CREDITS ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, 1983 dir: Sergio Leone Robert De Niro James Woods Elizabeth McGovern James Russo

Sergio Leone's magnificent sprawling epic, following on from Once Upon a Time In The West, traces the growth of the States from the twenties to the sixties, as the Western becomes the gangster flick. The setting of New York has obviously changed out of all recognition. Leone found his locations all around the world, filming not only in New York itself – where an entire city block was reconstructed – and New Jersey – which you might expect – to Florida, up to Montreal, Quebec, and more surprisingly in France and Italy.

The twenties ‘Lower East Side’ neighbourhood, where Noodles and Max first meet up, was indeed filmed on the streets below the towering Williamsburg Bridge – but across the East River on 8th Avenue South at Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Hoboken Railway Station in New Jersey and the Don CeSar Beach Resort, 3400 Gulf Boulevard, St Petersburg Beach in Florida also stood in for old Manhattan.

New Yorkís ‘Grand Central Station’, in the thirties flashbacks, is the Gare du Nord in Paris.

Once Upon A Time In America: The ‘Long Island’ restaurant: Hotel Excelsior, the Lido, Venice

Perhaps the most unexpected location is the lavish ‘Long Island’ restaurant, to which Noodles (Robert De Niro) takes his dream date. You'll find this in Venice: it’s the Westin Excelsior, Lungomare Marconi 41 (tel: 39.041.526.0201) on the Lido. Built in the 1900s, the Excelsior was the world’s top resort hotel and is a favourite of the film festival crowd.

Once Upon A Time In America: The iconic poster image: Manhattan Bridge, Water Street at Washington Street, Brooklyn Photograph courtesy: Simon Robson

The bridge towering over the warehouses, an image so striking it was used for the poster art and DVD cover, is Manhattan Bridge, Water Street at Washington Street, once again, over in Brooklyn.

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