You wish, Godfather...

Sergio Leone's final film, "Once Upon a Time in America" leaves me practically speechless. It is a masterwork in EVERY sense of the word.

While not as entertaining as "Once Upon a Time in the West" (my favorite of his three films I've seen), at the moment I cannot think of a single movie that handles itself with as much elegance and grace (with the exception of a couple of rape scenes contained in the movie which I found unnecessary and perhaps should have been left out in my opinion).

I am a huge Beatles fan, and the song "Yesterday" has always been my favorite of theirs. The song plays twice in this epic story. I think now that if I ever hear the song again (especially a version that is only instrumental) I will be reminded of this movie, especially in the final scene, which is one of the most poignant and haunting things I have ever witnessed on-screen.

Many film students probably don't have the patience for a movie like this (it clocks in at about four hours) and they'll give up on it, even though nearly every scene is handled with sheer mastery. To be fair I had to watch the film in two sittings, but those who stick with the entire feature will be rewarded beyond their wildest expectations.

I never have been one to like gangster films. I have seen a number of them, but I have always found it hard to sympathize with the greedy duplicitous characters the films contain. That is not the case here. In my opinion "Once Upon a Time in America" runs RINGS around "The Godfather." Coppola doesn't even come close.