Editing Once Upon a Time in America (section)

{{short description|1984 film directed by Sergio Leone}}
{{about||the album by Smoothe da Hustler|Once Upon a Time in America (album)}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Once Upon a Time in America
| image          = Once_Upon_a_Time_in_America.png
| caption        = Theatrical release poster by [[Tom Jung]]
| director       = [[Sergio Leone]]
| screenplay     = {{plainlist|
* [[Leonardo Benvenuti]]
* [[Piero De Bernardi]]
* [[Enrico Medioli]]
* [[Franco Arcalli]]
* [[Franco Ferrini]]
* Sergio Leone
}}
{{Infobox | decat = yes | child = yes
    | label1= Dialogue by
    | data1 = [[Stuart Kaminsky]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Carlson |first=Michael |date=2009-10-28 |title=Stuart Kaminsky obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/oct/28/stuart-kaminsky-obituary |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
}}
| based_on       = {{based on|''The Hoods''<br>1952 novel|[[Harry Grey]]}}
| producer       = [[Arnon Milchan]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Robert De Niro]]
* [[James Woods]]
* [[Elizabeth McGovern]]
* [[Joe Pesci]]
* [[Burt Young]]
* [[Tuesday Weld]]
* [[Treat Williams]]
}}
| cinematography = [[Tonino Delli Colli]]
| editing        = [[Nino Baragli]]
| music          = [[Ennio Morricone]]
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[The Ladd Company]]
* [[Producers Sales Organization|PSO International]]
* [[Regency Enterprises|Embassy International Pictures]]
* Rafran Cinematografica<ref name=trove>{{cite web |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7643203 |title=Once Upon a Time in America |work=[[Trove]] |access-date=October 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012074633/http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/7643203|archive-date=October 12, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=BFI>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e31e32e |title=Once Upon a Time in America (1983) |website=[[British Film Institute]] |access-date=February 1, 2020 |archive-date=November 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114151424/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e31e32e |url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
| distributor    = {{plainlist|
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] (US)
* [[Titanus]] (Italy)
}}
| released       = {{Film date|1984|5|23|[[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|1984|6|1|US|1984|9|28|Italy}}
| runtime        = 229 minutes
| country        = {{plainlist|
* United States<ref name=lum>{{cite web |url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=23484 |title=Once Upon a Time in America (EN) [Original title] |work=[[European Audiovisual Observatory]] |access-date=February 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624042620/http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=23484|archive-date=June 24, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Italy<ref name=lum/>
}}
| language       = English<ref name="afi">{{Cite web |title=Once Upon a Time in America (1984) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/57162 |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]}}</ref>
| budget         = $30 million
| gross          = $5.5 million<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0087843/?ref_=bo_rl_ti |title=''Once Upon a Time in America'' (1984)|website=Boxofficemojo.com |access-date=October 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929044835/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=onceuponatimeinamerica.htm|archive-date=September 29, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
'''''Once Upon a Time in America''''' ({{langx|it|'''C'era una volta in America'''}}) is a 1984 [[Epic film|epic]] [[crime film]] co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker [[Sergio Leone]], and starring [[Robert De Niro]] and [[James Woods]]. The film is an Italian–American<ref name=lum/> [[co-production (media)|venture]] produced by [[The Ladd Company]], [[Regency Enterprises|Embassy International Pictures]], [[Producers Sales Organization|PSO Enterprises]] and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by [[Warner Bros.]] Based on [[Harry Grey]]'s novel ''The Hoods'', it chronicles the lives of best friends [[David "Noodles" Aaronson]] and Maximilian "Max" Bercovicz as they lead a group of [[Jewish]] ghetto youths who rise to prominence as [[Jewish-American organized crime|Jewish gangsters]] in [[New York City]]'s world of [[organized crime]]. The film explores themes of childhood friendships, love, lust, greed, betrayal, loss and broken relationships, together with the rise of mobsters in American society.

It is the final film directed by Leone before his death five years later, and the first feature film that he had directed in 13 years. It is also the third installment of Leone's ''Once Upon a Time Trilogy'', which includes ''[[Once Upon a Time in the West]]'' (1968) and ''[[Duck, You Sucker!]]'' (1971).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/fistful-dynamite-duck-you-sucker-sergio-leone |title=The Film with Three Names – in Praise of Sergio Leone's Neglected Spaghetti Western |website=British Film Institute |date=April 24, 2018 |access-date=June 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602154820/https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/fistful-dynamite-duck-you-sucker-sergio-leone|archive-date=June 2, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The cinematography is by [[Tonino Delli Colli]], and the film score by [[Ennio Morricone]]. Leone originally envisaged two three-hour films, then a single 269-minute (4 hours and 29 minutes) version, but was convinced by distributors to shorten it to 229 minutes (3 hours and 49 minutes). The American distributors, The Ladd Company, further shortened it to 139 minutes (2 hours and 19 minutes), and rearranged the scenes into chronological order, without Leone's involvement.

The US edit was a critical and commercial flop in the United States, and critics who had seen both versions harshly condemned the changes made. The original "European cut" has remained a critical favorite and frequently appears in lists of the [[List of films considered the best|greatest films of all time]], especially in the gangster genre.