<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This paragraph needs additional citations for verification . (October 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The initial critical response to Once Upon a Time in America was mixed, because of the different versions released worldwide . While internationally the film was well received in its original form, American critics were much more dissatisfied with the 139 - minute version released in North America . This condensed version was a critical and financial disaster, and many American critics who knew of Leone's original cut attacked the short version . Some critics compared shortening the film to shortening Richard Wagner's operas, saying that works of art that are meant to be long should be given the respect they deserve . Roger Ebert wrote in his 1984 review that the uncut version was "an epic poem of violence and greed" but described the American theatrical version as a "travesty". Ebert's television film critic partner Gene Siskel considered the uncut version to be the best film of 1984 . </P> <P> It was only after Leone's death and the subsequent restoration of the original version that critics began to give it the kind of praise displayed at its original Cannes showing . The uncut original film is considered to be far superior to the edited version released in the US in 1984 . Ebert, in his review of Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, called the original uncut version of Once Upon a Time in America the best film depicting the Prohibition era . James Woods, who considers it to be Leone's finest film, mentioned in the DVD documentary that one critic dubbed the film the worst of 1984, only to see the original cut years later and call it the best of the 1980s . The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports an 86% approval rating with an average rating of 8.6 / 10 based on 50 reviews . The website's consensus reads, "Sergio Leone's epic crime drama is visually stunning, stylistically bold, and emotionally haunting, and filled with great performances from the likes of Robert De Niro and James Woods ." </P> <P> The film has since been ranked as one of the best films of the gangster genre . When Sight & Sound asked several UK critics in 2002 what their favorite films of the last 25 years were, Once Upon a Time in America placed at number 10 . In 2015, the film was ranked at number nine on Time Out's list of the 50 best gangster films of all time . </P>

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