Oct. 28, 2003 - 7:54 pm
this is one of those that i've been trying off and on to see for almost a year. it's fairly high up on the IMDb top 250 list (number 130 today) and when i heard about the relationship of Sergio Leone's films to the recently-appearing Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), i decided i needed to see it. after many many weeks of it being checked out (and eventually not even going to see "Mexico") i finally got my hands on it and set aside almost 4 hours to watch this long long film.
it's an epic about a group of gangsters in New York, lead by Noodles (played by De Niro). the film is set up as a series of flashbacks revolving around Noodles' return to his old neighborhood as an elderly man. we see him as an adolescent as he forms his group of 5 friends and begins to break laws. we then see exactly how and why he went to prison. after his release (during prohibition) he returns to his friends who now have their own smuggling operations. there is also a girl involved who Noodles has been in love with since his childhood who he periodically meets back up with and tries to win her heart.
i really liked the part of the film with the children in turn of the century New York. the romance is also the strongest here because everyone's minds are so corrupt later in the film. plus the young Deborah is played by a young Jennifer Connelly, who is amazing in this role. it makes you wonder why Noodles wasn't able to clean himself up to be with her.
i liked this film quite a bit and i wasn't extremely bothered by the length. i guess the fact that i knew to expect a 4 hour film definitely helped. you don't want to ever "accidentally" start watching an epic.
one of the big problems i have with the story is the treatment of female characters. they're really created in an overly masculine way. it's obvious that only male authors wrote these women. they're either totally virginal and pure or totally nyphomaniacs, and either way they are completely taken advantage of by the men in the story. it's just sort of frustrating.
anyway, it's a somewhat strong film, but it doesn't spawn enough epiphany to justify a higher rating.