The famous telephone ring in movie history——Analysis of the beginning of "Once Upon a Time in America"

Adela 2021-10-20 17:29:55

Those who have watched "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​must be impressed by the harsh telephone ringing at the beginning of the film. Many people may think that the film is stuck when watching this section.

The phone ringing lasted for 4 minutes, which was accompanied by multiple scenes. The director of this ringtone meticulously arranged and used a variety of film languages. These ingenious designs have created this classic phone ringtone in film history!

Next, I will deeply interpret the meaning of this phone ringtone and the thought that the director wants to express.



"Once Upon a Time in America" ​​is a story about friendship and betrayal. A group of friends such as Noodles and Max grew up in New York and formed their own small group. On the day that Prohibition was repealed, they made a fortune by selling bootleg alcohol and decided to rob the Federal Reserve Bank under Max’s encouragement. Noodles, who had been in jail before, didn’t want to watch his brother go to ruin, so he privately called the police to force Max. stop. In the end, the police fought with Max and others, and the brothers were all killed. Since then, the noodles with a deep sense of guilt left the place where they grew up and the beloved girl, and went away.

Most of the whole movie is performed in flashback. A few minutes after the beginning of the film, Tired Noodles walked into an opium shop and smoked a lot of cigarettes.

He was deeply guilty when he saw reports of the gang rushing in the newspaper.



The telephone ringing suddenly rang at this moment, and the noodles were startled to sit up.







The noodles of God's unsuccessful homes can hardly calm one's guilt. The person next to him handed a big cigarette to the noodle who was frightened by the ringing of the phone. The noodle fell on the bed and smoked a big cigarette. Looking at the dim light, he was lost in memory. . . (The phone is ringing all the time) The





camera slowly moved to the light. Using the light, the director completed an excellent transition!



The lens is zoomed out, and the lamp of the cigarette hall has become a lamp on the street. This is the memory scene of noodles. The transition is complete.





The scene grew bigger, and we found that this was a scene after a gunfight, and lying on the road were the bodies of the noodle brothers.

Note that the bell has been ringing harshly at this time!





The name tag on the corpse. The bell is still ringing. . . .





Everything on the screen transitioned again. This time it was at a celebration party celebrating the abolition of Prohibition, and the coffin with the "Prohibition"

bell was still ringing!







The noodles left everyone and went to a room.

The ringtone is still ringing. At this time, many viewers must be wondering or even tired of the harsh telephone ringtone. Where did this ringtone come from?

Is it still the phone ringing in the smokehouse? ?





When the noodles came to the room, the sound source finally appeared. The ringtone is ringing and





one hand starts to draw, pick up the phone. At this moment, we will feel relieved that the ringing of the phone should stop this time. .

But it's still ringing! !





It turned out that this was not an incoming call. One hand draws and starts dialing. This is an outgoing call. Who should I call? ? ?

The phone is still ringing. . . . .





A close-up of the caller is noodles.

Who is he calling? ?

The phone is still ringing.





Everything is on the screen again, and the transition is complete.

The source of phone ringtones finally appeared! ! The name tag says, Sheriff Halloran. It turned out that it was noodles that called the police station.

The phone is still ringing.





One hand picked up the phone and the phone ringing stopped.





Noodles sat up again in shock! ! !





Well, the introduction of the entire paragraph is complete.

The reason why this passage has become a classic is because of this long telephone ring. The director used the movie language of "sound" to successfully switch between several scenes.

The first transition at the beginning was done by lighting, and the source of the phone's ringtone at this time was the smokehouse.

When the noodles recalled the scene, the bell kept ringing. At this time, we assumed that the bell was still in the smokehouse. However, the plot went on for a long time, and the telephone ringing kept on. At this time, the director successfully mobilized the enthusiasm of the audience. Everyone would want to know where the ringtone came from and how to stop it.

When the first phone call appeared, the audience would take it for granted that this was the phone that made the nasty sound, but the director sold it again!

The truth became clear when the last camera called the sheriff! ! !



The whole paragraph is heartily and heartily. The director successfully connects the ringtones in memory with the ringtones in reality, and uses the link of ringtones to present the background of the whole story. It is really a masterpiece, extraordinary! !



From the moral point of view, it doesn't really matter where the ringtone comes from. This ringtone is the phone bell used by the noodles to inform the police. It was this ringtone that betrayed his brother and made the noodles feel a heavy sense of guilt! This piercing bell kept ringing in Noodle's mind, and it rang throughout the rest of his life.

All the audience in this passage will definitely be disturbed by the 4-minute ringtone. In fact, this is exactly the feeling of noodles. This harsh ringtone is always ringing for him!

It is precisely because of this paragraph that is a perfect explanation not only from the shooting technique but also from the character's psychological point of view, that has created a classic teaching material in the history of filming! !

Let us revisit "Once Upon a Time in America" ​​again and experience the shocking ringing of the phone again! ! ! !

View more about Once Upon a Time in America reviews

Extended Reading
  • Meaghan 2022-03-21 09:01:14

    This may be the highest state of brotherhood! The ending was embarrassing. It turns out that gangster movies can also be so gentle (Jennifer Connelly was really beautiful when he was a child)

  • Otto 2022-03-22 09:01:13

    After watching more than 4 hours of film length, it is estimated that many people’s health bars are almost empty. However, it is said that the original film has 6 or even 10 hours, but frankly you don’t think there is much redundant content, after all, it is almost A person's life is condensed into a few hours. Through the interweaving of three timelines from 1921 to 1933 to 1968, the director used several vivid characters to vividly depict the turbulent era of the gangster in the American Prohibition on paper. The uninterrupted telephone ringing at the beginning runs directly through the three timelines. , An extremely awesome narrative operation. If you recall carefully, you will find that the main female characters first have a relationship with Noodles and then with Max. It can be seen that Max has always been jealous of Noodles. Maybe there was really hurt in the street fight? The role played by Connery, who left a glimpse of film history, has always been a relatively secular one, while Noodles, who witnessed the death of his partner in his arms, are idealistic from beginning to end. Fortunately for the national poet, Prohibition is a heavy scar in American history, but it has nourished the art of film.

Once Upon a Time in America quotes

  • [in 1968, Noodles meets Fat Moe]

    Noodles: I brought back the key to your clock.

  • [Noodles gives Moe a letter to read]

    Fat Moe: Who's Robert Williams?

    Noodles: I am.

    Fat Moe: [reading] "We wish to inform you that following the sale of the Beth Israel Cemetery..." The synagogue sent these out if you wanted to relocate your loved ones. I got the same letter on account of my father.

    Noodles: Only the synagogue didn't send that. I got that last week, and the rabbi told me he sent those out about eight months ago.

    Fat Moe: Yeah, that's right. That's about when I got mine. So... what else did the rabbi say?

    Noodles: He said I was lucky. The bodies of... Philip Stein, Maximilian Bercovicz, Patrick Goldberg... were already spoken for. And they were up in a very fancy cemetery in Riverdale.

    Fat Moe: What's this all mean?

    Noodles: It means, "Noodles, though you've been hiding in the asshole of the world, we found you. We know where you are." It means, "Get ready."

    Fat Moe: For what?

    Noodles: That's the one thing it didn't say.