It took a long, long time for people to accept Once Upon a Time in America for the masterpiece it so very clearly is. Butchered by the studio and cut into several sub-par versions across the years, western maestro Sergio Leone's final film now exists the way that it's supposed to - that's to say, this sprawling crime epic (one that takes its characters from the 1920s to the 60s) is available in its intended 251 minute version. Or, at least, that version is the closest to what Leone envisioned. The movie is insanely ambitious, as it chronicles a man named David "Noodles" Aaronson - played as an adult by Robert De Niro - and his turn to a life of crime across the span of many decades. It's a beautiful, poetic movie, inherently tragic at its core, but one that rivals that of The Godfather in terms of scope, characterisation, themes and music (the score by Ennio Morricone is unforgettable and haunting). Underrated and under-seen, it's an essential film.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
