---
title: 'Once Upon a Time in America (1984)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Sergio Leone'
released: '1984-05-23'
runtime_minutes: 227
certification: 'R'
genres:
  - 'Drama'
  - 'Documentary'
  - 'Western'
  - 'Action'
  - 'Adventure'
countries:
  - 'France'
  - 'Italy'
  - 'United States'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-america-1984'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087843/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

1984 · R · 227 min · Drama, Documentary, Western, Action, Adventure · France, Italy, United States

Part of: America trilogy

## Synopsis

Once Upon a Time in America is a 1984 epic crime film based on Harry Grey's semi-autobiographical 1952 novel The Hoods. Directed by Sergio Leone from a screenplay he co-wrote with Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Enrico Medioli, Franco Arcalli and Franco Ferrini, the film stars Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Joe Pesci, Burt Young, Tuesday Weld and Treat Williams. The film is an Italian–American venture produced by The Ladd Company, Embassy International Pictures, PSO Enterprises and Rafran Cinematografica, and distributed by Warner Bros. 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 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.

## Credits

- **Director:** [Sergio Leone](https://cinepixo.com/people/sergio-leone)
- **Screenplay:** [Sergio Leone](https://cinepixo.com/people/sergio-leone), [Harry Grey](https://cinepixo.com/people/harry-grey), [Leonardo Benvenuti](https://cinepixo.com/people/leonardo-benvenuti), [Ernesto Gastaldi](https://cinepixo.com/people/ernesto-gastaldi), [Piero De Bernardi](https://cinepixo.com/people/piero-de-bernardi), [Franco Ferrini](https://cinepixo.com/people/franco-ferrini), [Stuart M. Kaminsky](https://cinepixo.com/people/stuart-m-kaminsky), [Enrico Medioli](https://cinepixo.com/people/enrico-medioli), [Franco Arcalli](https://cinepixo.com/people/franco-arcalli)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Ennio Morricone](https://cinepixo.com/people/ennio-morricone)
- **Producer:** [Arnon Milchan](https://cinepixo.com/people/arnon-milchan)

## Cast

- [William Forsythe](https://cinepixo.com/people/william-forsythe)
- [Estelle Harris](https://cinepixo.com/people/estelle-harris)
- [Joe Pesci](https://cinepixo.com/people/joe-pesci)
- [Danny Aiello](https://cinepixo.com/people/danny-aiello)
- [Robert Harper](https://cinepixo.com/people/robert-harper)
- [Jennifer Connelly](https://cinepixo.com/people/jennifer-connelly)
- [Zora Kerova](https://cinepixo.com/people/zora-kerova)
- [Larry Rapp](https://cinepixo.com/people/larry-rapp)
- [Sergio Leone](https://cinepixo.com/people/sergio-leone)
- [Richard Foronjy](https://cinepixo.com/people/richard-foronjy)
- [Scott Coffey](https://cinepixo.com/people/scott-coffey)
- [Salvatore Billa](https://cinepixo.com/people/salvatore-billa)
- [Paul Herman](https://cinepixo.com/people/paul-herman)
- [James Russo](https://cinepixo.com/people/james-russo)
- [James Hayden](https://cinepixo.com/people/james-hayden)

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-america-1984
Film facts: Wikidata (Q206388); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.