One+Upon+A+Time+In+America


 * 1. For this assignment, think about some of the thematic, and stylistic motifs that you've seen in the four previous films by the director that you've watched. What do you notice in this film that fits in with this director's body of work?**

In previous Leone films I watched before //Once Upon A Time In America//, the thematic element of justice, right versus wrong, and becoming a better and more righteous human being seems to be a dominant and important theme in all of his spaghetti westerns. This motif of justice, right versus wrong, and becoming a person with better values is present in all of Leone's films. Once Upon A Time In America is very different from the previous Leone films, being that it is not a western. However, the theme of becoming a better person is present in this film, as the protagonist, Noodles, struggles throughout his life as a criminal and gangster, but finds closure within himself and is able to accept the mistakes he made and live with them. Also, the theme of coping with one's past, as seen in For A Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is also present in this film, as Noodles accepts his past mistakes. Once Upon A Time In America retains a few stylistic elements from previous Leone, including close ups of characters' faces and a beautiful non-diegetic film score conducted once again by Ennio Morricone. Yet despite being composed by Ennio Morricone, the score for the film sounds very different from the music in Leone's westerns. Whereas the music often evoked an explosive, dangerous, epic, and adventurous atmosphere and mood in Leone's western, Morricone's new score in Once Upon A Time In America is overall very delicate and soft; there are no longer sharp whip cracks, electric guitars, and whistling in the score. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the whole film feels a lot more delicate and more sophisticated than Leone's western. The dialogue is plentiful, unlike the sparse dialogue in the westerns. The cinematography ranges widely from closeups to medium shots to full shots instead of being dominantly wide shots or closeups (there are still some wide shots of New York City streets that feels very Leone-esque). There isn't any dramatic shootout or quick cuts between eyes and faces. Artificial lighting is used to create low key lighting instead of being dominantly naturally-lit. Whereas Leone's westerns were brash, bold, and rough, Once Upon A Time In America, Leone's one major work that wasn't a western, is delicate, intricate, and very heartfelt. There are thematic similarities between this film and Leone's other works, but in Leone's distinctive style is less noticeable here, but in a good way, because everything is now more well though out, more delicate, and more able to connect with audiences. The increased range of shots, the touching score, the evenly paced and seamless editing and shot placement, as well as a non-chronological order all set it apart from Leone's other works. Of all Leone's films, this is the only one that I reacted to emotionally, as the stylistic and thematic elements together created a sense of bittersweet nostalgia.


 * 2. What are some of the most iconic director's choices that you've seen in any of the five films you've watched? What directors choices stood out the most to you?**

__Fistful of Dollars__
 * The opening shot of a barren and empty natural scenic landscape (a desert), shot in a extremely wide panorama on a crane, craning down to reveal a noose.
 * This shot is iconic and memorable in that it establishes Leone forever as the director with a fascination of wide panoramic shots of landscape that juxtaposes with closeup objects. This shot also evokes an hostile and alien atmosphere to the film, and the addition of the noose further heightens that sense of danger and hostility. The audience knows that they are entering a dangerous world.


 * The introduction of The Man With No Name.
 * The Man With No Name is one of the most iconic cinematic icons and characters of all time. Characterized by Leone as mysterious, sparsely-speaking, and extremely skilled, the Man With No Name is the epitome of "cool". His motives are unclear, as is his moral standings; one moment he is killing men without blinking, and the next moment he is saving a damsel in distress. His ability to outdraw up to six opponents is unsurpassed. Being a man of a few words and few exposition, his mysterious adds to his cool factor.


 * The first shootout between The Man With No Name and the Baxters
 * In less time than you can say "Clint Eastwood is awesome", The Man With No Name draws his piece, dispatches four thugs, and re-holsters. This is the first and one of the (for me) most memorable of all of The Man With No Name's outnumbered shootouts. In a quick few seconds, he dispatches four armed thugs without even blinking. The quick, second-long, match cuts between the man with no name and the thugs, paired with the loud diegetic "pop" of his pistol, quickly establishes him as a force to be reckoned with.

__For A Few Dollars More__
 * The elaborate props, most specifically the weapons and guns.
 * This film features an array of impressive and very unique looking guns that not only looks cool, but can also be used to characterize their owner. Col. Douglas Mortimer is a calculating and pin-point accurate shooter. His cold and calculating nature as well as his meticulousness could be seen with the attachments on his pistol; he clips on an exaggeratedly huge shoulder stock to a measly pistol to steady his shots, and has four different types of rifles strapped onto the side of his horse. The Man with No Name appears to only have a simple revolver, but upon closer examination one could see a white cobra on its grip. The pairing of a simple weapon with a dangerous animal as a logo adds to the mysteriousness of The Man With No Name.


 * The both non-diegetic and diegetic musical locket.
 * The music from the locket is used by El Indio during the shootouts as a form of countdown. The same locket with the same music is also owned by Col. Mortimer. The music's incorporation into the non-diegetic music symbolizes the two man's crossed path and relations. The music also serves to evoke a chilling mood and theme.

__The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly__
 * The non-diegetic musical score.
 * The musical score of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is easily one of the most recognizable cinematic scores of all time. It incorporates a wide range of different instruments and special sound effects (chants, whistles etc) to create a deranged, explosive, wild, and adventurous atmosphere and mood to the film.


 * The final shootout scene.
 * The final shootout is again one of the most iconic moments in cinematic history. Here, the three participants are engaged in a Mexican standoff and are evenly apart in a square. A rock, with the location of a cache of gold "written" on it, sits in the middle of the square. Match cuts between darting eyes and hands, along with the haunting music, all serve to raise tension and suspense until all this culminates into a rapid succession of gunfire.

__Once Upon A Time In The West__
 * The opening scene.
 * The opening scene consists of three of Frank's henchmen waiting for the arrival of a train at a station for 10 minutes. But during these ten minutes, each of these henchmen is established as despicable and disgusting people as seen by their actions (trapping a fly with a gun barrel, drinking water from a leaking roof). There is also no non-diegetic musical score in this scene, and all sound is natural sound (creak of windmill, buzz of fly). This scene is very stylistically unique and memorable for creating a slow building tension.


 * The characterization of Frank
 * Frank is perhaps one of the most brutal on-screen villains to ever grace cinema. Portrayed by the then American heart-throb actor Henry Fonda (who usually portrays good guys), Frank's baby blue eyes contrasts with his malicious grin. Frank's evil and brutality is established in an extremely memorable scene where he dispatches the McBain family and saves the youngest member of the McBain family (a small boy no older than 10) for last, shooting him fatally.

__Once Upon A Time In America__
 * The delicate, soft, and somber non-diegetic music.
 * The music of Once Upon A Time In America is very different from music in previous Leone films, as it is very delicate and evokes a bittersweet feeling. This can be said for the entire film; it evokes a bittersweet and nostalgic feeling, and is a lot more delicate in terms of attention to detail, editing, and acting.


 * The seamless, non-chronological order
 * This is the only Sergio Leone film edited in non-chronological order, but the non-chronological order here works so well and so seamlessly, using objects such as a briefcase, a telephone, and a Frisbee as "time gates" or objects that transition to a different time period. The non chronological order allows the audience to connect with and feel for Noodles (the protagonist), as he, as an old man, recounts the happy days of his childhood with his friends and the times they've spend together in the New York slums. We are able to see his full life story and know all about his upbringing.