''Once Upon A Time In America'' (aka ''C'era Una Volta In America'') is a 1984 crime film directed by SergioLeone, loosely based on the novel ''The Hoods'' by Harry Grey, starring Robert [=DeNiro=], James Woods, and Elizabeth [=McGovern=]. The film centers around a Jewish-American gangster, David "Noodles" Aaronson, spanning five decades (and 229 minutes), and is framed as an elaborate flashback sequence.

ExecutiveMeddling lead to the US version of the movie being over an hour shorter, and rearranged for the scenes to be in chronological order. It ended up being a flop at the box office, [[VindicatedByHistory but is now widely regarded as a cinematic masterpiece]].

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This film contains examples of:
* AdaptationDisplacement
* [[spoiler:AllJustADream: Some people have theorized that most of the film is an opium-based hallucination.]]
* AmericanTitle
* AnachronicOrder
* BankRobbery
* ChristieTime
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: [[spoiler:Noodles' reunion with Max.]]
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: It has a soundtrack by [[SugarWiki/SoCoolItsAwesome Ennio Morricone]]. That's all you need to know.
* TheDanza: Danny Aiello as Police Chief Aiello.
* [[spoiler:FakingTheDead: Max]]
* LeaveTheCameraRunning: Used very, very frequently. It ''is'' a Sergio Leone movie, after all.
* LoveItOrHateIt: Most people consider this movie to either be an absolute masterpiece or a boring, overrated, incomprehensible snoozefest.
* TheMafia
* MindScrew
* OneSceneWonder: Jennifer Connelly as the young Deborah.
* OpiumDen
* RapeAsDrama:[[spoiler: When you think that Noodles has proven to Deborah that he's a more than just a cheap hood, too.]]
* SceneryPorn: Even if you do hate it, you have to admit that it's beautiful to look at.
* SilenceIsGolden: Like most of Sergio Leone's films, it's pretty sparse when it comes to dialogue.
* TheRoaringTwenties
* TheSixties
* VillainProtagonist
* VindicatedByHistory
* YiddishAsASecondLanguage

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