Once upon a time in America was born in 1984. The director is Lionel, a famous Italian director. I won't elaborate on movie master like Lionel here. His masterpiece "American Trilogy" occupies an important position in the history of world movies. Once upon a time in America was inspired by a prisoner who had served time in prison. In the 1970s, the prisoner wrote a story about his life experience after he was released from prison. By chance, the director read the story, and Lionel immediately showed great interest in the story and planned to make it into a movie.
The script was conceived for eleven years, and the final story was put on the screen at 1984. At that time, the original film had six hours, which made investors quite dissatisfied at that time, because the fatigue time of watching a movie was about one and a half hours. Moreover, there were few Hollywood movies of that time. Moreover, this gangster-themed film already has an epic masterpiece like The Godfather, and the theme is too similar to The Godfather. At the strong request of investors, the film was split and cut into one and a half hours, which completely disrupted the time and content of this epic, omitting many plots, causing the audience to be incoherent and confused when watching the movie. So in that year, the box office of the film was completely lost, which exhausted the director Leonie.
It took many years for this film to see the light of day, and it immediately aroused the enthusiasm of fans all over the world after being replayed. Classics will never be buried by time. At present, the film is divided into two versions, one is a 229-minute regular version, which is currently available on major film and television platforms, and the other is an extended version of 25 1 minute. Compared with the 229 version, 25 1 min has several details, but it does not affect the overall development of the plot. 229 minutes, nearly 4 hours. The first time I watch a movie, I will feel like a lifetime ago after watching it. The years in the movie have changed, and people's feelings are warm and cold, which makes people cry.
In my opinion, the film Once upon a time in America is mainly about the polarization of the American dream, which is mainly manifested in our two protagonists, namely "Noodles" and "Maida". The beauty of this polarization is naturally McDonald's, and we also saw it in the movie. At the end of the film, Mai Dacheng became a respected minister with all the power and money. Of course, he betrayed his brother for all this. Noodles, on the other hand, have been away from home for more than 30 years and are always suffering from betrayal of their brothers. At the beginning of the movie, when Noodles returned to Mo Fatty's bar, we could see that Noodles had a hard time at that time. Naturally, he is the worst of the American dream.
At the end of the movie, Mada committed suicide. Why did Mai Da commit suicide? In the eyes of the United States at that time, the achievements of McDonald's University were undoubtedly successful. Through her own social struggle, Maida has become a high-class person, and her friends have changed from street hooligans to celebrities. So why did Mai Dahui, who was so successful in life, choose to commit suicide? I think the main reason is the guilt in Mai Da's heart. Impressed audiences may remember the last scene of the film. When Noodle and McDonald's chatted in the office, Noodle was always called Bailey, Minister of McDonald's. Noodles refused to admit that it was his brother who was fighting with him at that time. Mai Da always felt guilty and wanted Noodles to shoot him, but Noodles didn't do it in the end. Because in the heart of noodles, all his brothers have died in the rainy night in front of more than 30 people, maybe that ending is the best for noodles.
The polarization of the American dream was obvious when Maida appeared. Impressed audiences may still remember that when Mai Da appeared in a carriage, he skillfully grabbed the long-awaited "prey" such as noodles. The plot played a suggestive role. The image of Mai Da sitting in a carriage is in sharp contrast with the low image of noodles and others walking on the road, suggesting everyone's future status. At the same time, McDonald's easily snatched noodles and other prey, which also hinted at McDonald's fierce means.
The Excellence of this film lies in its soundtrack, its narrative technique and several unique editing techniques. I believe that this kind of film will still be a classic in the future, and will continue to watch and update.