Once Upon A Time In America Draft 1

Once Upon A Time In America

Director- Sergio Leone

1984

Gangster Thriller

"Crime, passion and lust for power - Sergio Leone's explosive saga of gangland America."

Company Credits:

Production companies-

Embassy International Pictures

PSO International

Rafran Cinematografica

Regency Enterprises

Warner Bros. Pictures

Wishbone

Distributors-

Warner Home Video (various countries)

Societe Nouvelle de Cinematographie (France)

The Ladd Company

National Broadcasting Company

User Comment:

"It's been said that when one watches a "spaghetti" western (one of the "Man with no name" films with Clint Eastwood) filmmaker Sergio Leone's trademark cinema style and flair for clear storytelling is instantly recognizable. This is no truer than in his most ambitious effort, Once Upon a Time in America, in which his usage of close-ups, concise camera movement, sound transitions and syncs, and the sudden change in some scenes from tenderness to violence..."

Sergio Leone has achieved and utilized generic conventions, particularly of the gangster style thriller. The film starts with an uneasy irony, playing "God bless America", we shortly discover why this is ironic...

There is an eerie shadow, or silhouette visible in the door way. It is clearly the shadow of a woman, but we see from her body language she is not a strong female character. She steps cautiously, in the dark room, aware of being quiet as she walks around. This shows she is vulnerable in this place, first and foremost immediately drawing the audience into the scene, intensifying the suspense as she reaches for a lamp. When she turns the lamp on it creates an, again ironic, warm light within the room, highlighting her made up, and seemingly perfect make-up and hair. This use of light also highlights her emotions and in her eyes we see tension and nervousness, making the audience experience the same feeling. 

Her eyes move, before the camera does to the bed on her right. This is a very intelligent shot, as if we are chasing what she sees, following her move, almost like a documentary of her life. She peels back the duvet, slowly at first, but then furiously, as if she cannot believe her eyes. The shot then takes us to a high angle, looking down at the mattress, again, as if we were next to her, also looking at the bed. Not only this, but it connotes the idea that whoever died in this place was vulnerable, and inferior to the murderer, mirroring our first impression of the femme fatale- could this be a clue of her fate? or where the body shaped bullet holes made for her in the first place? The bullet holed body shape is a common devise used in many crime series such as CSI and other films as well- it has made it instantly recogniseable as a sign for danger. The femme fatale stands to the high right hand side of the scene, in shadow as she stares almost blankly, or in disbelief, with the mattress in clean white, almost illuminated, showing a binary opposition between her and the bed. It could also connote the idea the flashing/illuminated signs, used in clubs etc, usually to advertise of warn people. I can see that the bright white mattress could have been used as an obvious warning to get out of the room.

Suddenly she turns, after a sudden noise and is greeted, unfortunately 3, classic, American gangsters. The American gangster is signified with their crooked body language- tilted heads and backs, connoting crookedness in their behaviour as well. The simple fact that there is 3 large men against 1 girl (who cannot move away because the bed has created an obstacle, making it claustrophobic and unsteady) provokes the vulnerability she must be feeling. The characters infuse this idea by standing completely still, putting the girl, thus the audience in the edge, as we don't know if or when they will make a move. The trilby's create shadows over their eyes, which immediately creates a detachment from the people they meet, suggesting they would feel no remorse for the people they have killed. It also means no one else can look into them, as the "windows of their soul" are covered, no one can make a connection or interpret them, heightening the spontaneity thus heightening their menace.

Within the group of gangsters there is nearly always a leader, and Once Upon A Time In America is no exception. He stands just slightly to the right, however central to the 3 men. He holds a gun in his right hand, and speaks to the girl, questioning her. The other men are turning away, leaving themselves anonymous and completely detached from the girl, they are purely there to add to a physical intimidation, almost creating an armed force, and she the girl knows there is no escape.

The shot takes us behind the girl. she stands under an arch, incredibly enclosed, as they appear to corner her. The use of shots almost look as if they are getting subtly closer, but almost inhuman, as the audience never see them move. It suggests they are more than dangerous- they are clever and dangerous; the most lethal combination.

She is then shot, suddenly and unemotionally. She falls, directly onto the figure on the bed, connoting her grave had already been done for her. Her shirt matches the colour of the sheets, implying she fits there, and the whole scenario was made for her. 

She is shot again shortly after, in the same place. The camera is situated again where her back was to the camera. Instead, after the brutal vibrations of the bullets she us thrown, out of focus into the foreground of the screen. The gangsters are stood in the exact same position as they always have, and is a still shot as it begins to fade to black.

The next scene jumps straight to a man, harnessed by the neck with a bloody and destroyed face. The man is full of desperation and bitterness. The camera turns to the abusers and it happens to be the same gangsters. In the space of 4 minutes Leone has highlighted the dangerous and venomous characters, through murder and physical abuse. There is an extreme close up of the victims face, going into excruciating detail of the damage. The audience almost want to tear there eyes away from the screen, but cant because of the instinctive need to to analyse the abnormal. The shot cuts back to the 3 gangsters, we notice here that one cannot stand alone. This does show cowardice, but that they still should not be messed with. They also have picked on easy targets- a young weak girl, and a large man... Are they really as intimidating as they seem?

The scene then cuts to an opium den. This adds to the negative representation of America- Drugs. It however is far more relaxed than before, it also suggests a lack of control, and sense, perhaps making another easy victim.

The non-diagetic sound of a phone rings as we close in on the main character, Noodles. It then goes to a flashback, of a dark wet scene, of 3 body bags, with only street lamps creating the chiaroscuro lighting. In this flash-back it has utilized a list of elements of the thriller genre, including murder (death of the innocence) darkness, and wet roads, all connoting despair.

In the first 5 minutes of One Upon A Time In America there has been gangsters, murder, brutal physical abuse, drugs and 3 dead bodies... God bless America?