10 Epic Moments In Sergio Leone Films

Released in 1984, Once Upon a Time in America was Sergio Leone's final film and is perhaps the filmmaker's most underappreciated masterpiece. The beautiful yet tragic depiction of America is regarded now by critics as one of the best American gangster films of all time.

The film tells the story of a group of boys who live in the Jewish ghettos of early 1900s New York City and their inevitable rise into organised crime, with the film also serving as s a brutal and highly provocative examination of America's criminal underworld.

The film also has an extraordinarily long 3 hour and 49 minute running time. For 50 minutes of said runtime, Leone with the help of another beautifully composed Ennio Morricone score, examines the childhood memories of the boys in the poverty-stricken streets of New York's Jewish ghettos.

The entire childhood memories sequence is brilliantly visualized by Leone, who illustrates both the innocence and harrowing experiences of the young boys. The most memorable scene of the film occurs during this sequence and it is possibly the most emotionally powerful scene of Leone's entire filmography.

Ambushed by local crime lord Bugsy, the boys try to run before the youngest of the gang, Dominic, is shot down and killed. The scene is the most hard-hitting of the entire film and leads to Noodles brutally getting revenge for his fallen friend, leading to his eventual imprisonment and destined path into further acts of violence.

Once Upon a Time in America was shamelessly butchered upon release in the US by the film's American distributors, with an entire 90 minutes of content from the film being cut. However, the full version is full of powerful and deeply emotional moments like this. As my personal favourite film of all time, I would highly recommend that you watch it all. Do not let the running time put you off!