Retrospective Film Review

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) • 40 Years Later — arguably the best film of the 1980s

A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.

When I’m asked what my favourite films are, there are usually three answers I give: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), a spectacle of probing science fiction with a touch of ominous mystery. The Thin Red Line (1998), which combines terrifying sequences from the Guadalcanal Campaign in World War II with existentialist themes in an avant-garde style. And the third film I always recommend is Once Upon a Time in America.

There are simply very few films superior to Sergio Leone’s masterpiece. It encapsulates everything that makes cinema such a captivating medium, both in its visual splendour and in its unique capacity for storytelling. The film boasts rich, multifaceted characters. The editing evokes the workings of the subconscious mind, while the…