'Once Upon a Time in America' research

‘Once Upon a Time In America’ – Thriller

Research

Institutional Information:
Director - Sergio Leonie
Release Date - 1st June 1984
Genre - Crime/Thriller
User Comments - "dirty, gritty...", "majestic for a gangster epic".
User Rating - Males - 8.4%, females - 7.6%



‘Once Upon a Time in America’ (1984) was directed by Sergio Leonie. There are many conventions within the first five minutes of this film that portray the film genre that is crime/thriller.

As the film opens, the music track ‘God Bless America’ is played as a sound bridge. This is ironic as within the first five minutes of the film a woman gets shot, a man gets abused, and three dangerous gangsters come into play. Leonie also may have used this piece, as the film ‘The Deer Hunter’ used it as well and that film was based on the Vietnam War, and America’s involvement. As ‘God Bless America’ fades out, the non-diagetic sound of footsteps appears. This adds tension and suspense as the audience cannot see who is walking, and this creates a sense of danger.

Then there is another non-diagetic sound of a door opening, this is when we see the first image of a silhouette in a doorway. This shot uses noir lighting, and uses a high angle close up of a face. Features such as a pearl necklace become visible, and this connotes vulnerability and a femme fatale. The woman walks over to the lamp, of which the light bulb has been unscrewed, she screws it back up, and a bright white light shines on her face. Here is the shot:

After the woman has turned on the lamp, she senses something is wrong, and looks at the duvet and notices bullet holes on the sheet. She pulls the sheet away to discover bullet holes that have been shot into the shape of a body. This is when she realises her fate, and begins to see that ironically, that is her death bed. The high angle shot shows the audience the image, and the woman’s innocence.

The terrified woman then hears people come into the room, turns around suddenly and three very intimidating men are standing there. They ad d a very bullying atmosphere. This shot uses the rule of three, and each man has a section of the shot. The man in the centre is by far the most intimidating, as he is holding a gun. The man on the lefts eyes are shadowed which connotes danger, and the man on the right is not facing the camera, so an element of secrecy is introduced. The mise en scene in this shot is dark and murky, this suggests the corrupt minds of the gangsters.

The next shot has a cultural signifier that the characters are in a fairly old accommodation – the setting follows a typical thriller convention; the claustrophobic space which is the arch. This makes the viewer think that the woman is at grave danger, almost like she is inside a sharks jaw. The lamp follows her around in the first five minutes of the film, perhaps it is suggesting her vulnerability, and the life left inside of her. The low angle camera shot proposes that the womans spirits are down, and her stomach has 'dropped'. It could also be suggesting that the gangsters are looking down on her, and they don't carry a conscience.

The previous shot shows the woman's in inevitable death, thus the next shot shows a corpse, with all three gangsters looking down on her with pride.
A generic thriller genre convention is used with the smoke from the gun shot. The arch that I mentioned in the above paragraph is closed in here, connoting the actress’s entrapment and closure to her life. The interior decor in this shot emphasises the dark, cold-blooded minds of the gangsters. The gangsters are stood quite far away from the corpse, and use of the high-angle shot reinforces that the gangsters are emotionally detached.

The next shot cuts from the image of the corpse to dead bodies in a really short amount of time, this reflects the gangsters lack of care for their deed, and portrays just how emotionally detached they are. This shot uses chiaroscuro, and noir lighting; this is a typical thriller convention as it shadows the actors and creates an atmosphere of cliffhanger/secrecy. The cold wet streets are also a generic thriller convention as they connote lonely, cold and uncomfortable circumstances. The bodies are laid out like sardines, not like people; this is mirroring the thriller genre of being thoughtless and dark.

The next shot is of a man being seriously assaulted, and covered in blood. The camera angle is a close-up this has connotations of fear and shows that the man is susceptible. The colours in the shot are all very dark and gloomy, which reiterates the harsh reality of crimes that are committed - the only colour that stands out is red of the blood, this is obviously a thriller convention. The camera angle could also be argued to be an over the shoulder shot of the villain and the victim, as you can see the villain holding onto the victims coat which is threatening behavior.

In conclusion, within the first five minutes of 'Once Upon a Time in America' Leonie uses techniques to create suspense, and to make it clear that the film is going to be brutal, and frightening. Leone uses costume, colour, and different camera shots in the mise en scene to imply the situation and the consequences.