The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
Back to trending 
Once Upon a Time in America
Drama · Crime · 1984
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Movie details
Once Upon a Time in America
“Crime, passion and lust for power.”
1984 Drama · Crime 2h 19m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
8.4 / 10
Community rating
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Once Upon a Time in America?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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After the funeral of one of their own, a criminal family decides to embark on an emotionally unnerving journey in an attempt to exact bloody revenge.
Gotti
Crime · 1996
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.
Taxi Driver
Crime · 1976
Suffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city.
Auto Focus
Crime · 2002
A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.
Miller's Crossing
Drama · 1990
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Marathon Man
Thriller · 1976
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
State of Grace
Drama · 1990
Hell's Kitchen, New York. Terry Noonan returns home after a ten-year absence. He soon reconnects with Jackie, a childhood friend and member of the Irish mob, and rekindles his love affair with Jackie's sister Kathleen.
Mysterious Skin
Drama · 2005
A teenage hustler and a young man obsessed with alien abductions cross paths, together discovering a horrible, liberating truth.
New Jack City
Thriller · 1991
A gangster, Nino, is in the Cash Money Brothers, making a million dollars every week selling crack. A cop, Scotty, discovers that the only way to infiltrate the gang is to become a dealer himself.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Sergio Leone
Written by
Sergio Leone · Enrico Medioli · Piero De Bernardi · Franco Arcalli
Robert De Niro
Noodles
James Woods
Max
Elizabeth McGovern
Deborah
Joe Pesci
Frankie
Burt Young
Joe
Tuesday Weld
Carol
Treat Williams
Jimmy O'Donnell
Court is in session
Put Once Upon a Time in America on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.