for herself since she was a child, heading towards the upper class society. In her dictionary, a gentle kiss goodbye should be exchanged for a calm and polite letting go like a "prince". As for Noodles, who had just been released from 12 years in prison, her cold refusal once again pushed Noodles into endless hell, completely stimulating the bestiality in a little gangster's heart. From this moment on, Noodles is dead, and the remaining trace of humanity should be brotherhood.
And what about brothers. MAX's crazy plan to rob the Federal Bank deeply tortured Noodles. He didn't want his brothers to embark on a path of no return, so he chose the most taboo tip of the gang, but directly killed several brothers, and fled for 35 years full of regret. The final big twist caused all the good memories of Noodles to disappear. This was the tragic life of Noodles. Robert De Niro's performance in this film is personally considered the best performance of his acting career.
On the surface, MAX is the biggest winner in life, which fully proves that in the free country of the United States, a poor boy can use his intelligence and unscrupulous means to join the upper class society. He can completely control Panpipe and Paixi, but he always loses to the stubborn noodles in terms of aura.
As a result, he came up with a poisonous plan to prompt Noodles to call the police with the original intention of saving his brothers. While killing two innocent brothers, he pretended to be dead and took all the property. Guilt runs away alone. His plan was so perfect that he even took the women Noodles loved and played with into his harem, which shows his twisted and perverted heart. At the end, when Noodles said to MAX, "My brother died 35 years ago," MAX's American dream in this life was completely shattered, and he threw himself into a garbage truck to commit suicide. Did he admit that he was garbage?
This movie has many interesting details, such as the nicknames of several people that can explain their fate.
MAX represents the boss, and also implies the desire that can never be satisfied
Noodles also means fool
Cockeye means a drunk person , always playing the pan flute in his hand, provides most of the background music for the film.
Patsy means someone who is easily deceived. He bought a cake when he was a child, originally intending to use it to pay for Peggy's prostitution, but he couldn't resist the delicious taste of the cake and ate it in one bite, which foreshadowed the pattern of his life.
Except for MAX, these four brothers were idiots and idiots. They all died at the age of 26. Noodles was considered a worse life than death.
Deborah was successful in her life plan, but becoming MAX's mistress in the second half of her life was equivalent to acquiescing to MAX's complete betrayal and deception of noodles.
She and MAX gave birth to a child, but the name was the same as noodles. This shows that her life is full of irreconcilable contradictions in emotional and material choices. She lives under disguise all her life. What happiness is there?
This is an adult fable about the "American Dream". It has excellent narrative techniques and successful character creation. It clearly depicts the American gangs, civilians, and upper class from the 1920s to the 1960s. Social beings. This film later had many imitations and tributes, such as the familiar "Guling Street Youth Murder Incident" and "Sunny Days", and some references in expression techniques can be seen.
Finally, I would like to say that the connotation of this movie is far more than the above. There are many things to appreciate and understand. Welcome to jump in together.