Once Upon a Time in America

Year:

1984

Duration:

229 min | USA:139 min (re-cut) | 251 min (extended director's cut)

Genres:

Crime | Drama

IMDB rate:

8.4

Director:

Sergio Leone

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 13 wins & 4 nominations

Details

Country: Italy

Release Date: 1984-05-23

Filming Locations: Intersection of Washington Street and Water Street, Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Earnings

Budget: $30,000,000

Opening Weekend: $2,412,014 (USA) (3 June 1984)

Gross: $5,321,508 (USA)AUD 144,904 (Australia)

Cast

Actor

Character

Scott Schutzman Tiler

Robert De Niro

David 'Noodles' Aaronson

James Woods

Maximilian 'Max' Bercovicz

Elizabeth McGovern

Deborah Gelly

Joe Pesci

Frankie Manoldi

Burt Young

Joe

Tuesday Weld

Carol

Treat Williams

James Conway O'Donnell

Danny Aiello

Police Chief Vincent Aiello

Richard Bright

Chicken Joe

James Hayden

Patrick 'Patsy' Goldberg

William Forsythe

Philip 'Cockeye' Stein

Darlanne Fluegel

Eve

Larry Rapp

'Fat' Moe Gelly

Richard Foronjy

Officer 'Fartface' Whitey

Robert Harper

Sharkey

Dutch Miller

Van Linden

Gerard Murphy

Crowning

Amy Ryder

Peggy

Olga Karlatos

Woman in the Puppet Theatre

Mario Brega

Mandy

Ray Dittrich

Trigger

Frank Gio

Beefy

Karen Shallo

Lucy Aiello

Angelo Florio

Willie The Ape

Rusty Jacobs

Young Max / David Bailey

Brian Bloom

Young Patsy

Adrian Curran

Young Cockeye

Mike Monetti

Young Fat Moe

Noah Moazezi

Dominic

James Russo

Bugsy

Frankie Caserta

Bugsy's Gang

Joey Marzella

Bugsy's Gang

Clem Caserta

Al Capuano

Frank Sisto

Fred Capuano

Jerry Strivelli

Johnny Capuano

Julie Cohen

Young Peggy

Marvin Scott

Interviewer

Mike Gendel

Irving Gold

Paul Herman

Monkey

Ann Neville

Girl in Coffin

Joey Faye

Adorable Old Man

Linda Ipanema

Nurse Thompson

Tandy Cronyn

Reporter 1

Richard Zobel

Reporter 2

Baxter Harris

Reporter 3

Arnon Milchan

Chauffeur

Bruno Iannone

Thug

Marty Licata

Cemetery Caretaker

Marcia Jean Kurtz

Max's Mother

Estelle Harris

Peggy's Mother

Gerritt Debeer

Drunk

Jennifer Connelly

Young Deborah

Alexander Godfrey

Newstand Man

Cliff Cudney

Mounted Policeman

Paul Farentino

2nd Mounted Policeman

Bruce Bahrenburg

Sgt. P. Halloran

Mort Freeman

Street Singer

Sandra Solberg

Friend of Young Deborah

Jay Zeely

Foreman

Massimo Liti

Young Macrò

Susan Spafford

Nurse

Greg Anthony

Bar Room Patron (uncredited)

Salvatore Billa

One of Beefy's Thugs (uncredited)

Matteo Cafiso

Boy in Park (uncredited)

Nelson Camp

Newspaper Salesman (uncredited)

Scott Coffey

Teenager (uncredited)

Francesca Leone

David Bailey's Girlfriend (uncredited)

Chuck Low

Deborah Gelly's Father (uncredited)

Ron Nummi

Waiter (uncredited)

Fabio Roscioli

(uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

In the garbage truck scene, it was not James Woods, but an actor made up to look like Woods. This lent a sense of ambiguity to the event.

Share this

In their childhood, the boys deal with hoods named Bugsy and Al Capuano. These names are probable homages to real-life gangsters Bugs Moran and Al Capone.

Share this

In this film starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, Treat Williams plays a character named Jimmy Conway. De Niro and Pesci starred in the gangster film Goodfellas (1990), where De Niro played a character named Jimmy Conway.

Share this

Goofs

Early, when the guy is being beaten, the thugs shoot the punching bag next to his head to scare him - the shot is fired with a semiautomatic pistol with a silencer. The thug then puts the silencer in the guy's mouth and cocks the hammer of the pistol - since it is a semiautomatic, the hammer should have already been cocked.

Share this

When Fat Moe gives Noodles the locker key, he opens the door of the clock. The key for winding up the clock is in place. After a quick cut to Noodles, the key is gone.

Share this

When Max and Noodles are on the beach, Noodles' girlfriend lays a newspaper across his face. When the wind blows, you can see duplicate pages, revealing that it's a fake newspaper.

Share this

Quotes

Noodles: Hey, Maxie. Max! How much money we got put away?

Share this

Frankie Minaldi: [introducing the gang to Joe] Here they are, "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse"! Did you happen to see that movie, Joe? It's a good movie.

Share this

Noodles: Fat Moe, you look terrific. Look like you lost an ounce or two.

Share this

Faq

Q

Who was the kid waiting outside of Deborah's apartment at the end of the film?

A

He was the kid of Mr. Bailey (Max) and the "rich widow" he married. She died giving birth to him.

Q

Why does Noodles smile in the Chinese opium den, as shown at the end of the film?

A

Q

Is 'Once Upon a Time in America' based on a book?

A

Once Upon a Time in America is based on the 1953 autobiographical novel The Hoods by Harry Grey, a pen name for Harry Goldberg, a former gangster-turned informant. It is the third movie in a Sergio Leone trilogy, preceded by Once Upon a Time in the West [C'era una volta il West] (1968) and A Fistful of Dynamite [Giù la testa] (1971).

Share this