View Full Version : Today I Learned That Jennifer Connelly Was In "Once Upon A Time In America"...
She played the young Deborah.
https://i.redd.it/pqe8m9swsqj31.jpg
Been a favorite film since I saw it in 1984 but never put it together. Like most I didn't become very interested in Connelly until the film "Career Opportunities" (1991).
For anyone thinking what the hell movie are you talking about, it's currently available on Netflix if you are into old school gangster sagas.
Another thing I never noticed until this recent viewing, the same pan flute music featured in the "Karate Kid" (1984) is also used in this film.
Averageman
09-22-21, 18:52
Great Movie
titsonritz
09-22-21, 19:10
Yep, it was her fisrt movie. They had a body double for her little tush because she was underage to show her's off.
ETA: She is one of those women that keeps getting better looking with time.
Yep, it was her fisrt movie. They had a body double for her little tush because she was underage to show her's off.
ETA: She is one of those women that keeps getting better looking with time.
She was also a bit older than the character she portrayed but yeah, still underage. I also found out that a nearly completely restored directors cut is now available so I will be going down that rabbit hole. And I thought this version was long at 229 mins.
Great movie! I've watched it many, many times (far better than the Godfather IMHO). As for Jennifer, she grew into one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. If you want to see a more "mature" view of her you need to watch Mulholland Falls.
Great movie! I've watched it many, many times (far better than the Godfather IMHO). As for Jennifer, she grew into one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. If you want to see a more "mature" view of her you need to watch Mulholland Falls.
Ironically Sergio Leone was offered The Godfather but passed in order to move this project forward. It's hard to say this film is better than The Godfather or vice verse, even though they are in the same genre they are very different films despite many similarities.
I think The Godfather is almost a perfect film, and even though I can watch it over and over, I don't watch it in the same way I watch Once Upon A Time In America. What floors me in both films is the little details, but in some ways Once Upon A Time is the weaker film, the plot twists are seen from a mile away and of course it matters which version of the film you are watching.
They also wasted the main crew half way through the film which hurt it badly. That was necessary to achieve the "predictable" plot twist but still hurt the film. But these fumbles were made up with a savagery that is probably realistic but one that we seem to forget. Noodles actually rapes two women, including one he wanted to marry, and we still see him as sympathetic. I also think Woods character "Max" just isn't developed enough or believable enough to be a counterpoint to DeNiro.
And if Leone were allowed to do a Part I and Part II, both two hour films, one film with their childhood into early adulthood and the second film from early adulthood to late adulthood, things would have worked a lot better.
We also saw virtually nothing of the syndicate, that operated behind the scenes and directed most of the plot twists of the story. They were mentioned in passing and nothing more.
The Godfather, while not spoon feeding you everything, at least put most of it on the table.
Averageman
09-23-21, 02:50
Ironically Sergio Leone was offered The Godfather but passed in order to move this project forward. It's hard to say this film is better than The Godfather or vice verse, even though they are in the same genre they are very different films despite many similarities.
I think The Godfather is almost a perfect film, and even though I can watch it over and over, I don't watch it in the same way I watch Once Upon A Time In America. What floors me in both films is the little details, but in some ways Once Upon A Time is the weaker film, the plot twists are seen from a mile away and of course it matters which version of the film you are watching.
They also wasted the main crew half way through the film which hurt it badly. That was necessary to achieve the "predictable" plot twist but still hurt the film. But these fumbles were made up with a savagery that is probably realistic but one that we seem to forget. Noodles actually rapes two women, including one he wanted to marry, and we still see him as sympathetic. I also think Woods character "Max" just isn't developed enough or believable enough to be a counterpoint to DeNiro.
And if Leone were allowed to do a Part I and Part II, both two hour films, one film with their childhood into early adulthood and the second film from early adulthood to late adulthood, things would have worked a lot better.
We also saw virtually nothing of the syndicate, that operated behind the scenes and directed most of the plot twists of the story. They were mentioned in passing and nothing more.
The Godfather, while not spoon feeding you everything, at least put most of it on the table.
Very astute observations.
I really dont know how to describe accuratly what I'm trying to say here, so work with me.
Copalla has a refined finish to his work, leone, well not so much...
I don't know how to say it except it's the definative difference between American and Italian cinema. A very once upon a time in the west kind of thing..Hahaha.
To those who are working with me on this, it's the difference between "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Vs "True Grit" Italian films, even leone seem sort of cheaply made to me.
Actually the Death of Don Fenucci might be the most perfectly acted, cut and edited piece of film ever made.
Very astute observations.
I really dont know how to describe accuratly what I'm trying to say here, so work with me.
Copalla has a refined finish to his work, leone, well not so much...
I don't know how to say it except it's the definative difference between American and Italian cinema. A very once upon a time in the west kind of thing..Hahaha.
To those who are working with me on this, it's the difference between "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Vs "True Grit" Italian films, even leone seem sort of cheaply made to me.
Actually the Death of Don Fenucci might be the most perfectly acted, cut and edited piece of film ever made.
So probably goes without saying that this was the largest budget he had ever been given for a film and it probably is his best film, but yeah some of the problem is Italian films are just different. Obviously another difference is it was an Italian-American project that was mostly filmed in NY (for obvious reasons) unlike most of the westerns which tended to be filmed in Italy.
I also think he struggled to make a film as polished as The Godfather, and had he actually done the Godfather it would probably be clumsy in parts as well. There is also the fact that he had 10 hours of footage to edit down into a feature film. And for the European audiences there is a greater tolerance for sex and violence and lower expectations for production standards. That might be what you are trying to allude to.
As for Fanucci in Godfather II, I know a lot of people love that film. But for me the greatest GF moment is Michael deciding to join the family business and taking out Sollozzo and McCluskey. That one struck me as very real and might have been the first "pink mist" moment on film as far as I know. Godfather II, my favorite hit is Vito going back to Italy to settle up with Don Ciccio.
In the made for tv Godfather Saga many unused scenes were restored to keep the running time given how many things needed to be removed for tv broadcast and Michael tracks down and kills Fabrizzi. The first two GF films really broke a lot of new ground and even gave us an excellent pizza chain for it's time. I've lost track of how many different box set editions I have of these films.
Johnny Rico
09-23-21, 10:11
But for me the greatest GF moment is Michael deciding to join the family business and taking out Sollozzo and McCluskey.
Agreed. That scene is what makes Michael a tragic figure. He wanted to do the right thing, tried to do so, but he had to protect his father. What he did was absolutely ruthless and criminal, but who here wouldn't at least consider doing the same to protect a loved one? Once he took that path that was it (ain't no halfway crooks), but he really did try to avoid it.
Agreed. That scene is what makes Michael a tragic figure. He wanted to do the right thing, tried to do so, but he had to protect his father. What he did was absolutely ruthless and criminal, but who here wouldn't at least consider doing the same to protect a loved one? Once he took that path that was it (ain't no halfway crooks), but he really did try to avoid it.
Absolutely. Despite being a powerful scene, there are layers of implication.
The Dumb Gun Collector
09-23-21, 23:06
This is hilarious! I loved this movie as a kid. Then about a week ago, a guy that works for me was watching "Once upon a time in America" at work (I am a good boss) and we both noticed that she was the little girl that Noodles was spying on. Weird.
This is hilarious! I loved this movie as a kid. Then about a week ago, a guy that works for me was watching "Once upon a time in America" at work (I am a good boss) and we both noticed that she was the little girl that Noodles was spying on. Weird.
On another forum they joke about a "hive mind", but sometimes I think we are the product of a super secret government genetics program that accidentally went right.
Yep, it was her fisrt movie. They had a body double for her little tush because she was underage to show her's off.
ETA: She is one of those women that keeps getting better looking with time.
I was in a discussion on another platform about past movies which couldn't be made today (or couldn't be made the same way). At some point underage nudity came up and how it can't be done anymore. It was pointed out that Ana de Armas was nude in her first film at 16 in 2006. Back in '84 when this movie came out, Michelle Johnson was nude in sexual situations with a much older Michael Caine in Blame it on Rio, and she was 16 (also the nude debut for Demi Moore, pre-implants).
The Blue Lagoon was just 4 years prior to that with an underage Brooke Shields, and she had to convince Congress that all the nude shots were done with of age body doubles. Yet 3 years prior to that she appeared nude in Pretty Baby at the age of 11, and that movie was all about prostitution. I honestly can't comprehend how that movie EVER got made, much less MPAA rated. :confused:
I just don't get how they can get away with some things because it's "art" where others are banned. Seems like a double standard depending on who's making it and who's cast. :(
I was in a discussion on another platform about past movies which couldn't be made today (or couldn't be made the same way). At some point underage nudity came up and how it can't be done anymore. It was pointed out that Ana de Armas was nude in her first film at 16 in 2006. Back in '84 when this movie came out, Michelle Johnson was nude in sexual situations with a much older Michael Caine in Blame it on Rio, and she was 16 (also the nude debut for Demi Moore, pre-implants).
The Blue Lagoon was just 4 years prior to that with an underage Brooke Shields, and she had to convince Congress that all the nude shots were done with of age body doubles. Yet 3 years prior to that she appeared nude in Pretty Baby at the age of 11, and that movie was all about prostitution. I honestly can't comprehend how that movie EVER got made, much less MPAA rated. :confused:
I just don't get how they can get away with some things because it's "art" where others are banned. Seems like a double standard depending on who's making it and who's cast. :(
In 1968 Olivia Hussey was not allowed to view her own film, Romeo and Juliet, because she flashed some boobies in one scene. Everyone else was allowed to see it but she was underage.
And yeah, Pretty Baby was probably the most extreme example.
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