A great classic

You know, sometimes, before watching a classic, you build up some huge expectations but when you finally watch the damned thing, especially after waiting for so many years, the end-result can let you down a little bit. Well, it didn't happen with this movie, that's for sure. Indeed, I kept hearing about it for many years and, finally, I got my hands on it and I was mesmerized from the beginning until the end. Basically, I think it is one of the best gangster movies ever made, no more, no less. Seriously, it's a shame that Leone couldn't make anymore movies after this one but, on the other hand, I'd rather have a director like him who made a handful of amazing features than someone like Woody Allen who has basically become a factory making one disappointing flick after another every single year. So, indeed, the directing was just awesome and back then, Robert de Niro was at the top of his game and gave one of his best performances. Not only Leone didn't make another movie afterwards but the story behind the making of this masterpiece was just heartbreaking. Indeed, the poor fellow spent more than a decade working on this and when it was released, it was butchered by the studio, destroyed by the critics and a huge flop at the box-office. Eventually, Sergio Leone would die 5 years later and I'm not sure if he was still alive when the whole thing was restored to its original format. Anyway, it is a great picture, a timeless classic and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

9/10