Once Upon a Time in America: “I took your life away. Why don’t you shoot me?”

My love is so handsome. His skin is as shining as gold, his cheeks are as charming and rich as vanilla, his eyes are as bright as doves, his body is as carved ivory, and his legs are as strong as marble pillars. All in all, he was so lovely, but it was a pity he was always a jackass with nothing… So he will never be my lover, what a pity!

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 American gangster film directed by Italian director Sergio Leon. (He also directed Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in Revolution, a trilogy of American histories.) Like the “Godfather” trilogy, which came out more than a decade earlier, it’s a masterpiece of American gangster drama, but it’s very different. If the godfather’s property is a grand, profound gangster family epic, Meitou is a delicate memoir with oil painting and a sense of destiny.

Which one do you like more? In my mind, Godfather is a well-packed and excellent meal, while Meitao is a delicate and thought-provoking dessert. All of them are classics in the history of film, and all of them are my favorite movies.

Big changes in American society, capitalist barbaric growth of 20 time, New York Jewish community nickname ‘noodles’ Jewish teenager David ⦁ Alonsen, like good friends Mo fat sister, beautiful girl Dibo pull. Noodle parents quarrel all day long, he is unwilling to go home, and also come from the Jewish family boy Pi, slant-eyed, young Dominic all day idle, is to help the underworld to collect debt, steal the drunkard’s money small gangsters. By chance, Noodle meets young Max (Mai Da) and becomes her best friend. Mai Da joins Noodles and their small organization. Several people gradually grow up to be a bully in the street from a small gangster. After earning their first bucket of gold, they set up a gang fund. But cheerful 5 people are in that afternoon that has saved the first sum of money, be vengeful by former days enemy home, old and young Dominic is shot dead, angry noodles killed a person on the spot to be sentenced to prison.

Noodle released from prison after more than ten years, wheat big, small pie, squint has used the first bucket of gold to successfully develop a lot of underworld business. When Noodles return, the four brothers quickly amass a fortune as they work together in an underground business, robbing and killing people for politicians. Later Prohibition cancelled, so that their liquor business was hit hard, then the surface of the Mai big plan to rob a bank plan, lure don’t want to let the brothers in prison noodles to inform yourself, actually already bought the police, hand arranged in addition to the noodles themselves and small pie, slanting was shot by the police drama. After the job is done, remove the small pie and squints, forcing noodles away and killed three people together, and through their relationship success washed white, 6, when the political figures, also robbed the noodles sweetheart – I do actor, Debra need dignitaries, two gave birth to a bastard, called David.

After 35 years of calm but guilt, Mai’s political career comes to an end. When he learns that his fate is over, he leads the noodles to his face, tells the truth, and lets the noodles kill himself. But Noodles didn’t do that, and finally Mai Da committed suicide by jumping into a garbage truck.

“Once Upon a Time in America” runs through the 40 years of turbulence, noise and possibilities in the United States from 1920s to 1960s, during which countless immigrants created their own brilliant “American Dream” through the means of Max in the film. The whole film is subtle and delicate, times, life, friendship, love, human nature…… In a story about a man whose life is tied to the woman he loves and his brother, there are so many great ones. From my point of view, here are some of the ones I think are great:

  1. Those classics outside the plot

I always think the most important thing in a movie besides the story is the casting. The casting of Mei To is flawless. The main characters have a high degree of similarity in appearance and temperament between the young and adult versions, and each character is very much in line with his or her own temperament.

Noodles have a friendly face, and those adult eyes are just too good; Max looks tall, thin and neurotic, in keeping with his scheming, scheming and selfish ways. Deborah has always looked pretty, fitting her role as a ‘noodle dreamer’ and ‘little dancing girl.’ When she was a young girl, Deborah was lofty, so the little actor walked with wind, with pride in his expression and the soft beauty of a young girl in his eyes.

The grown-up Deborah looks sweet, but she still walks fast and talks hard, in keeping with her ambitious and realistic nature. Deborah’s brother Mo fat has been with warm feelings, chubby appearance makes people very practical, just like he this person. The others: Pettitte’s playboy look, Eve’s innocent face, Carol’s slutty beauty… Every character is a classic.

It is said that when shooting is to refer to the picture of the oil painting, and the director is a European, no wonder that the whole film picture every frame is very texture, red brown retro tone, if change the plot, minutes is literary movie.

In the end, Mai also said what I think is the essence of the film and the pain of noodles: “I took your place, your money, your woman, and made you feel guilty about my death for 35 years. I took your life away. Why don’t you shoot me?”

However, noodles will not shoot, he just calmly called MaiDa chief Bai, calmly in his own heart to him and MaiDa relationship to do an end. Noodles should have forgiven him and her, can not let go of their own. “A lifetime of hard work if it is a waste of time, it is a pity” is the last words Noodles said to Maida, and also the portrayal of Maida. Mai Da thought he had stolen everything from Noodle, but in fact it was he who had lost everything. Finally he committed suicide by jumping into a garbage truck in a cruel way.

At the end of the movie, the director, who is particularly good at echoing, is far away after the garbage truck in which Mai commits suicide. At once several cars passed, carrying richly dressed men and women, singing and drinking and waving. It was just like they were, but now it’s all in the past, and there’s nothing to love or hate or lose in life.


Once Upon a Time in America a miniature of an era, a group of people’s black and white life. Everyone or everyone in different time, age, should have different feelings. And seven years ago the first time to see the scene, the plot is attracted by different, now after watching the feeling is: human nature is one of the most complex things in the world.

In fact, there are many things to say about beauty. Maybe this is the charm of good movies, which can bring you many, many touches. Maybe 5 or 10 years later, you will still have a different mood and perception.