Once Upon a Time in America (1984) British, Preliminary artwork for the British poster. Gouache on artboard.

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) British, Preliminary artwork for the British poster. Gouache on artboard.

Artist: John Stockle (1928-2000)

Unframed: 17 x 21 1/2 in. (43 x 54.5 cm)

Framed: 22 1/4 x 26 7/8 in. (56.5 x 68.3 cm)

This piece is a unique preliminary artwork.

This epic drama was co-written and directed by Sergio Leone, with music by Ennio Morricone, Leone's long-time collaborator. It was the third in Leone's Once Upon a Time Trilogy, and also, sadly, the final film that he directed. The cast includes Robert De Niro, James Woods and Elizabeth McGovern. The film, based on Harry Grey's novel The Hoods, tells the story of the lives of two best friends - David 'Noodles' Aaronson (Robert De Niro) and Maximilian 'Max' Bercovics (James Woods), who lead a group of Jewish youths, and become prominent New York City gangsters in the Prohibition-era Lower East Side. Noodles returns to New York, having fled thirty years earlier, to face all that has gone before, in order to try and understand what happened, and make his own personal closure.