Raide déf le Noodle
Cette grande fresque fut tournée de juin 1982 à mars 1983. Dans un premier temps, Leone envisagea d'édifier tous les décors à Cinecittà (célèbre studio d'Italie).Mais des repérages dans le Lower East Side de New York le séduisirent à tel point qu'il fit reconstituer les structures de trois rues entières dans le style des années 1930, pour les monter ensuite sur des immeubles new-yorkais déjà existants (technique employée dans Le Parrain).
D'autres scènes furent tournées à Miami, Boston, Montréal, Hong Kong, Paris, Nice, Venise, Ankara, allant de simples prises de vue à certaines scènes essentielles au long métrage. À Paris, les scènes de la consigne furent tournées à la gare du Nord.Aménagée de manière à évoquer Grand Central Terminal de New York, elle servit aussi de décor au départ de Deborah pour Hollywood.Quand son train quitte la gare, découvrant à droite les voitures restées à quai, on distingue très nettement le logo de la SNCF sur le dernier wagon. En outre on peut lire, au-dessus du train à l'arrêt, « voie 13 » en français.
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A Profound Expression of Truth Regarding Friendship and Betrayal
Author: RobertCartland (RobertCartland@oco.net) from Los Angeles
17 January 2000
This film is a profound expression of truth regarding friendship and betrayal. Noodles, played by Robert De Niro and Scott Tiler (during childhood), is a simple man and a thug with one credo: you can battle the entire world but you never betray a friend. During the course of this film we experience various pieces of Noodles's life, from childhood, through young adulthood and old age. We learn what happens to his friends, his foes and the love of his life, Deborah.
The time span considered is long, including Noodles's childhood shortly after the turn of the century, through the prohibition era, and finally the 1960's.The film is about relationships; the many years Noodles spends away from his friends receive only a cursory mention. The film, like life and memories, unfolds slowly and reflectively. Sergio Leone's cuts are long and each scene is beautifully amplified my Ennio Morricone's haunting score. The story is not told chronologically. Instead, the chapters of the story are slowly revealed like pieces of a great jigsaw puzzle. Each delicious piece might make us laugh, or cry, or smile, or feel shock.
But, as each piece falls into place, a mystery unfolds. When the final piece is revealed, the true essence of the story becomes clear and a sad and beautiful tapestry comes into view.This film is a true masterpiece, expressing a profound statement about friendship and betrayal, with fantastic acting, writing, directing and music. There is a shortened, two-and-a-half-hour version of the film released that is a disaster. It is like trying to understand a jigsaw puzzle with half of the pieces missing. The original four-hour film can be viewed and enjoyed several times and each time the viewer will see something new.
