A film as epic and rich as Sergio Leone's imagination, "Once Upon a Time in America" sits at the head table of gangster movies. Long delayed for release on DVD, and available only on inferior foreign discs, this is a title many have anticipated. While it's not rammed with special features, this is a two-disc set that will allow you to savour a classic like never before.
TECHNICAL FEATURES
Picture The rich dreamlike visuals of the movie are presented in a hauntingly beautiful transfer that's a beauty to behold compared to old video releases.
Sound Ennio Morricone's score deserved a remix into 5.1, and while it now gets a full run of the speakers, this isn't a particularly ambitious mix. Despite that, it's satisfyingly enveloping.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Disc One Special Features
Audio Commentary Film critic and historian Richard Schickel does at times lapse into describing the action on screen for this commentary, but then he is surely allowed that when he has got three hours and twenty minutes to fill (his commentary continues on disc two).
Schickel devotes quite a bit of time to talk about how he perceives the film as a fantasy that's set in reality. He explores the dreamlike quality of the movie through analysing Leone's shot structure, combined with the editing and story structure.
Schickel also offers his opinions on the performances of the actors, paying particular attention to De Niro and how he's able to play his character so you're never quite sure what he's thinking.
As well as the critical analysis, Schickel also offers up facts on the film's shoot and locations used, and has plenty of time to talk about the incredible time it took for the movie to get made.
Disc Two Special Features
Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone Filmed in 1999, this 19-minute extract from a longer documentary does leave you wanting more, but is undoubtedly a sign of the quality of the production.
The history of the movie - from years of Leone chasing the rights to adapt the novel "The Hoods", to a script process that Piero De Bernardi describes as surely the longest in the history of movie-making - is in itself a huge story to tell. This documentary deals with it efficiently, moving on to getting the recollections of stars such as James Woods, who almost wishes he hadn't been in the film so he could rave about the movie even more fervently than he does here.
The sadness is that the two edits hacked together by the distributors in the US killed the movie critically, and left Leone a depressed man, as James Coburn recalls. At least there's some happiness in the turnaround in critics' opinions when they got to see the European cut, which producer Arnon Milchan recalls with great delight, bringing this feature to a suitable end.
Additional Extra Features Also on disc two is a photo gallery and a trailer.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Chapters: 59
Ratio: 1.85:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Tracks: English and French
Subtitles: English and multiple languages
Captions: English
Menus: Animated, with music
Special Features Subtitles Only the documentary profile comes with subtitles.
This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.
