Once Upon A Time In America (1984)
Rating on IMDB: 8.4
Storyline summary
'Epic tale of a group of Jewish gangsters in New York, from childhood, through their glory years during prohibition, and their meeting again 35 years later.' IMDB
Set during the Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed.
In the trailer you notice the fact that Prohibition is advertised, as the film was released at the end of Prohibition, this part of the trailer could suggest them celebrating the end.
Directed by Sergio Leone
who is well known for his western films, especially The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
Characters:
Innocent victims, criminals, people involved in twisted relationships, gangsters,femme fatale (she may be deviant)
Locations:
Dimly lit, noir lighting - suggests the dark nature of film
chiaroscuro lighting
isolated/abandoned boxing club
The death of Eve, all took part in her, and her gangster lovers apartment, it is a place that she considers being safe and home.
The change of location from a stuffy apartment to a boxing club is big, because the apartment is a claustrophobic place, whereas the boxing club is a big echoing hall. However the way Leone has shot the scene in the boxing club, changes this stereotype because, he has used extreme close ups and made sure that all the characters are surrounding Big Moe, which results in the scene looking claustrophobic with no escape.
The death of Eve, all took part in her, and her gangster lovers apartment, it is a place that she considers being safe and home.
The change of location from a stuffy apartment to a boxing club is big, because the apartment is a claustrophobic place, whereas the boxing club is a big echoing hall. However the way Leone has shot the scene in the boxing club, changes this stereotype because, he has used extreme close ups and made sure that all the characters are surrounding Big Moe, which results in the scene looking claustrophobic with no escape.
Props:
Guns, sterotypically used in thrillers.
Questions:
who are these three men?
Who are they looking for?
Is she the gangsters mole?
General Comments:
uncertainty
set in the 30s - paying tribute to classic 1940s noir thrillers like 'Gilda'
Darkness of color - reflects the dark nature of the film
Aural (sound)
The first thing the audience will notice is that, whilst the opening credits are still running, 'God Bless America' starts to play as Eve enters her apartment. It is quite ironic that this music is used, not only because Eve gets shot in this scene but because Sergio Leone is an Italian director, so he is in fact making a 'dig' at the American lifestyle; to him it is not great and it should not be 'blessed'.
The music could be Digetic because the music could have been playing outside, but in my opinion it is most likely that the music is non-digetic, to purposefully set the scene.
'God Bless America' is also used in the film 'The Deer Hunter (1978)', which is also directed by an Italian director. So it is thought that Once upon a time in America, is a tribute to the end of the Deer Hunter. Which means that they are intextually linked.
How does Sergio Leone establish the thriller genre?
The use of noir lighting lets the audience know that this is a dark film. Also the death of Eve straightaway at the beginning of the film, strongly establishes the thriller. The use of Eves red nail varnish and pearls (tears) symbolizes her femme fatale character.
The lamp symbolises Eves life, when she turns it on, it represents her life as full and bright, but just before she is shot, the lamp is turned to black through being shot. This shows that soon her life will wiver away just like the life of the lamp. Also with the name Eve, the audience can see the biblical reference; in the well known story of Adam and Eve, Eve is the temptress, breaking the rules and landing herself and others into trouble, which is exactly what happens with Eve in this film.
As soon as Eve enters the room, the audience can tell she is femme fatale character, because of her pearls and red lipstick; the red indicates, lust, danger and death.
As soon as Eve enters the room, the audience can tell she is femme fatale character, because of her pearls and red lipstick; the red indicates, lust, danger and death.
You've satisfactorily analysed some aspects of the way Sergio Leoni has utilzed the thriller genre. Big Mo is not beaten up in a boxing club but in his restaurant. But you could be forgiven for thinking this. I showed students the way the film developed, and Noodles finds Noodles beaten up in his restaurant and takes revenge.
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