It is hard to dislike the gangsters in these moments. I was seriously hesitant to watch Leone's Once Upon a Time in America, almost exclusively because I had read that multiple rape scenes occur throughout the film. It seems highly unlikely Deborah didn't know Max's true identity. Once Upon a Time in America whacked the gangster film, and tossed its living corpse into the compactor of a passing garbage truck. The first time, Deborah catches David "Noodles" Aaronson spying on her and recites it to him; and the second time, David "Noodles" Aaronson recites it to Deborah while they are on the beach. Neither of them wanted to disrupt their life, so they told the kid his mother died at childbirth. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. The Godfather, which glorifies crime as corporate misadventure, is a serious movie with no time for funny business. Once Upon a Time in America (Italian: '''C'era una volta in America''') is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. In the back of the diner, amongst "the brooms and the empties" where she usually practices her dancing, she reads him the "Song of Songs" and reveals her true feelings for him, but warning him at the same time, while also mocking him, that they could never be together as long as Noodles remains a "two-bit punk" a street gangster ("what a shame"): Deborah has understood that in order to be with Noodles she would be bound to give up her dreams of fame and glory, and she just won't do that, as she clearly explains to Noodles few years later when they are dining in the exclusive restaurant by the sea (the following quote is circa at 2:15 in the subsequent clip) : Deborah: Noodles you're the only person that I have ever Deborah: that I ever cared about. The music becomes part of the action in Once Upon a Time in America. I don't think there is a real answer in terms of the character, and I suppose we could imagine many scenarios since the "romance" occurred entirely offscreen. Find all 15 songs in Once Upon a Time in America Soundtrack, with scene descriptions. Max always slept with the women that Noodles had had first. @AndrewMartin They are all quite interesting, sure they work all in their own ways. Movies & TV Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for movie and TV enthusiasts. The mobster has such a nice smile, and the union delegate, played by Treat Williams, looks so pathetic while dripping gasoline that it feels like it might even be a mercy killing. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The real answer lies in admitting to yourself that it doesn't make any sense that Deborah would end up with Max. There's a torture scene in this film in the opening scene, that did not quite have the same effect as the rape scenes. The filming of Once Upon a Time in America started in June 1982 and eventually ended in April the next year. Yes- art reflects life. They don't make sense. girl where he previously would have "shared the wealth". Then comes the second sequence, which is miles away from the first. Most of his old friends, like longtime. Noodles then does what young men in coming-of-age movies have done since Cooley High: Something really stupid. She exists.\" And that would get me through it all. What's the lounge-type place where people come to smoke and relax? Making his integrity the prevailing SCORE of his destiny. Unrelated: they obviously spent a lot of money to make a 4hr movie but they can't use realistic blood when someone gets beat up or shot? . Should we not put killing on the screen? once upon a time in america deborah car scene Heavily cut by the Ladd Company against Leone's wishes, the film's story was rearranged in chronological order, which had the effect of making it even more difficult to follow. Wouldn't be surprised if there were other nationalities doing the same stuff. He escapes, numbs his pain in the opium den the audience first saw in the film's opening scene, and flees to . son. There are "red flags" in quite a few instances through the film, but the ones that I feel are deliberatelyto the point of being obvious so as to stick out to the viewer are in those scenes that I mentioned(Bailey's mansion). Deborah has dreams and ambitions, nowadays she will be called a Social Climber and that's clearly something that make her closer to Max: a sharp, bright, dominant but pertubated personality. Instead of Leone treating it another "something gangster they do." She was referring to the biblical scene. It is enveloping, operatic and slightly mad. If a law is new but its interpretation is vague, can the courts directly ask the drafters the intent and official interpretation of their law? On a $30 million budget, the film earned only $5.3 million, and came close to bankrupting producers at the Ladd Company. Ultimately, there is no correct answer and we can only made educated guesses. Could it walk away with no Oscars? He reaffirms what she thinks of him. excel select column to end of data formula. He gives us a clue that what we experienced on first viewing the film was not the whole truth. Ive been living in your place. I didn't pick up that she knew of the robbery beforehand, that's important information. For all that, the film remains something of a mess. That's the ultimate violation you're future is taken from you. Once Upon a Time in America Director: Sergio Leone Cert: Club Genre: Drama Starring: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams. I would advise to rewatch the last half hour or so again of the film. Max being successful and Deborah being with him are both evidence of the idea that everything in 1968 was Noodles hallucinating it in . The Masque of the Red Death (1964) - Director: Roger Corman. But more importantly, Max, unlike Noodles, is the kind of man Deborah would respect. Deniro's most important line is when he tells James Woods he likes the stink of the streets and has no aristocratic ambitions. The studios first choice was Sergio Leone, but he was getting ready to make his own gangster epic, Once Upon a Time in America. Deborah doesnt agree after 1933. Just done major government official who happens to look like an older version of Max? Max is able to feel sexually close to Noodles by having sex with the women that Noodles has had sex with first (forced or otherwise). Lot's wife, as they all grew up in a religious Jewish environment when they were kids (especially her). In Noodles's dream, Max conspired to fake his death so he could reinvent himself into a great and wealthy man. It's violent, awkward, utterly un-sexy and overall horrifying. This scene is his low point as a character, and basically the end of the movie, aside from the epilogue. He ends with Noodles in 1933 smiling after taking hits of opium to let us know it was a dream. The final part of the film comes in 1968. However, there's another scene - the rape of Deborah. The film certainly suggests a more open interpretation, and throughout the film portrays Deborah in a fairly unflattering light, while you are clearly meant to like Noodles, even if he is an anti-hero, up until that scene. 1:57. How did StorageTek STC 4305 use backing HDDs? Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Posted at 01:41h . Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist, Sign up to the Irish Times books newsletter for features, podcasts and more, Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld, Treat Williams. "How beautiful are your. You are left wondering whether he's only a beast because that's what people have labeled him, or whether he is simply scum. They are not blood family, but from the moment Max calls Noodles his uncle to fool a beat cop, they are all related. His experiences with women have been limited to prostitutes or with women like Carol, the blonde cashier who encouraged him to rape her because she is a masochist who enjoys extremely rough sex; the scene in which Carol entices and provokes Noodles in to raping her ends with her having a screaming orgasm. Twice, as it turns out. He wanted to create a film that was layered and would require multiple viewings to understand and appreciate. The simple answer is that she needed a patron to allow her to act. One scene between Max and his girlfriend Carol (Tuesday Weld) is so hard to sit through, even the other members of the gang squirm in their chairs. The scene could have been in Diner, Ferris Buellers Day Off, or even Thelma & Louise. This is the reason that utimately, Max and Deborah get together later in life, their shared love of Noodles is what draws them together, and keeps them together, despite the fact that they previously did not like each other. There is a visible victim, and Noodles wealth and pretensions of honor are worthless. Now why dont you shoot? This final betrayal, and Noodles inert revenge, take Once Upon a Time In America into almost unexplored cinematic depths. Max takes as his mistress Noodles' first 'rape' victim, Carol. The Banshees of Inisherin: An uncomfortable question edges forward. While I wouldn't go as far as to think the 60s part was only a dream (and am not implying that you do), I still like your general approach. Now, we are back where we started. He must have her and will go to any length necessary to make it happen. The straight forward version as told by Carol is that Max wanted to go out in a blaze of glory so he shot it out with the Feds and they all died. All his sexual experiences are shown up to that point to be paid for (by him or Max) or taken by force. You think, "Boy, these characters have lost all likability they ever had." Other Thoughts - This film is a long one, but I've come to appreciate this for the depth in character development. 16. The bulk of the film takes place, however, from when De Niros Noodles gets out of prison in 1930, following Bugsys murder, and lasts until the end of Prohibition in 1933. Noodles is a thug, plain and simple. tourist train argassi to zante town; atp flight school success rate; eugene l clark nothing is impossible R 1984 251 minutes Save Rate movie Parents say age 15+ Based on 10 reviews Kids say age 14+ Based on 14 reviews Watch or buy Common Sense is a nonprofit organization. The shootings and stabbings are neat jobs compared with the beatings, which allow far more artistic renderings of gore, and pass extreme scrutiny. Deborah is startled. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Robert Evans, head of production at Paramount in the early 1970s, wanted The Godfather to be directed by an Italian American. This is an ambitious story. One of my fav scenes from this masterpiece.\"How beautiful are your feet in sandals, O prince's daughter.\" I used to read the Bible every night. The locations where the shooting took place were in and around US, Canada, Italy, and France, with a focal point in New York City. Are there conventions to indicate a new item in a list? Max reinvents himself, literally assuming a new identity, and becomes just the kind of successful, upwardly mobile type that would attract Deborah. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. And yet, Max is not happy. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. And till the end she could not acknowledge her betrayal for the sake of memory. An entire life has become a faade. They are proud of their work and enjoy it. The massive and lengthy war resulted in an estimated 75 million people . Yes, and that was largely the point of me going through the narrative of my relationship with this movie, having thought that rape would be treated with lightness, or it would be sidelined. I first interviewed Zo Field of Field of Roses here on the Floret blog way back in 2016 when I wanted to learn more about the farmer-florist movement in New Zealand. How can he be, when he betrayed the only person he has ever deeply and truly loved? Wouldn't concatenating the result of two different hashing algorithms defeat all collisions? June 1, 1984 Runtime 3hrs 49mins (229 mins) Rating R Starring Robert De Niro James Woods Elizabeth McGovern Scott Tiler Treat Williams Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime drama film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. Once again we meet the great Gonzalo, this time through his famous elder brother Alfonso Fernndez de Crdoba , sixth Lord of Aguilar. rev2023.3.1.43269. This is the closest thing to physical intimacy with Noodles that Max will ever get. PTIJ Should we be afraid of Artificial Intelligence? Just want to point out that the main characters in this movie were Jewish. As for Max, he has wealth, fame, position, he has Deborah and they have a son together named David, who is undoubtedly named after Noodles, whose real name is of course David Aaronson. Every MCU movie, ranked from 'Iron Man' to 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'. How to choose voltage value of capacitors, Ackermann Function without Recursion or Stack. He goes back to Deborah and she is calm and nice to him even though he raped her. It's Saturday and everyone else is gone to the synagogue to pray. Is email scraping still a thing for spammers. The reminder of the rape (the scene with the "game") is just before his date with the second victim. Only later does he realise that he has ruined whatever chance he ever had with the love of his life by this one revolting and despicable act. Leone could get away with that in the wide-open spaces of the American west. Maybe even starting at when Noodles sees Deborah again at the dressing room until the end of the film. The rest of the film can feel like a free fall though. She was the hope of escape for Noodles, she was only important in terms of what she symbolized for him. This list contains the books we've recently received, if you're looking for new books that are available, this is the place to check! How can I explain to my manager that a project he wishes to undertake cannot be performed by the team? A direct line can be drawn from the machine gun death which ends Bonnie and Clyde (1967) to the toll-booth execution of Sonny Corleone (James Caan) in The Godfather. Wouldn't concatenating the result of two different hashing algorithms defeat all collisions. First she is rejecting him, and then she is kissing him. Deborah was always a good tease but her acting was always forced. An indulgence the Corleones could never enjoy. Filming commenced on June 14, 1982, and wrapped up by April 22, 1983. Posted by u . This is certainly the opinion of the FAQ part of one of the movie's fansites, Once Upon a Time in America.net, which states: Why would Deborah ever willingly hook up with Mr Bailey? He is so deeply hurt, and so angry that his love is going to be leaving him, probably forever, that for a moment he is in the grip of some kind of madness. Idk if they did it on purpose so the gore factor wouldn't be so intense or if they just cheaped out in certain scenes, cuz the scene where Noodles finds the guy beat to a pulp & tied up, that blood looked real so I don't get it? Both The Godfather and Once Upon a Time in America span decades; its the history of immigrant crime in 20th century America. In response to the first post, they're Jewish not Italian and if you were paying attention, after the lineup where she's supposed to pick out her rapist she kisses Noodles then gets a really sad look on her face. The hints to the movie itself (aside this question about Deborah). lie in the anachronisms and the especially surreal moments that you witness in the scenes in and around Bailey's mansion. Twice in this film, both as a child and an adult, Deborah taunts Noodles with the words "Mama's calling. The first crime we see the four-member gang commit could have been done by the Dead End kids. She is a poor kid who will need money and Max will be the money man. It lies in the interactions between Noodles and Deborah in the dressing room, in seeing the way the scene is framed (through a mirror, with her makeup on). All of which is to say that Once Upon a Time in America remains the most "problematic" of Leone's major pictures. Why is it that torture (not Hostel torture, though) draws less of a response than rape? it permanently ruins the relationship between Noodles and his childhood lover -- it ruins his only chance at happiness and he turns to opium. Patsy puts away his P210 during the diamond heist. As part of an interstellar experiment, a group of death row inmates embark on a dangerous mission. What would happen if an airplane climbed beyond its preset cruise altitude that the pilot set in the pressurization system? Can the Spiritual Weapon spell be used as cover? It is a perfect film, gorgeously shot, masterfully timed, and slightly ajar. That's all well and good, but it doesn't really seem to adress the actual question why Deborah would engage with Max. Once Upon a Time in America_Deborah Dressing Room_scene 4,590 views Feb 11, 2016 28 Dislike Share Save jules kostik 6 subscribers Subscribe Show more Once upon a time in America. When Max and Noodles, and the gang defuse the situation, rather than ignite it, it is a lesson in the dangerous balance of suspense. But as it progresses, and the screams become louder and include screams of pain, the driver stops the car and opens the door. 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