Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition) [DVD]

First up, let me say I'm a big fan of the film. There are many who don't care for it, complaining it's too slow, too long, etc., etc. To each their own, while I admit it's not perfect, it's close. It was probably the last big-budget epic film with real people and not computer trickery, on that point alone it's amazing. It's a shame that during Sergio Leone's lifetime he wasn't as revered as today, but to his eternal credit, he knew what he wanted and moved heaven and earth to realize his vision. Every film of his beginning with "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" was butchered by studios, recut and remolded without his input, but time has been kind. With all these films, including "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "Duck You Sucker aka A Fistful of Dynamite," now available in versions that honor his vision, we and future generations can now enjoy the work of a master craftsman......When I first became aware that the 2014 Extended Director's Cut was on the pre-release timetable I sold my original 2011 Blu-ray. If you're thinking about buying this and doing the same, I advise you to search out the single-disc Extended Director's Cut, and keep your older Blu-ray. The new two-disc Collector's Edition has the same "Director's Cut" as re-released in 2011. Upon initial viewing I thought it had been re-remastered as well, but a more intense comparison proved me wrong. The new expanded edition looks fantastic, the detail and clarity is palpable and exhibits more depth and some nice grain. The biggest difference between the two is the color reproduction, the Extended Version's palate is totally different than the 2011's. It has a more brownish-almost-sepia "aged" look as opposed to the original Blu-ray release which had a more "standard" look, which some viewers might prefer. The film as a whole is darker as well, you only have to compare the very first scene, where Eve comes into Noodle's room, to notice the differences between the two. I might add that the effect is subtle, not overdone as in the original version of HEAVEN'S GATE. I also didn't realize that most of the added footage doesn't match the quality of the rest of the film and has a "washed out" appearance. Quite a few reviewers don't think the added footage adds much to the original release either. In some cases I agree, but some of it fills in some plot holes and better explains character motivations, it's a shame it's not in perfect shape. The two-disc set comes in a nice sturdy slipcase containing a small hardcover book and a standard two-disc blu-ray case......So, what is the extra footage you may ask? Here's a rundown of what's added with my opinion of it's value. Obviously there are going to be MAJOR SPOILERS (and dissenting readers), you've been warned! There are six additional scenes:1. After "Noodles" (Robert De Niro) goes to the mausoleum where he finds the bus station (Grand Central?) locker key, there is a scene with Louise Fletcher as the cemetery manager, while they talk, Noodles notices a black Cadillac that seems to be following him until he walks toward it, causing it to pull away. After my first viewing I felt it was the most superfluous of the six, maybe because it's also in the worst shape and jarring at first. After a second viewing I found that it, and the one that follows later on, helps explain Noodles initial paranoia (1:34:49-1:38:21)....2. Noodles is outside Secretary Bailey's (James Woods) gate and sees the now famous garbage truck ("35"). The black Caddy is shown leaving Bailey's compound, and as Noodles is watching it go down the street, it explodes. The scene helps support two later, when Noodles is watching a TV report of the incident at Fat Moe's (Larry Rapp) and of course, the finale (2:08:39-2:10:35)....3. Making small-talk with the chauffeur (producer Arnon Milchon!) while waiting for Deborah (Elizabeth McGovern) to go on their elaborate date, Noodles mentions the persecution of the Jews in Germany and that he's Jewish. The driver says he knows, and that he is Jewish as well, studying for a degree. He chides him for being a Jewish (and imitation Italian) gangster, making Noodles defensive, bragging about how much money he makes. Interesting, but it really doesn't add much except reinforcing why Noodles doesn't retaliate when the chauffeur shows his disgust and refuses Noodle's money after the rape (2:34:00-2:35:10)....4. After Deborah's rape there's a scene showing how he met his girlfriend Eve (the one who gets gunned down in the beginning). This scene later cuts to an extension of the scene showing Deborah preparing to take the train to California. The scene helps explain why he stays with her after their initial one-night stand (she's nice) (2:48:13-2:54:00)....5. Deborah is shown performing the lead in Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra" with Noodles in the audience. It's the final scene in the play where she commits suicide by asp. Her soliloquy about being the downfall of Caesar and Antony is obviously meant to be a comment on the Max/Noodles paradigm. The scene leads into where they talk in her dressing room (3:28:03-3:30:20)....6. This scene adds the most to the emotional balance of the film, and quite frankly I can't understand why it was cut. At Bailey/Max's party, after the shot where Max is looking out the window at his son, it cuts to a scene with Jimmy O'Donnell (Treat Williams) that explains more fully why Bailey/Max is in trouble. At one point Treat's character even recommends he commit suicide. After Treat leaves, Noodles comes in as in the previous versions. This scene is the lengthiest addition and sort of puts to rest the view that the whole movie is Noodle's "opium dream." Max's self-loathing and sense of defeat throughout both scenes lends credence to his choice of "death by garbage truck" (3:41:42-3:46:45)....All in all, if you're a fan of the film, this version's a must. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the color palate, but upon a second viewing I kind of prefer it, the brownish hues lends a more autumnal quality to the film as a whole. The older "Director's Cut wasn't too shabby either, and as I've noted I'm sure many other viewers will prefer it's brighter picture and more vibrant colors. Leone fans will want to have both. An essential purchase......

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2014 BLU-RAY/DVD COLLECTOR'S EDITION(I'm going to try and keep this brief, but it's almost impossible when talking about this film.)In 1984 Sergio Leone, master of the long-form story of American anti-heroes (and mostly through cowboys and gunslingers) set his sights high when adapting the 1952 gangster book "The Hoods" by Harry Grey for the screen. The result is long, drawn-out, meditative and grim, a delirious event onscreen which will either dazzle you or bore you if you don't have the patience to wade through it.A brief history:In 1984, after carefully crafting the film together as he saw it, it was ready to be screened (culled from the ten hours of the actual story on film). Originally envisioned as two three-hour films, he showed a 269-minute cut (with intermission) at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, which garnered over 15 minutes of a standing ovation.However, Warner Bros. (and their distributors The Ladd Company, who had mangled 'Blade Runner" only two years earlier) convinced him to squash all six hours down into a single 229-minute film. After carefully editing it down as best as he could, the distributors - WITHOUT LEONE'S INVOLVEMENT AND CONSENT - reshuffled and rearranged most of the scenes into an almost chronological order, which was not how the story in the book is told, and it now clocked in at a sterile 139 minutes! The film itself suffers for it immensely, with now missing scenes and plot points that would have made this much easier to understand simply if it was left alone.The result was a critical and commercial flop worldwide, although a few critics liked it. Both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel were the one of the few lone champions of it, brutalizing the distributors for their chop job, having seen the 229 minute version at Cannes themselves, and Siskel put it on his Top Ten films of 1984.The fallout? Having been disillusioned and distraught by Hollywood, America in general, and it's decline in substance over style, it became the last film Leone ever directed.(In 2012 Martin Scorsese re-introduced Leone's 229 minute version to Cannes, and interest for this forgotten film was reignited. To this day he and Leone's children are still trying to gain back the rights to over 29 missing minutes of the film to show his almost complete 269 minute 1984 Cannes version.)The plot:So what is it about? It's all a delirious dream and memories (or maybe it isn't), but is filled with some of the best performances onscreen by Robert De Niro, Elizabeth McGovern, James Woods, Treat Williams, James Hayden, William Forsythe, Darlanne Fluegel and a cast of dozens, all trying to tell you, the viewer, a story lasting almost 50 years. I think that's all I can say because the plot is simple, but the story envelops you!You have to watch it for yourself, as it rivals "The Godfather" as one of the best gangster films ever made... that you've never seen, even in it's chopped up form.If you've ever seen the previously released 139 minute "theatrical version" on DVD, it can be confusing without mulitple viewings (like I have done over the years). Entire subplots are ripped out, and all we have left are some great bang-bangs and some sexy moments, but the subtlety of the story itself is pretty much 75% gone.When it was finally released in 2002/3 a a "Special Edition" and as a "Director's Cut," restoring it to Leone's 229 minute post-Cannes cut, it was revelatory, and those of us who truly valued this film (such as myself) were finally able to see Leone's version as he wanted to show it in theaters, complete with an intermission - try that nowadays!Now here it is, almost a decade after the 2002/3 release, and we have been given the best possible version to what Leone wanted to show, as much more scenes (but not even close to all) have been reintroduced and reshaped using his original notes. It comes in at a staggering 251 minute version (just a little over 4 hours), with the intermision.Now for the physical details:This version, that I bought here on Amazon, is the collectible Blu-Ray/DVD version, with both the 229 minute cut and the 251 minute cut available on 1 Blu-Ray disc and two DVDs (the former "Collector's Edition" from 2002/3). There's an amazing amount of new information included here, a 32-page color hardcover book with photos and production info not found almost anywhere else, but some of the same commentaries, documentaries and trailers found on the Collector's Edition, which is fine.As to the technical end:The Blu-Ray looks great onscreen, the colors are even, and even though the Italian restoring companies did a great job, it's obvious to see the lost or new scenes when it comes on - they look a little washed out, but it's to be expected considering it was from throwaway negatives, and not the original film elements.Despite that, the film's story, as envisioned by one of the great directors in our lifetime of all things Americana, is a major step forward to being complete and worth the 4 hour watch. I give it, and the restoration, and the package overall, a mighty 5 stars.Warner Home Video, who didn't help much to rescue it back when it was first released by the Ladd Company (the resulting flop almost bankrupted Ladd, just as they were recovering two years earlier when they took "Blade Runner" and screwed that all up too), has finally delivered a package worth holding on to!You'll enjoy it, if you love the gangsters, the drama, and the story, told by one of the masters, and this should most definitely be in your collection!(Thanks for reading, please leave a thanks if you liked it, and then check out my other so-so reviews of other items for sale here on Amazon.)