I just saw this film for the first time in its unedited (229-min.) format and it is one of the best movies I have ever seen. The time spent on character development makes it all worth while. James Woods is in his finest form of any movie I have ever seen him in, including Salvador, and that is saying something. DeNiro is even better, and his part proves why he is considered one of the best actors of the past 30+ years. Then there are all of the supporting actors, who were amazing as well. The fact that this movie didn't win a Best Picture Oscar is one of the great travesties of cinematic justice. That is all.

This dark masterpiece deserved an informative and intelligent commentary track. Once again Richard Schickel seems more impressed with himself than the film. Surely they could have found someone who knows that John Lennon didn't write the song "Yesterday." The dvd for Once Upon a Time in the West has a great commentary track.

I saw this movie before in bits and pieces, but picked it up the other night and watched it in it's full run, and not the chopped up and edited version that was shown on TV.

This film, with an all star cast which includes DeNiro, James Woods, Treat Williams, Bill Forsythe, Danny Aiello, Pesci, Burt Ward and many others portrays the life of 4 Jewish gangters who grew up on the tough and tumble Lower East Side during Prohibition. It was a time when friendships were earned by trust and loyalty, not by the clothes you wore or the car you drove. It also demonstrates the heartbreak of betrayal as well. I could write a lengthy review, but quite a bit has been said about this great movie.

It really illustrates the large and under recognized role that those of Jewish ancestry played in the history of organized crime in America. While many Jewish gangs operated independently of the dominant Italian Mafia, the two groups often joined forces and worked together in many instances.

If you don't like violence or have a weak stomach, DO NOT watch this film.

5 stars for the film,2 stars for doing a director's cut and chopping the movie at an important segment! Dumb! An extra star for a great transfer. Does anyone know if there's a difference in quality between the DVD with the dark title and the DVD with the light title?

What a disappointment Scorsese's recent take on the New York underworld was! It took place at the apex of America's history in mid 19th century and it never got off. Whereas Leone wisely concentrated on characterisation, before and after mis-en-scene, and not to mention group dynamics on a Greek tragedy level.

What separates "Once Upon A Time in America" from "Gangs of New York" is the absence of overacting and overwhelming star power. Gangs had Daniel Day Lewis, who was the only good actor in the film, and Leonardo who couldn't act beyond his pretty boy looks. Leone's epic wisely chose actors who could actually act. Take a look at the rollcall: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, Kevin Pollak, etc. Heck, even the young 'uns who portrayed the main characters in childhood were marvelous.

"Once Upon A Time in America" was what Scorsese was trying to achieve but failed. With an unwielding running time, Leone had the luxury of unfolding the human drama before us. I suspected Scorsese could have made a 4 hour epic but had to trim it down to satisfy cinplexes movie timings. Gangs seems trimmed, as a matter of fact.

At 229 minutes, this DVD edition spreads across 2 discs. The transfer is excellent, considering the age of the film and perhaps it could have done with a little more brushing up on the grain. The remastered sound is superb, with Ennio Morricone's score whistling through the speakers, you couldn't have gotten it any better in any home video format up till now. A highly recommended film. Best to leave a whole afternoon to finish this epic in one sitting.