Talk:Once Upon a Time in America

Deborah's Rape and her reaction

How do we feel about the wording of this passage: "Seeking to form a genuine intimacy with Deborah, Noodles takes her on a lavish date, where she reveals her plans to pursue a career in Hollywood. On their drive back, a frustrated Noodles rapes her in the limousine. He is later met with Deborah's aloofness when he watches her board the train to California."

Feels quite problematic, perhaps?

First, the word 'frustration' might be his personal motivation, but its use here feels a bit off... and secondly Surely not wanting to make eye contact with someone who raped you just hours before seems like a justified reaction, and not anything to do with being "aloof?"

Bugsy (Siegel?)

Is the character "Bugsy" in this film based on Bugsy Siegel? I've come from Siegel's page, and here's what I've found out: Movie Bugsy is a Jewish gang boss who has young Jewish boys committing petty crimes for him on Manhattan’s Lower East Side; I’m not sure how old he’s supposed to be, but the actor was about 30 at the time. He dies in 1918 in the movie. The real man, who I’ll refer to as Siegel, was born in Brooklyn in 1906, and joined a gang on the Lower East Side in Manhattan as a boy. He committed petty crimes until he met Moe Segway and started an (extortion) protection racket for pushcart vendors. As a teenager, Siegel became instrumental in what became known as the Bugs and Meyer Mob; From there, the Mob expanded, grew in influence, and Siegel’s criminal career expanded outside of New York.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that, between misunderstandings and generalizations surrounding his early life, and alterations to fit the plot, our Movie Bugsy might be the same as Siegel - in a world where his gang is not so successful, and he’s killed by a young boy. But I admit, I haven't watched the movie, so perhaps somebody who has can weigh in on this before we put something in the article. If you want to know more about Siegel, I recommend his article as well as the one on his mob for relevant information.

Also, how does one cite a "correlation" like this that isn't explicitly stated on any credible sources (that I've seen)? Would appreciate input. 8"mrk"7 (talk) 16:18, 27 December 2023 (UTC)

James woods commentary

the article mentions above that Gene Siskel called the American edit the worst movie of 1984 and the original edit the best.

Then later it references James Woods telling of a critic who said the same thing. I think this is a little redundant, given it's highly likely Woods is referring to Siskel in the first place CornflakeCancer (talk) 18:18, 15 May 2024 (UTC)