The Death of the American Gangster Film
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ต.ค. 2024
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The history of the American Gangster movie and an analysis of how Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America killed the genre. This video essay considers the major characteristics of the gangster film, how the genre evolved over time, and how Leone exploited genre archetypes to reveal the innate brutality of the gangster myth.
To skip the discussion on Noodles and Deborah: 29:22
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Hey everyone, I had to make a small trim near the beginning of my video that cuts off a bit of my voiceover to appease a copyright claim. Apologies for the inconvenience.
But what of the Hood Gangster Movie...
You know it's best Left Unsaid
Oh, that’s fine. Didn’t notice the first time I watched, and I stumbled into here from recommendations now. Did you ever talk about breaking bad as a TV show? It makes for a good “”gangster film””
Just an FYI: it's not NWARR, the way a pirate might say it, but "nwah." No "r." It's french, so perhaps you'd like to consult a pronunciation guide.
Bursogyny, bursogyny, bursogyny. I can't wait until a great anticisfeminist filmmaker does something to detail the orgy of murder, rape, neglect, exploitation, and self-justification of the heiresses of the cisfeminine emptiness and power fantasies that defined Sparta. Guess you won't remove that, you TERFy hack. Pity there's no copyright claim on pimping the myth of the magical dupe oppressor class, you hateful bigot.
@@valeriekeefe8898 wow, even if this is real I’m laughing so hard rn
Great video but I think it also misses one crucial detail: the decline of the mafia and gangsters in general. By the time the 90’s rolled around, mafia gangs were decimated by law enforcement and its rare they ever made headlines or felt relevant. That’s a big running theme for Sopranos, about how that era was ending and times were changing, like how mafia movies replaced westerns. Now corporate CEO’s and white collar crimes are the go-to villains since they’re more relevant
Yeah, i wondered where that was
WalMart is more gangster than real gangsters today.
Drug cartels are the Mafia of today. Now you get all these films and shows about drug dealers. Breaking Bad, Narcos, Sicario, Traffic, etc.
@@javierperalta7648 Yep, and the Godfather movie touched upon that as the old dons didn't want that shit but the young pups, back then, knew that is where the cash was.
@Kathryn Dorsey Yeah the Italian mob in America is dead. But not in Italy itself. Specially the Ndrangheta. But that is because the Ndrangheta has become a drug cartel on its own right and controls most of the cocaine traffic in Europe
So first Sergio Leone kills off the American Western, with 'Once Upon a Time in the West.'
Then he kills off the American gangster movie, with 'Once Upon a Time in America.'
Such a shame he didn't live long enough to make a superhero movie!
OMG yes
There is a "superhero killer series" called "the boys" but is in fucking Amazon prime and nobody watches it
Whammy!
E. C. What are you talking about?!?! The Boys was so fucking popular and so many people watched it you melon!
@@ExtremeTalker-xw6cd series 2 airing later this year......can't wait
nah, the real reason it died is DeNiro, Pesci and Pacino got old.
No, Pesci wanted a singing career.
Yep
I honestly have to agree with this claim more than the video's
@Jeff Sol stay with the stash, treat the broads like trash, you'll catch a blast if you move to fast
Hahahaha...
I once read that Sergio Leone filmed landscapes as if they were actors and actors' faces as if they were landscapes. He was magnificent.
That sounds poetic but makes no sense
@@darkartsdabbler2407 I think it means that landscapes were shot as if characters in the story while faces for aesthetic like landscapes usually are.
It kind of makes sense when you see how operatic some of his movies are and the face close ups.
So he used the camera
If only he got to make several more movies… he wanted each film to get bigger and bigger!!!
I second the motion
The Wolf of Wall Street is a criminal movie, it feels like a natural evolution from the gangster genre. The movie feels like a spiritual successor to goodfellas; they both have practically the same opening line, have a similar ending, and an entertaining as hell rise/fall crime story in the middle. At the end of goodfellas, which is in the 80s, somebody mentions that “those people at Wall Street are the real criminals”. The wolf of Wall Street isn’t a “gangster movie”, but it’s definitely in the same vein as it.
Bonnie& Clyde only true Gangster on run. classic
I found it illuminating. In between college, I worked at a multilevel marketing scheme which folded just prior to creating a completely legitimate utilities company off the back of the terror inspired in ordinary consumers by the introduction of more aggressive energy metering by the state. The motivational techniques used always rang stale. I was ripped off a bit later by a dried up old confidence trickster who referred to what they had taught me - under the seal of "proprietary information" as "good things to know." It was interesting to see a perspective into a time before my own in which these techniques were novel, effective, could sway prospects to be clients and earn commissions. In modern times, of course, the real racket is precisely as forecast by Gordon Gecko in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps - climate change and the carbon panic.
and make no mistake, it is a racket, and one on a Smedley Butler scale.
You are confusing a Scorcese (crime)film with a mob movie in general.
Wolf of wall street is a movie like i love you Philip Morris and many others ..going from little to a lot and then lose it all. Doesnt make it a gangster film by any means. Because it isnt.
@@Stoney-Jacksman I didn’t say it’s a gangster film, I said it’s in the same vein as one.
The sopranos is brilliant because it makes everything about the gangster lifestyle look realistic and ugly
Yeah that’s one of the reasons why the last 3 seasons of the Sopranos are so depressing and nihilistic. You can really feel that this lifestyle is something nobody should ever get involved with, it’s not rewarding at all.
@@ibnmianal-buna3176 That’s also why I love The Sopranos even more. The longing for nostalgia, the banalities of life, it’s this gritty realistic portrayal of gangsters in our society and the American people.
It did the opposite for me.
The thing that I hate so much about the sopranos is the audience who watches it takes all the violence and bad blood and betrayal at face value and just go “fuck yah! Kick the shit outta him tony!” I mean If you’ve ever seen the sopranos convention that’s all it is. The show was so good because of it’s writers that reeled the larger than life characters to be realistic and ultimately sad at the end. Steve schirippa, the guy who plays Bobby bacala is a quiet, dull but respectful man who talks quietly and is always polite to everyone in the show, while schirippa in real life is an outspoken, loud and larger than life Italian that reflects on the show as being a badass representation of Italian mobsters. He is a really great representation of how I think a lot of the audience is like.
realistic?! HA HA HA HA HA!
A great follow-up to this might be a study of "The Irishman." A story that never actually presents the mobsters as glamorous so much as violent middle-class wannabes.
Definitely something I'm toying with.
Great book, terrible film.
@@acropolisnow9466 what didn't you like about it?
@@Tross-fe1bq Everything. I loathe that movie. Weird makeup on old men. Bad story. Boring. Using the same 3 actors to try and sell a movie to a brainwashed fanbase. Obvious cash in is obvious. Terrible movie.
@@acropolisnow9466 to each its own. I really love that homage movie
I think an important crime film to mention is Heat (1995). A film that, on the surface, could be seen as another romanticised action flick. However, in my opinion, it's deeply personal story about two seemingly very different men, their obsessions with each other, their realisation of how similar they are despite glaring differences in personality, and their struggle to escape from the painful lives they each live.
Heat is basically wolf of wall st with guns
@@nolesy34 how?
@@plato8427 two men one a crim the other a cop
HEAT is free on TH-cam!
@@Meta_Myself how? My phone is ultra high efficient and only is a white glow
I suppose I could call someone for 50 minutes it starts to get a bit warm
If once upon a time in america put the nail in the coffin for the glamorized gangster I think the irishman absolutely cremated it.
Well said. The two are definitely companion pieces and given Scorsese's efforts to help restore OUATIA I suspect it was definitely on his mind when putting together The Irishman.
sasholsuma it really wasn’t, it was one of the most entertaining 3 hours and 30 minute long movies ever.
@sasholsuma yeah I also disagree, I didn't even notice how long it was
@@kielanwade5096 For me the story had been told sufficiently (am referring to Jack Nicholson's "Hoffa" as well as C. Walken's "Kill The Irishman")
@@mikedowns8293 I think the film is less about the disappearance of Hoffa and more about the effect those choices had on the people involved and what those effects look like when you're old and grey. That's why Martin said it isn't important to him whether the story is true or not, it's about the characters but yeah those are two good films.
I always interpreted the dessert scene as a commentary of how actually young the kids are. Like they want to be adults, to have money, power, sex but cant help eating the dessert. Like they`ve been robbed of their childhood and forced into the gritty adulthood.
That's a great reading.
Good, but I relate to the original interpretation. It's kind of like getting Mcdonald's fries for someone, eating one like, "ah he/she ain't gonna miss it" but liking them so much that you just keep dipping your hand into the bag until there are no more fries left.
My interpretation of that scene was to show how poor and hungry they were. Satiating his hunger in that instance was more important than sex
My god I interpreted it the same way...
@@RobertIsraelKabakoff I bet you don't even understand why that comment is so reptilian; that's how far into the inhuman lizard-brain you've gone. What are you missing!? ...Where to even begin...
One thing this ideal about Micheal Corleone leaves out...his first wife, Apollonia, being murdered by a car bomb. I think that's ACTUALLY what broke him...not executing the two guys in the restaurant. The reason he isolated himself from everyone else is because he never truly loved anyone else. I also believe it's why he could never live up to his father. Her death damaged him in a way that he never was able to recover from.
That is an excellent point.
We never saw the self explanation so obvious in the movie..?.
You think
It was completely obvious
No revelation to the Greek tragedy story
He loved Kate very much but didn't want to dystroy another girls life when he returned but...
but he destroyed a young innocent girl's life for nothing she died
While hiding as a murderer and became like he never wanted to be
He was the straight guy the Army guy
Going to college
His family ruined it a young life and everything he got involved with destroyed
He was a depressed angry guy forced he felt into.a situation he could of Walked away from easy Sonny was trigger happy crazy
He would of been.thrilled he wanted it
Sibling rivalry and Sony teasing him Joe College crap
All he had to do was nothing
But obviously he didn't.
Became ruthlessly bitter
The 38 times we watched it
( or Goodfellas just say)
Showed us that
Nice one. I have always thought that Michael, deep down didn't really care much for his family. But can't reconcile with it. Feeling he was breaking free from them and simultaneously feeling he was letting them down. He wanted a life away from the mafia and kinda looked down on his family. He always had a 'distant' streak. But it was the burden of duty and loyalty that made him feel he HAD to take over. That's not real love. It's an imitation of love. What I see in Michael as the new Don, is someone who claims that nothing is personal in business but acts from a place of cold, calculated, disassociated, pent up, anger.
Prince's career was damaged after Apollonia left him, too.
Sergio Leone, a man that impacted my life with his movies like no one else alive could. May his films never be forgotten
Whatever
TGTBTU is my favourite movie of all time.
@@blokin5039 👍🏼
@@nikosaurus4238 mine too!
I second the motion
a worse crime than booze bootlegging is how criminally underrated this essay is
Comment of the year.
That, or... Y'now... the multiple rapes commited by the protagonist.
@@EyebrowCinema.
Movie of the Election Year 2020.
GTA THE MOVIE.
The Story begins on Facebook.
::
facebook.com/GrandTheftAutoStory/
I dunno, the bootlegger is a real scourge on society. Lips that touch liquor shall ne'er touch mine!
you mean *is this criminally underrated essay
Are we gonna ignore the incredible old age makeup on De Niro and woods?
I think the secret is partly how simple it is. A lot of modern movies try to get really fancy and advanced with their old age make-up and it frequently looks garish and unnatural.
those guys don't need that makeup now
@Shaken not stirred BOB is a DICK, right on bro/ sis? 👍🏻
Coolio 14 we encourage ‘em to be dicks - why does anyone give a sh*t what a freakin actor says? 100 years ago they were only half a step up from hookers and now, in the 21st century Matt Damon, DeNiro or Brie Larson fart and people prick up their ears like they’re William F Buckley or Walter Kronkite. Now days the only prerequisite for being taken seriously on political matters is fame. Unless he or she is talking about acting or cinema, I couldn’t give a fat rat’s ass what an actor thinks.
@@frankmachin5438 exactly
The godfather is the way mafia wants to look, the goodfellas show what there actually are.
Can you elaborate further
Mo 2k the godfather is a benevolent man of honour and family and is also calm and nice, the bangers in that film are respectable and are men of honour, and in goodfella ps there foul mouthed, prown to violence, ready to cut hit or shoot anyone at the drop of a hat if they so much as think you insulted them, brutality beat people who forget to pay them protection and backstage each other. The kind of people you want the punisher to hunt down.
@@Jarod-vg9wq I think it's more a case of Old country Mafia vs New country Mafia.
In Sicily to this day, they still pretend to be a force for the good among people, if you would believe it, they are a charitable organisation that tends to the needy and poor out of pure altruism (as opposed to as a public front so people wouldn't rat em out), If you think about it. that's also what politicians will try to make you believe.. but i digress.
US mafia on the other hand has long since given up on that concept and embraced capitalism at the core .
It also shows in the amount of members that turn on their former co-conspirators.. in the US they will turn more frequently if the prison sentence they face is big enough and they can get a good witness protection deal..
while in Italy, it's much much rarer for any of them to turn.. The Omertà is much stronger in Italy
Furthermore.. GodFather was a series about the higher ranks of the family..Goodfellas were street hustlers.. none of them were Capo.. hell, none of them were made men...except for Pauli.. but even then he was not the head of an entire family..
So comparing them on being foul mouthed of violence.. well that's different levels of an organisation for ya.
a CEO of a garbage company doesn't talk like the men who drive the garbage truck either.
They get cleaner as you go up the lines of the hiearchie
you legit know fuck all about mafia to assume that lol...
Godfather was the view from the top, goodfellas was the view from the bottom. None of the goodfellas are even 'mafia' made men but associates who are low-grade usually.
Vito could be friendly, warm, and even kind because he could compartmentalize his mind effectively, preventing any regret, revulsion, or guilt he may have felt for some of the things he'd done from affecting his core personality. Michael couldn't do that. His mind's response was to simply shut away his emotions at all times, resulting in him becoming the cold, distant, and occasionally cruel man he was by the end of the second film. I think Vito knew that's what would happen, which is why he wanted to keep Michael away from that life.
Most people are capable of making cold, hard decisions. Dealing with the emotional fallout of those decisions in a healthy way is where they fail.
True. Vito was respected
Michael was feared
Michael's behaviour was heavily influenced by his fear. He was taking extreme measures to ensure his family is safe. Any mistake could lead to the death of a loved one, so he left nothing to chance. When Kay announced to him she's leaving and taking kids with her, it terrified him as much as their death. Later we see him dealing with her the same way he dealt with Fredo, with apathy and contempt.
I think Vito was more accepting of the possibility of losing a family member. He chose that life after all. If he was as terrified as Michael was, he wouldn't have built his criminal empire in the first place. Vito also didn't have to face domestic problems. His wife was extremely loyal to him and wouldn't dare to leave him (I am not saying Kay was wrong to leave, she had a very good reason.).
im kind of surprised that Carlitos Way dosnt get a mention as a post gangster in a sense after getting out of prison and failing to escape his past
I really regret not including Carlito's Way. At the time the omission made sense but in hindsight I wish it was featured.
I like Carlitos Way more than Scarface, being that I feel like it's super Shakespearean.
Oh, well hell if you're going to talk about Carlitos way, you gotta mention Sugar Hill.
@@gachoman2012 damn man.. your taste is kinda fucked up. carlitos way is cool and all but just al pacino's acting in scarface makes it one of the best movies ever
@@knowledge1366 Nah. Scarface is a classic in it's own right, and one of my all time favorites. But Carlito's Way is a much more well-crafted film.
'Good Fellas' from my point of view de-glorified gangsters as well.
Really? Tell me more
The last important romanticized gangster movie made was The Departed
Javier Peralta Never seen it.
I can see that. The main character glorifies being a gangster, but considering at the end of the movie hes a washed up loser in the witness protection program after ratting on one of his friends who murdered the rest of his friends, yeah it isnt really pro gangster
@@takayasu2009 Infernal Affairs remake
Regarding Clyde Barrow's supposed impotence in Bonnie and Clyde, mentioned at about 12:25 -- in real life, Clyde Barrow had been incarcerated on a Texas prison farm as a teenager and was supposedly raped on a daily basis by an older, bigger inmate -- until Clyde beat him to death with a piece of pipe, the first time he killed a man. In the film, I believe that Clyde's awkwardness with Bonnie is supposed to be a reference to what happened to the real Clyde Barrow -- as in, this man associates sexual activity with suffering, and has to deal with PTSD-type stress when Bonnie indicates that she wants to get romantic.
I’ve also read that depicting Clyde as impotent was an attempt to make him seem weak and tamp down the public reverence for the couple. Their folk-hero status definitely pissed a lot of law enforcement off back in the day
@@RIPIZZY Pisses me off as well. They’re thieves and murderers, not much else.
Once Upon A Time in America is the saddest movie I have ever seen. I haven't been able to watch it in years because of how emotional it makes me.
If you truly want to see a movie farrrr sadder, watch Johnny Got His Gun. You will want to stick a knife in your chest watching it.
Watching this today. @@bobziadie2988
first time i’ve cried at the end of a movie since I was a child
It is so sad. And that is also hugely due to Ennio Morricone's amazing score. Sergio Leone and Ennio Morricone, an awesome pairing.
@@joeyxl3456agreed
RIP Enio Morricone !
For sure one of if not my favourite film composer
I remember watching Once Upon a Time in America for the first time and it blew me away. It’s one of the most beautifully written masterpieces. The musical score itself is also one of the best I’ve heard in any film.
Yeah and the fact that it's not a typical gangster movie, it's an opium trip gangster epic
Highly underrated. Agreed.
My favorite movie, alongside BR2049, watched it 4 times, I had never felt 4 hours passing by so easily.
Nope.
The real film ended up on the cutting room floor. Well known fact.
And it's a terrible movie. With large chunks missing.
Once upon a time in the west.
That's the movie.
@@gavinkaylhem8038 Did you watch the theatrical version of the movie? That was butchered beyond recognition. The European version is much better, all though that still isn't the full version.
To be honest though, my problem with the film isn't that it was cut, i just don't like the morality of it. Leone's films were always violent but i thought the older movies he did had more humanity in them. And on that note, i'd say his most underrated film is Duck, You Sucker!.
And with "The Irishman" fade to black
No Irish need apply.
Mr PapaGeorgio what ?
Mr PapaGeorgio What’s your obsession with black people ?
Zesty Meatballs thanks for changing idiot
@Sidharth Rao I really disagree with people saying that Goodfellas glorified the mafia. It showed the phenomena of choosing to be a mobster, and the obsession that comes with it. By the end of the movie, Scorsese shows that not only are they all psychos, but lost souls who have been allured to the criminal lifestyle
An absolute gem of an analysis and as a huge fan of Leone but most of all "Once upon a time in America" (a forgotten and for a long time maligned masterpiece), I think your video really does it justice and highlights its cultural significance. Well done! Bravo.
Rb
Nice analysis. I would argue, however, that the decline of the classic gangster movie is about the real world decline of the classic gangster, at least as much as it is about cinematic trends. Yes, we now have street gangs and Latin American cartels, but those have a very different feel than the mid-20th Century American organised crime mobs. That was really the theme of Scorcese’s The Irishman. That era is now just a memory in the minds of a few dusty old men in dusty old people’s homes, being played by octogenarian actors who are technologically de-aged for one last look at the scene.
It is more than just about the state of gangsters. It is happening to culture as a whole. Popular music is dreadful and art is a doll sitting on a toilet.
The culture has all changed . You can’t depict a bunch of criminals organising all kinds via smartphones. The rise of causal clothing also - you gonna show a bunch of guys at the top dressed up in skinny jeans like Connor mcgregor ? Cmon
@@bruh_oly1370 well said
@@bighands69 Im sure there were people 50 years ago saying the same shit
I agree entirely. The American and European "gangster" or "mobster" died out in the 70s with the rise of the latin american cartels, the decline of the Italian mob, and the eventual incoming waves of latin american immigrants and eastern European Mafia. Not only did the overall focus of criminal enterprises move from racketeering, union corruption, numbers running, gambling, and moonshine all produced locally to cocaine, heroin, crack, sex slaves, and meth imported from south and central america but that also lead to a shift in demographics as well. This all also lead to gangs becoming more and more cut throat and violent as well as more powerful as they could more easily exist in places with little to no laws and then spread out from their base of power rather then having to exist in the US and try to stay under the radar.
Basically the idea of the Italian American mobster became popular in the great depression and prohibition and continued until it died out alongside its real world counterpart in the 70s. With the rise of the cartels in the 80s and the crack epidemic in the 80s and 90s the Italian mob became antiquated and almost naive.
Perhaps the old style gangster movie charted the rise and fall of the working class. With the industrial working class practically extinct enter the middle class mobster, Walter White's school teacher from "Breaking Bad", Francis Underwood's crooked congressman in "House of Cards" and Marty Byrd's business consultant from "Ozark". Female characters are more central too. Gangsters haven't gone away they've just adapted.
John Hanamy you just decimated his whole video...poor bastard prolly wished didn’t make it now.
@@noamchomsky3077No, I hope not. It was a good video. His love of gangster movies is apparent. I enjoyed watching it
John Hanamy how condescending of you.
@@noamchomsky3077 "expressing an appreciation of someone's work? How condescending"
You seem like you have received no love from anyone in your life. I would suggest seeing a therapist.
Even the Sopranos had that upper middle class vibe, I think this is a smart comment
I would just like to say, this is one of the most accurate analysis I have ever seen. Once Upon a Time in America is one of my favorite movies and I am happy that there are people who still watch it. I hope we can see the original version in the future. Amazing job, wish more people would watch this.
Hope for you, you could see the original European cut of Once Upon Time in America, because as very often, the first American editing, which was wanted by the American distributor, was an artistic slaughtering (same happened to Terry GIlliam's Brazil).
@@Ktulut I think he talks about the fact the Leaone actually made it a 10 hour movie and then trimmed it and all of this stuff is in some studio safe somewhere
@@enoch9468 Then I am as eager as anyone to see ithis
@@enoch9468 It was six hours, & no one knows where the additional footage is.
I remember telling my bro “wow, the ending of The Irishman was really good, so worth it”, and he watched to the end only to be surprised it was the exact opposite of what he expected
Lol u bugger haha n imho the Irish man was OK at best, abit clesehay it was bearing a dead horse n oooof the de-aging CGI why was ut used it'd been better 2 cut the scenes out
@@tonythetiger1600 Really? I thought the de-aging was good.
But yeah, the overall movie was “ok”, I somewhat agree with that
Not really a fan of modern Netflix style TV shows replacing movies. I like 3 hour gangster classics. The Irishman was a great return. Hopefully Netflix etc keep greenlighting those kinda movies
and that there is the key problem. a single player will never foster creativity or risk. Never, forget it. Netflix is death, sorry. but like uber they'll both be gone/transformed in 5 years.
@@scottherf uber is hemorrhaging more money than a hemophiliac in a coinstar but netflix will definitely stay but like you said if you get a netflix original series that is a statement that your career is practically dead like a bloated fish
@@scottherf Netflix is older than Google lol it's not going anywhere
@C M it was old actors and directors trying desperately to stay relevant today. It’s basically “The Expendables” mobster version, dripping with cheese and barely acceptable as entertainment.
@@scottherf whether you like it or not streaming services are the future and tbh its for the better cable and satellite is overrated and overpriced and ads are annoying
I think that Michael Corleone was just a victim of his time period. The stakes were higher because they were making way more money, and the gangsters he dealt with were a new breed. They attacked him at his house etc. Think of Vito... gangsters in his day had respect for each other (as long as you didn't mess with their business etc). Michael simply had to become ruthless because those new guys had no rules
I like your comment. I would want to add though that with michael it shows a more honest thing that happenes in these situations. That an innocent michael turns more violent and full of darkness the more he gets into the murder. It shows the truth of this life that murderers don't get softer the deeper they dive into that world.
@Channel My interpretation is that in Vitos days the Mob has risen into while in Michaels days they wanted to maintained it, that's why they became more ruthless so that they don't lose their empire
@Christian Tompkins 'Sonny, it's not personal..its strictly business'
@Christian Tompkins horseshit your talkin pal
He was just a tragic hero
The godfather is so sad bc in being a more ruthless & cold mob boss than his father, the previous boss he defeats all his enemies as tom says " theirs nobody left you won" but in the end of Part 2 hes alone. Surrounding by all the money power & the compound all he can do is sit & remember when he had his family. His parents are dead , both his brothers dead ( one killed by his own hand ) his first wife & imo true love was murdered. He has banished his 2nd wife & mother of his kids. His brother in law he had killed. All that's left is his sister connie & adopted brother tom. He really only trusts with his life al neri, essentially an employee. Pacino is an acting genius. Its unforgivable he did not win an oscar for both godfathers in the 70s. He perfectly portrayed the arc of a young college student & war hero who wanted nothing to do with his family to a ruthless mob boss who mows down all his fathers & now his enemies. We see the turning points when be protects his dad from a crooken cop & the turk in the hospital. I love when enzo the baker helps him than Renzi's hands are shaking so badly from anxiety & fear that he cant light his cigarette. Michael lights it for him & notices his hands are so steady. I wondered if that was from surviving war & being a hero so he obviously was a great soldier or if he was just cold blooded to begin with. He has to kill a police captain & the turk to help protect his dad. He goes to hide out in Sicily & in the same day finds out his brother sonny was murdered & his wife, the woman that was the love of his life was killed in a car bomb meant for him. All these events with Pacino's acting are amazing in showing the change in michael corleone. He loved kaye but was not the love of his life. That's why its disappointing they cut out the scenes where michael had been spending many years looking for her murderer fabrizio & Michael having him killed in a car bomb , the same way appolonia was killed. To me those deleted scenes show a big reason michael became so cold. He is married with 2 kids to kaye & he still has been searching for apollonia 's killer. Avenging her death was all personal.
That was well wrote
You mentioned it but that Morricone soundtrack is absolutely haunting.
These gangster films are like watching high levels of narcissism from the outside. You can either collude in the fantasy image with them or see things for what they are no matter how hard the context is being manipulated. It's a superficial illusion that is easily dispelled but often seductive and always understandable as a temptation.
Great piece of work here! I appreciate the thoughtfulness a lot.
Very few of the best gangster films were seductive. They nearly all finished in despair or disaster.
The Godfather is a masterpiece
“The Godfather’s dead, and we killed him” - Friedrich Nietzsche
I can't believe you talk about gangster films without mentioning the greatest of them all: "Angels with Filthy Souls"
Wasn't that a movie in home alone??
Keep the change ya filthy animal!
You mean "Angels with Dirty Faces." (Cagney)
Im gonna give you to the count of ten... One.. Two.. TEN!
@@tryingbutfailing The sequel was "Angels Who Wash Their Faces."
I think it’s simpler than this. The decline coincides with the presence of the mafia/organized crime in our culture. The early/mid 90’s was the pinnacle of the John Gotti Mafia era. He made the mafia “cool” from a media perspective so you had all the 90s mafia movies that were very popular (Goodfellas, Casino, Bronx Take, etc). Prior to that, The Godfather era was when the Mafia first became known by the public, so the movies were intriguing and gave the public a Hollywood view of what it was. The Sopranos era of the early 2000’s played off the “new era” of the mafia where it is much more subtle and behind the scenes, direct contrast to the John Gotti era. This was also really intriguing and popular for Hollywood. Nowadays, the mafia doesn’t even have much of a “subtle or behind the scenes” presence. That culture that was prominent and present just a few decades ago, is a shell of itself. So it’s hard to make a movie or entertainment genre based on a culture that doesn’t have a big presence anymore.
Is that really the case? organized crime is still there its just much more brutally gunned down by the police. But the realism in gangster films is still quite attractive. "Like Oh this the town I used to live , and such a story might have takenplace just down my street!"
@@advaithramesh6697That's the point. The mafia has little power and glamour now. Its culture is gone, it's been exposed as a crime racket like any other. There's nothing else to be told, they're generic baddies at best like the Russian Mob.
I think it’s important to recognize the breaking bad and better call saul era of crime film
@@esdrasferreras1227 That is true. I was specifically referring to the "Mafia/Italian Mafia" type films, but you are right. That's another more modern crime film era that's part of the evolution of these films.
As glamourized as scarface was i could honestly feel the boredom she was talking about, not about the movie but about the lifestyle.
Recent gangster films, particularly those of the 80’s, convey the emptiness of the gangster lifestyle, like Scarface and Once Upon A Time In America.
You can only have so many tigers in your estate.
The untouchables, goodfellas, the godfather part iii, Carlitos way, casino, Donnie brasco. All made after once upon a time in America.
And The Irishman
Well those kind of fall into what he said at the end! Am three of those are real life stories casino names change but still
@@sliv_dawg godfather part 3 is not based on real life stories neither was Carlito’s way
And none of them romantices the gangster life.
The Untouchables is centered on the cops though, not on Al Capone
It kind of incredible that you mentioned my top two favorite movies “Goodfellas, and then The good, the bad, and the ugly” because I’ve always seemed to put them in different categories. I guess they’re similar in a lot of ways, which is why I like them so much.
I'm italian on my fathers side. My great grandfather came to america in the 10s. Started a deli and got involved with the midwestern mafias, allegedly meeting Al Capone. He left the mafia during the 30s and lived to be almost 100 years old and died of natural causes.
My grandfather was a mechanic who used his shop as a front for his own illegal crimes, pimping, drug dealing and tax dodging and laundering, went to prison in the 80s for tax stuff, and got out in the 2000s.
It really messed up my father's and uncles lives as my grandmother divorced and went through a bunch of different boyfriends some of whome were abusive. My grandfather also died of natural causes but died broke and left nothing to his children.
My father was a drug dealer and grew up in a semi-broken home. He had a bunch of friends who had similar backgrounds so he formed his own crew with them. They mostly dealt in drugs. He made a lot of money in this time, he had 5 cadilac cars and 2 motorcycles at the age of 20. At 22 he was shot in the face and robbed by his "crew". And i was left in the similar situation he was in growing up.
Organized crime gave my family the lives they wanted to live, but it also cost them everything in the end. And each time it was in diminishing returns, it would appear. The sopranos is probably the best interpretation of the mob life in the modern day.
"Once upon time killed the genre!!!"
Scorcese: Hold my beer, twice, no actually 3 times
Scorsese deconstructs gangsters with entertaining exposition dumps, not a lot of filmmakers can make expository narration entertaining
He addressed those movies in the video.
@@epitaph3988 He addresses them, but his way of dismissing them is flimsy.
@@0Fear you people really didn't understand the point of the video or just took it's claim waaaaay too literally
Honestly…The Irishman is the last genuinely good gangster film imo
This is one of the greatest videos I've seen on the subject. Thank you. I hope you do more videos about the great Sergio Leone. And R.I.P. maestro Ennio Morricone.
About a year ago I watched Once Upon A Time In America and every 'new' gangster film I watched since then did nothing for me (that includes The Untouchables) and this video perfectly explained why, that film is like a millstone, in general death of gangster films, but also a 'personal' one. Excellent video, well done!
The Untouchables just isn't a good movie, it's crazy boring and inaccurate. Typical boring Costner movie. The movie Mobsters isn't very good either
But shows like Boardwalk Empire and Peaky Blinders are insanely good gangster shows, Boardwalk covers the same characters, time period and stories in the movies the Untouchables and Mobsters
one upon a time in america is overrated best mob film is still goodfellas
a MILLSTONE or a milestone?
@@renzo6490 They meant millstone, as it's sometimes used to describe a burden.
@@patnewbie2177 …ah, thank you.
That rape scene in Once Upon a Time in America was so shocking… I can separate real life and acting but holy shit did that scene seem so real, the way she screamed and fought back was so messed up…
Its almost as if hanging out with a gangster is a bad idea? Who knew??
Wow now I gotta watch it to appreciate the acting thanks brother👍
@@robotpanda77 blaming the victim😾 tch tch
@@waxmeltfan frrrr tho wtf is up with bro above us? Like not all gangsters are sexual predators either but nah had to blame the victim too 🙄🙄
@@neinja66469 people love to be ignorant
This is truly one of the greatest videos on TH-cam, let alone probably the best video about Once Upon a Time in America. Wonderful dissection of the genre and the film that (really, truly) ruined it.
You're too kind. Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
Once Upon a Time in America is about regret and comradery.
Innocence and corruption as well.
Opium too
Bonnie and Clyde werent “gangsters” they were grade B criminals.
I cannot fathom how anyone can empathise with them just because thwy where a criminal couple. The fact that thousands showed up to their funeral truly shows how blinded people are/where
@@hitrapperandartistdababy it was a different time
@@hitrapperandartistdababy They were a real life Robin Hood and Little John, The fact that millions of people were impoverished because of a few brokers incompetence (amongst other things) turned them into folk heroes overnight. People weren't blind you are just stupid.
@@bigtastyben5119 Fuck out of here with the bullshit, they robbed and killed for themselves. aint nothing Robin Hood about that, and sure as shit nothing heroic about that
@@123698lol there was never a right time to rob and kill
28:29 the lack of music also makes the scene scary. It really forces us to take in the gravity of what Noodles is doing, without music to distract us.
The young man eats the cake because he's poor and desperate, not because he's greedy and selfish. The director wants us to feel sympathy for the young man. There's a sadness in the scene.
And represent that the kid it's still a kid, and don't really need to have sex with Peggy, same with the Gangster life.
I saw that scene again. One can feel tremendous empathy for the poor kid. To call him "creedy and selfish"--is nonsensical. He's a poor, hungry kid.
That shows the baseness and depravity of society: on the one hand large segments of the poor are suffering from malnourishment, on the other hand this is a highly sexualized society with depraved morals.
Interesting to hear the different interpretations. To me it always represented his inability to delay gratification. If he was a bit more patient he could have got something much better than a bun but he couldn't wait. Just like in life they had to get rich the quickest way the knew how, by turning to crime. They may have been much happier if they'd taken their time and been legitimate business men.
@@TheCheweeRevolutions Nice comment
It's crazy how some crime is glamorized while other crime is demonized based on who is committing it.
It's more about who they're hurting. Nobody really minds that much when some random rich guy snorts cocaine since the only one he's really hurting is himself but a poor guy doing crack illicits condemnation since he's likely stealing and robbing to support his habit. A bank robber can be a Robin Hood style celebrity since they're stealing from trillion dollar banks that grow fat off the labor of the common man, but the public will hate you if you rob an old lady's house. Nobody will bat an eye if you shoot a nazi but if you shoot a dog they'll lynch you. If you fart in Justin Biebers face people will cheer but they'll boo if you do the same to a girl scout.
@@arthas640
Bruh if you think rich guys don’t hurt people as a job you haven’t been paying attention
Bro ur so smart
Modern day Malcom X just wow
No one wants to watch cartel members torture children to death dingus
Wrong.
Nothing was ever the same after we all heard,
"Keep the change, you filthy animal," in _Angels With Filthy Souls._
I was blown away watching White Heat on TCM as a kid. My sister and I were obsessed with Cagney films after. Great video, thanks!
Once upon a time in America is probably the best gangster movies I ever seen
It’s the greatest movie ever made in my opinion.
@Jack The Film Fanatic it's a matter of opinion, I like OUATIA more than the godfather 2, however I do believe performances in the godfather 2 is better.
Jack The Film Fanatic to me they aren’t really comparable since they go for vastly different themes + structure. Godfather Part II is in my top 10 all time though
I just watched the movie again for the umpteenth time and I'll vote for you if you run for president be cool St Louis
Goodfellas is way better the fuck
This is interesting. In my early teens, I went through a gangster movie phase- I watched Scarface, the Godfather, Donnie Brasco, Goodfellas, Casino, etc and loved them all. But the only one I never finished was Once Upon A Time in America. I turned it off halfway through. Something about it repelled me. I think this reviewer got to the heart of my reaction.
I watched Once Upon a Time in America, and didn't rate it at all. Don't know which cut, I might have to revisit it, I did that with The Shining, just to be disappointed again. But I'm man enough to give it another go, I owe to myself.
As long as the "American Dream" persists the gangster film will never truly die.
Agreed,nor will the gangster lifestyle,itself. The Italian-American mob hasn't gone anywhere.They're still around-it's just that their power,influence and glamour has diminished and that they're not as flashy and public as they used to be.
They've gone back to being more quiet and low-key.
It's just like Western films,gangster movies are STILL being made and will STILL continue to be made....but the glory days of their era are long gone.
J R dude, that’s true I live in the south of Italy and it’s kinda the same, you know the influencial people that are involved in it but its taboo and you can’t really talk about it.
@@JR-ju3kj Just like we have neo-westerns and neo-noir, we are in the age of neo-gangster. Different look, same principles
@@JR-ju3kj i mean they fell off because italians/irish stopped being oppressed. And got replaced with poc gangs. Almost all organized crime groups started as a way to protect marginalized communities that werent being protected by police. Paying for protection was actually paying for protection in the beginning then became extortion.
what dream
The depiction of Max in Once Upon a Time in America was certainly a ruthless takeover of everything they had worked for together as a crew for one persons gain. He basically threw away their friendship and bond for himself. Living with that for a prolonged period would drive anyone in sane to the point of suicide. Great job in making those critical observations on Noodles and how he had let the old Max die for his translation of Sec’y Bailey. What stood before Noodles at the end was a corpse in his eyes that was already dead.
Lol the gangster film died when the popularity of the real gangsters started to fade, the government and police cracking down on the mafia because of the image Al capone and all the modern day mafia created made them too loud and easier to cracking down on and the mafia retreated back to their old ways, when you didn't hear about it or see it and with that the movies started to decline also, you would never hear about the real mafia unless you was in certain circles, they got too loud and paid for it.
Nath Rob there’s word out there that they are now rebuilding and getting stronger... the FBI etc have had to move units to terrorism etc and so the Mavis can rebuild. They now control 60% of the world drugs trade etc
@@williamscott2649 this where you're missinformed, the likes of capone and john gotti are small time, the real sicilian mafia never diminished, they have been functioning how they always have, behind the scenes, these other "gangsters" well they just played dress up and looked the part
Nath Rob completely agree. I think there’s also a difference between the Sicilian and American Sicilian ones. Sicilian have always been in the shadows, look at how important it was when Buscetta became a pentito way back when. It was the first break into them... on the other side is the A-S one, where they have always been more in the limelight. The five families of NYC (which is true) are very famous and documented, whereas in the Sicilian one there is next to no information of their structure
@@williamscott2649 that's because they are not seen as criminals in sicily, they are a part of their culture, so the people in sicily that aren't a part of it know to keep their noses out or face the consequences, you know your facts my friend, allot of people wouldn't have known what I was talking about haha
Nath Rob it’s the culture of “omertà” out there - very prevalent in Sciascia’s detective stories (all in Italian)! And thank you!
"In the end, it's just a pipe dream"
I see what you did there, that was really good.
Feel like I'm listening someone's thesis. The gangster lives on in film quality tv shows like the Soprano's, The Wire, Peaky Blinders and Boardwalk Empire.
It lives on in GTA THE MOVIE.
GTA THE MOVIE.
The ultimate crossover between gangster movies and the GTA universe.
The Godfather IV-esque Story begins on Facebook.
::
facebook.com/GrandTheftAutoStory/
Snowfall too
Unpopular opinion: the genre is slowly coming back. Real ex-wiseguys have TH-cam channels, a new generation found out about the Sopranos, and actual crime families are on the uptick again. Civilians today know more about Mafia than at any other time period in it's existence.
That does not mean the genre is coming back at all. The mafia has very little cultural presence especially to under 30s.
@@br3akstuff You obviously don't have your finger on the pulse. I'm under 30. A ton of younger people are starting to find this stuff appealing because we live in a time where every institution is corrupt and people can't afford to take care of their families. We just watched a former president battle multiple RICO indictments.
@@wickeywaanzla3015 Okay? Thay doesn't mean the mafia hasn't greatly declined and no more mafia shit will be made likely, especially considering no young Italian-American actors would want to subject themselves to being "mafia actors" also I personally don't hear anyone my age talk about the mafia ever. Maybe people are not interested in seeing guys who look like your school counselor in skinny jeans doing scams on an iPhone.
To be fair, actual crime families like the Rockefellers, Rothschilds and Soros’ have never gone away
Well, thanks to this video I finally gave ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA(the reconstructed long version) a chance, and my god, what a bizarrely hidden masterpiece. This film should have people making references to it like they do the other ones. Perhaps it's too grown-up to be reduced to quotable lines, and yet the script is AMAZING.
It's not better than the Godfather. I don't think they can really be compared. They're up to very different goals. GF is a straight-up tragedy and OUATIA is more meditative, and really about memory, age and regret. GF is like Aeschylus or Shakespeare; ONCE UPON is more like...Proust.
One is the work of a young man at the start of his career, which is why we're more with Michael than Vito. The other is the work of an old man near the end of his, bringing all he's seen and done in that time into a maximalist finale. It doesn't reference other films because Leone is the one you make references TO.
I will say in many ways it's more human and complex than the Godfather, though. I will also say that there are, in fact, many scenes where we are "with" them, in context of the setting. They do clever things. They help a union. That''s still Robin Hood. But then we are pushed away.
The dark themes contrasted with the classic look of the film really make it stand out. OUATIA was released in 1984, yet the color and texture of the film looks as though it came from the 50s/60s. I guess you could just chalk this up to cheap Italian film stock, but damn, does it go a long way.
Yeah, now that I think about it, this film, and a handful of other films before, definitely contributed to a change in cinema that embraced honesty. It’s almost as if Leone saw A Clockwork Orange and said to himself, “Why aren’t gangsters depicted like this?”
Incredible essay, dude. Glad there are people covering this masterpiece.
I hadn't thought about similarities to A Clockwork Orange, but that is a really good point. And yeah, the richness of the film's color and texture make it feel much older than it really is, which is crucial.
Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah. Sergio Leone (RIP) put a lot of effort into making New York in Once Upon A Time In America look like it did in the 1920’s, 1930’s and 1960’s. Plus, the music from Ennio Morricone (RIP) is beautiful. My favorite track is Poverty, which is the track you hear in this video when the narrator explains how seriously the film handles the consequences of the gangster lifestyle to show how hollow and unfulfilling it is.
"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers" JTT
'I've read all the literature' nJBP
Great analysis, but the last 5 minutes seem too rushed, they go through too many memorable films, too quickly, and miss some of them, that could add a lot to this analysis, like Donnie Brasco and Carlito's Way. "Once Upon in America" was not yet the end of the story. I think this could definitely use a part 2, for the classic gangster films after "Once Upon in America".
I am currently on a mafia binge.
I have watched these movies as a kid and always thought how cool it is to be a mafia boss with all the rise to riches and power. But I never dove deeper into them, to see beyond the surface of the characters and story.
I share a lot of the thoughts made in the video and would say that this is a wonderful explanation of the death of the traditional mafia movies.
Really well put.
The fact that this video has less than one million views baffles me. Seriously, your videos are underrated.
That's very kind of you to say, Daniel. That said, I'd kill for the rest of my videos to even have a quarter of what this one has.
Rare is the day I come across a TH-camr I never heard of hit the ball out of the park the 1st time listening to their content. Subscribed and looking forward to more
Just watched Once Upon a Time in America for the first time. This definitely helps me appreciate more. Thank you!
A fantastic video, and in my opinion, Once Upon a time in America is the greatest film ever made. (In my eyes it is).
Thank you for saying so. It is indeed a classic and I would agree that it's a masterpiece.
I agree: greatest film ever made. Much better than GODFATHER. Maybe that's why the genre ended: couldn't surpass this film, which told the whole story, why bother.
@@RichardKoenigsberg - the theme song played when the new bride arrives at the train station with noone alive to greet her, was one of the most moving scenes in cinema history.
@@RichardKoenigsberg Idk know about the "much better than Godfather" part but it surely doesn't get talked about nearly enough
@@AllenMacCannell And when she leaves NOODLES ON THE TRAIN TO hOLLYWOOD.
I have never thinkd that Tony wants to f with he's sister. To me it has only shown as overly protective
White people don't understand what being protective to your sister is, they think its perversion.
@@ais89x There is a difference between being protective over your sister and being possessive over her. Tony was definitely possessive over Gina and the movie makes it clear that Gina finds it to be perverse.
A I you know you are generalizing a whole group of people right?
@@dantheman4838
The original 1930s version tony camonte
And Francesca.
@@cdeschrevel5341 i'm aware
You should've totally also included the Gangs of Wasseypur movies in here. Even though they aren't american films, they still offer a very harsh critic of the romanticisation of gangsters and all things associated with that: the moral code, loyalty and sense of fraternity, sidelining of the female characters and how movies ultimately influenced our perception of gangsters. Like, seriously, please watch it (them).
This is a fantastic visual essay on the American gangster genre. So many film channels are absolute nonsense. Usually headed by attention seeking leaches, infecting other people’s passion with their lack there of, but your the real-deal! Very well done.
I really appreciate the work and effort u put in your videos. It is quite impressive.
Thank you for saying so. It's a lot of work, but it's also fun, and it's encouraging to hear people like the final product.
@@EyebrowCinema OUTIA is not a film I enjoy but after this video essay I'm able to appreciate it more
It's not exactly fun viewing so I get that.
@@EyebrowCinema Awesome Observation!
Do you believe OUATIA forces the film industry to reinvent the gangster archetype?
Personally, I've come around to think that this film is one of the 3 best films in the genre and one in where the subject matter displays so artfully that it can never be duplicated, especially in our current societal landscape.
Saw Once Upon A Time In America after watching this video. Great movie. The non chronological storytelling makes the viewer pay attention, the performances of the gangsters are great, both by the child and adult actors, Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack is beautiful, and the cinematography is amazing, especially in the 1920’s scenes. Leone really put a lot of effort into this movie and it’s a shame that it got cut down for its American release. Thank goodness we can now enjoy the 1984 Cannes Film Festival cut.
Excellent well constructed essay which gave me a greater understanding of my favourite film genre. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with your conclusion but you have made a powerful argument for it! Well done.
Great job, Daniel Simpson. Knocked the ball right out of the park, young man.
Why does't this have a bagillion views?!?!
this is the definitive all things Gangster Film video, elaborating on the subject matter explored by Charlie in his 100 Years of Cinema video of Scarface, and coincidentally driving home all imaginable aspects Bonnie and Clyde had to offer right after David Rose's latest upload also briefly but thoroughly talking about Bonnie and Clyde, and lindsay ellis mentioning Sopranos.
it's all came wrapped up in tissue paper with pink ribbons on it, but digging further down to inspect and dissect e v e r y t h i n g the gangster genre has to offer.
the Mobster Cinematic Universe of tropes, arks, actors , subversions and homages to compare and admire.
*i can't stress this enough but everybody and their 1930s gangster grandmother should watch and share this fucking video.*
Because i don't think i've seen such spectacularly sublime presentation made with such effort and dedication all for such a specific and interesting aspect in filmaking history.
all establish with a clear origin, evolution, renascence, peak and descent into death.
Eyebrow Cinema thank you so much for this video i wish all film essayers shared this fire you have to light this 35 minute long torch.
_anybody find the Edward G. Robinson quote on my comment?_
I believe "Eyebrow Cinema thank you so much" were Edward G. Robinson's dying words, actually.
In all seriousness, thank you so much for your continual support. This video was a pretty big undertaking so it's good to know people enjoyed/are enjoying it. I also caught Charlie's video on Scarface towards the end of my editing process and it's very good. Flattered to be considered in such company.
Cheers, my friend.
He said almost nothing about scorcese gangster movies, who is THE modern gangster film director and hos films explore a lot of these classics themes and we'll as deconstructing them
Good video! I personally don’t agree with the second to last point about it not being a dream. Noodles is so haunted with guilt and regret that when he gets high he imagines a future where he is actually a victim. Max and his friends are actually dead, but he imagines a future where they aren’t and where HE is the one who was wronged by them. To me that’s more powerful and cements the theme of regret, and how it alters our memories and our perceptions of our future.
You know, I'm still not fond of the dream theory, but this reading, which roots it more in guilt and regret, does a lot to sway me.
@@EyebrowCinema Yeah but what about all the highly specific 60's imagery. Like the song Yesterday? I think both ways are correct in terms of reaching the same understanding and conclusion. However I feel the dream theory is kinda a cop out.
I really do think that the romanticism on display in the earlier scenes isn't just there to make the critique of said romanticism more cutting later on, but also because it's meant to characterize Noodles as a broken man obsessed with a nostalgic past that never was and because Leone himself understood and even believed in the myth of the gangster epic even if he knew that the reality was detestable. It's not just deconstructing a romanticized ideal, it's about romanticism and why people believe in it even as it breaks them.
This is one of my favourite videos to date.; Loved the editing, the writing and the eloquence in its deconstruction. The crime genre is my favourite anyway but this explored the genre's depths better than any book or any other video i've ever seen.
Also also before the video was even done I’d already subscribe to the channel as I saw that the content on there was right up my alley. Not to mention and part of Facebook group of film enthusiasts with this kind of stuff would definitely interest them, so thank you for doing what you do
Am so happy that i found this video, i watched once upon a time in america and i was so amazed by it, great video man keep it up🙏🏼
Cheers, my friend. I appreciate the kind words.
Can we also talk about how bad the theatrical cut for “Once upon a time in the America” was and how it nearly destroyed Sergios career?
Truly. It's a damn shame the man didn't love to see how beloved his films would become. Even when looking at his Western classics, it's only in the last 20 years that The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or Once Upon a Time in the West have gone from being thought of as good westerns to widely lionized as some of the greatest movies ever made.
@@EyebrowCinema I think it’s directors like Tarantino and David Fincher, who take such inspiration from classic films and talk about there love of film that allow the lesser known classics to be brought out into the light, like the series “Battles without Honor and Humanity”
@@Cheesefist Tarantino the copycat. There's a fine line between homage and plagiarism. That being said, I really enjoy his work 😁
@@dreday5880 lol
@@EyebrowCinema I'm very glad that I first saw this at a friends house in a proper directors cut version. That movie is a masterpiece and in my opinion even better than the godfather. I only later found out that there was a movie cut version that was chronological and I can't comprehend how that ever got approved to begin with. I will never argue with people who think godfather is the best movie ever (part I or II). It does deserve such accolades. For me however, I will always pick once upon a time in america as the best movie ever made (in the proper cut of course). That movie has made a lasting impact on me not even the godfather managed to achieve.
This is the best TH-cam video I’ve ever seen on film I think, you hit the nail on the head with everything A+
"Nicely done."-Stringer Bell
That was really McNulty, remember he said it to Stringer first.
@@SteveSmith-kd9if Right and Stringer says it back to him at the end of the first season.
"At the end of the day, he's just a pipe dream."
Well done.
great video bro
I watched Once Upon a time in America with my mom quite some time ago, I can't really remember at what age, but I do remember that I was too young to really understand the film's deeper themes, but old enough so that some of the violence didn't nearly faze me as much as it did, although that's not saying much since watching someone get raped is always horrible, even in film.
After getting into more mature media that touches on themes of why people commit atrocities, I've always wanted to see that movie again, because I think it's a good movie that shows that evil is often born from as you put it "taking as much as you can for yourself".
this is a very in-depth review of the gangster genre film through a long period of time, very well done :)
Thank you, my friend.
A great video, you earned a sub.
One comment: The reason, why 'Once upon a time in America' is so successful, is that even with all these flows and Leone's masterplan to undermine the sympathies towards gangsters, the characters are still relatable. We as an audience are rooting for Patsy to eat that pie and forget about his young desires. We are rooting for Noodles with his conflict with himself and that's why we accept that his war cannot be won.
Also I do not think that at the end Noodles cannot accept the truth and that's why he refuses to acknowledge that Max is alive and behind the death of the whole brotherhood. It is his way to say the last 'Fuck you' to a man who fucked him over the lifetime. And no matter how pitiful this 'Fuck you' is, it is still a powerful move against Max and we are still rooting for Noodles over the 'Worse evil' such as Max.
The Key to Make a Gangster likeable and sympathetic is to make sure he only kills other Gangsters and Scumbags. Make sure he doesn't kill any innocent people/civilians.
That's a good point!
Maybe have him save someone innocent too or an animal
"save a cat" is a common trope to make unlikable characters more likeable
What a fantastic look into the genre. Brilliantly edited, written and narrated, thoroughly enjoyable watch.
One of the best things I have seen on TH-cam. Excellent work and wonderfully humorous. Thanks ! Once Upon A Time In America is also one of my favourite films.
That's really kind of you. Thank you :)
Ok so this deserves my like.
This comment deserves mine.
@@EyebrowCinema this reply deserves mine.
Once Upon a time in America, the full directors version, is an amazing film. Everyone should see.... I've said it for years. But ya gotta see the full 3 1/2 hour version. So happy you mentioned it. It is top 5 best films all time...
The more I think about it, The Sopranos can almost be seen as the spiritual successor to Once Upon a Time in America. While a tv show and taking place throughout the early to mid 2000s, The Sopranos also deconstructs the idea of the American Dream only in the modern day context and reveals how cold and sinister Tony Soprano along with his crew are as well as the mafia over the passing of each season. It even touches on how the events of Tony’s early life are what turned him into the man he is are similar to Once Upon a Time in America. I have to think Chase saw Once Upon a Time in America before writing The Sopranos.
Sopranos is also inspired by Goodfellas which featured a similar deconstruction of the American Dream
Wow, this is one heck of a retrospective on gangster movies!
While I loved the hell out of this essay, I must humbly disagree in one respect. When Noodles/Robert Williams chooses to not kill Max/Bailey, he specifically remembers the time they had together when they were kids, not men. Yeah, it stands to reason that after Noodles was released from prison, that Max had no intention of staying loyal to his childhood friend, but as far as Noodles was concerned, when they first started working together, their bond was real and not a myth. Mind you, adolescent Max was an exceptionally cunning youth and neither one of these boys were angels. But compared to the men they would become, they genuinely were naive and innocent kids.
That's a fair reading.
I thought the ending to the movie was by far its weakest part.
@@RichardKoenigsberg There's no doubt that the 60s scenes are Noodles while he is dreaming/drugged up. I think there is an extra layer to this movie that I haven't seen anyone discuss. Why the frisbee? Why the garbage truck at the end? We all focus on the visual of the frisbee and the truck. Instead, focus on the sound. Why? Because while Noodles is dreaming, the world around him does not stop. The thugs are still coming after him. How does Leone represent this? The frisbee as a visual makes no sense. It's late, desolate and all of a sudden a hand just snatches a frisbee from around his head. But, as a sound it could be something that Noodles has to reconcile in his dream. His brain hears the sound of a punch or a bullet near his head in real life and includes it in his dream. Leone used the bizarre frisbee as a clue to make us question what it represents. I think the same idea applies to the truck. Noodles hears the sound of the truck in real life while he is dreaming and it becomes a part of his dream. Why? Because Noodles in real life is about to be disposed of by the thugs who have found him in the den. Max is already dead. The story ends when Noodles is tossed in the truck and ground up.
Why the smile? To clue us in that Noodles thinks he has figured out what really happened. Max faked his death. Then the dream/1960s scenes go on to play out how Noodles thinks it would all play out. He even goes so far as to bring a son into the story. Why? Why does he need to see the son? To know that the son didn't resemble him, i.e., his rape of Deborah didn't result in a child.
I could be wrong. I need to go back and test my theory, but I think it ties everything up nicely which is what Leone would have done. He worked on this story for years and put many layers into it so , that we would watch it over and over. Each time you watch it, another question comes up that requires you to watch again.
@@mikegrand4181 Wow! Great analysis. It never occurred to me when I watched it, but it does make sense the way you put it.
It's said that when Once Upon A Time was first released, the American cut was so botched it gave Sergio Leone a heart attack. His next planned project was a WW2 movie set during the siege of Leningrad.
Great video, but I think something like Wolf of Wallstreet is still pretty close to the classic rise and fall gangster story.
What most people seem to be missing in all of this is the fact it is not just film that is decline everything from popular music, literature, art, video games, fashion and many other fields.
What we are seeing is a decline in culture not just the individual mediums.
@@bighands69 the West is in its death throes, the signs are all there for those with eyes to see.
It got some attention from critics but was mostly overlooked because of its long run time, even in the "cut" version.
@@bighands69
Worse, there’s a possibility the decline will be undone by force.
That was beautiful. I remember the first time I saw Once Upon A Time for the first time, I kept thinking about it for days. A real art masterpiece.