![]() Uncertainties and ambiguities are a part of that pleasure, and the ending of Once Upon a Time in America makes no exception.ĭiscover other movies and TV shows explained on Auralcrave Not even Sergio Leone.īecause if there is one thing that certain films, that certain filmmakers want to communicate, it’s just this: the pleasure of Cinema isn’t about understanding what happened, but it’s about immersing ourselves in the mystery, in the nuances of meaning, absorbing them as the fabric does with water, letting ourselves be penetrated by art, enjoying the conditions in which the film places you. A riddle that is still not solved, for which no one ever provided the final solution. Maybe it’s inside that smile that Noodles imagines what we see in the movie, like an unconscious projection of his wish that his friend is still alive and he shouldn’t have any remorse about his death. ![]() A smile that strides with the tragic history, a fake smile induced by smoking, and even more fake because it happens when Noodles still doesn’t know his future. And then that close-up through the fabric, which reminds us of Claudia Cardinale in Once Upon a Time in the West, and the mysterious smile that closes the movie. And just after that comes the flashback, that maybe is not even a flashback: we go back to the tragic night when the gang is dead, when Noodles enters the opium den and tries to forget what happened. Or maybe none of this really happened, and everything we saw during his elder age, in the villa and outside of it, is only the fruit of his imagination.īecause what we see right after is the lights of three cars from the 40s passing by in front of Noodles, in a time contradiction that is not explained (at that time, we are in the 80s). Noodles has already decided what truth will accompany him for the rest of his old age, and he only wants to protect it from any possible interference. It’s a paradox: Noodles spends the whole film, and practically half of his life, wondering what really happened that night then he discovers a truth, he doesn’t accept it, and he doesn’t even worry about checking what happened in front of his eyes. Sergio Leone explicitly wanted to leave the ambiguity of that scene, and legend has it that the figure outside the villa is played by a stunt, not by Woods himself, to feed the doubts about the possible recognition. Rumour has it that not even James Woods knows if his character jumped into the blades or just slipped away. Bailey is no longer there, and Noodles sees the blades that crush the trash in the back. Bailey from Noodles’ sight, and at that moment, a metallic screech fills the night. The truck starts to move slowly, hiding Mr. The truck switch on the engine, and from the villa emerges a figure that seems (but we are not sure) Mr. ![]() What happens next, at the ending of Once Upon a Time in America, is the famous scene outside the villa: Noodles goes outside from a back door and walks in the dark, passing by a big truck. That part of the dialog is one of the most mentioned quotes in the history of Cinema: Bailey has nothing to do with that story. Noodles’ response is negative: he doesn’t accept this version of reality probably too painful to live with it. But now Max/Bailey is in big trouble, his life is ruined, and what he’s asking Noodles, as a sign of repentance for the nastiest thing ever done in his life, is to be killed by his hands. ![]() Bailey (James Woods) reveals to Noodles (Robert DeNiro) a deceit that lasted 35 years: Max wasn’t dead the night Noodles saw the corpses of his gang it was a trick to steal his money and his woman and run away, leaving him with all the remorses. In the final minutes of the film, the plot twist is revealed. But the one we always discuss after seeing the film for the first time is the story behind the ending scene. There are numerous stories still living around Once Upon a Time in America, and not all them are clear and defined, as it’s common for one of the most ambitious and intense films in the history of Cinema. In this article we will explore the ending of Once Upon a Time in America, having the meaning and the plot carefully explained. The masterpiece of one of the most esteemed directors ever, from critics, audiences, and colleagues in the industry, always at the top of the charts of the best films ever made an example of a gangster movie that will close an era and open another one, often inspired by it the refusal to shoot The Godfather in order to stay loyal to the ideas he would develop in this film the eight-hours-long material selected by Sergio Leone after filming, reduced to less than four after several cuts that didn’t make the director happy the legend that this film, especially during editing, contributed to worsening Leone health conditions, leading to his death. ![]()
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