MovieChat Forums > Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Discussion > How/why are they Jewish?

How/why are they Jewish?

posted 9 years ago by sth78
24 replies | jump to latest

I have a problem with the Jewish aspect in this movie.

Robert DeNiro is Italian-American.
James Woods is Irish-American.
William Forsythe is a Roman Catholic.
Elizabeth McGovern is Irish-American.
I haven't been able to find out about James Hayden.

How come they use an entire non-Jewish ensemble cast to portray Jewish gangsters? And why did the script even bother make them Jewish, when the matter isn't addressed at all in the movie? It seems forced and contrived, when the movie states that they are Jewish, and then doesn't use that fact later on in the movie.

If we compare it to The Godfather, it is stated that they are Sicilian, and then the movie makes a huge deal out of their Sicilian ancestry and backstory. In this movie, we are told (not shown) that they are Jewish, but then the subject is abandoned for the rest of the movie. What are we, as an audience, then supposed to use that movie fact for?

Just asking.

[–] lb2121 9 years ago

The movie is based upon the book 'The Hoods' written by Harry Grey. Harry Grey, real name Herschel Goldberg, was Jewish as were most of his gang.

Sergio Leone has said that when he was growing up in Italy he knew many Jews and that he thought there was no difference between Jews and Italians.

Robert DeNiro is proud of his Italian roots but has said that from a genealogy point of view he is more Irish than Italian.

Eli Wallach who is Jewish has commented many times that Sergio Leone did not ask him to take part in the movie but as mentioned previously, casting non-Jewish people did not matter to Leone and it is possible that at the time there were no Jewish actors who could take the lead roles as well as DeNiro and Woods.

In the book there are many references to the Jewish way of life and the contrast between Jews and Italians on how they viewed gangsters and some of these have been carried forward to the movie e.g. the conversation between Milchan and Noodles in the extended version.

[–] disinterested_spectator 9 years ago

Eli Wallach plays an Italian in Baby Doll (1956) and in The Godfather: Part III (1990), so he can take heart in the fact that those parts did not go to Italians. And there are The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) and The Magnificent Seven (1960), in which he played Mexicans. I'd say he does not have much to complain about.

[–] gracor 9 years ago

I think they're Jewish in the book the movie is based upon. De oral and fat mo are clearly Jewish and I think the ides was that it was a poor Jewish neighborhood. Think the fact they were poor was more important to leone than their religion.

[–] pc_buttspasm 9 years ago

It's supposed to give us the heebie jeebies.

[–] mgtbltp 9 years ago

It was tit for tat, Paul Muni, Edward G. Robinson played Italian gangsters in the classics for years, so why not?

[–] measdale 9 years ago

They made so little of the Jewish thing in the film, my memory from watching it told me he was Italian.

Max was obviously Jewish (almost a stereotype) but Dominic was surely Italian, so they were a mixed gang.
I mean - why would De Niro's character be called "Noodles", unless he was Italian?

And the final piece of evidence is that De Niro just looks and sounds so Italian-American: for us foreigners, he's one of the faces that defines the type.

[–] lb2121 9 years ago

The movie is based upon the book 'The Hoods' written by Harry Grey. Harry Grey, real name Herschel Goldberg, was Jewish as were most of his gang.

Towards the beginning of the book there is a brief explanation on the main character's nickname:

Cockeye to Noodles: “You know everything. You got some noodle on your shoulders. Hey, Noodles?” He gave me a sycophantic laugh. I ate up his flattery. He put it on thicker. “You're smart, that's why they call you Noodles, hey, Noodles?”

Sergio Leone has said that when he was growing up in Italy he knew many Jews and that he thought there was no difference between Jews and Italians.

Robert De Niro is proud of his Italian roots but he has said that from a genealogy point of view he is more Irish than Italian.

In the book there are many references to the Jewish way of life and very few have been carried forward to the movie. Obviously in the extended version there is the conversation between the chauffeur and Noodles which highlights the difference between Jews and Italians and how they viewed gangsters.

[–] Jimmycakes 9 years ago

Because Jews aren't a race. It's not like having a white guy play a black man.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Naughty-God 9 years ago

You probably have a problem with 99% of the movies that have been produced and filmed going back to 1915 then if you're that particular about such stuff.