Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

"In this town, it can all change… Like that."

2019 2h 42m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 15,366

ComedyDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

“In this town, it can all change… Like that.”

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Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio
Rick Dalton
Brad Pitt
Cliff Booth
Margot Robbie
Sharon Tate
Emile Hirsch
Jay Sebring
Margaret Qualley
'Pussycat'
Timothy Olyphant
Jim Stacy
Julia Butters
Trudi Fraser
Austin Butler
'Tex'

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writers: Quentin Tarantino
Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
Countries: China, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 162 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $95M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: China, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

329+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Quentin Tarantino directs. Robert Richardson behind the camera. Fred Raskin cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in China, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 162 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Mid-budget at $95M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
3Made its money back 4.1× over at the box office.
4Released 7 years ago.
5Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, Spanish.
6International production across 3 countries: China, United Kingdom, United States of America.
7Part of the "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
8329+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
9Directed by Quentin Tarantino, shot by Robert Richardson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
10Editor Fred Raskin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
11Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie carry the top of the cast.
12Marketing tagline: "In this town, it can all change… Like that.".
13IMDB entry: tt7131622 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1415,366 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
15Classified under 25 themes, including "movie business", "male friendship", "cult", "based on true story".
16Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Editing: Fred Raskin
Production design: Barbara Ling
Costume design: Arianne Phillips
Makeup / hair: Jean Ann Black
VFX supervisor: Kevin Souls
Sound: Christian P. Minkler
Stunt coordinator: Robert Alonzo
Runtime: 162 min · 2h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $95,000,000
Box office: $393,869,691
Return: 415% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Production Design
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood Collection

Also by

Quentin Tarantino

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2019-08-07
★ 8/10
The movie isn’t for everyone, of course, but it’s a fun ride back to the past with fantastic performances, hilarious comedy and beautiful aesthetics. Tarantino is the one director in 2019 that can get huge names without people referring to his films as “that Leo film“, and I think that’s worth something whether you’re a fan or not. It’s rare for a film like this to be a mainstream release, and in the lacklustre year of 2019 I think it’s about time we got something in cinemas that's original. - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-another-tarantino-classic
Manuel São Bento2019-08-22
★ 8/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) Quentin Tarantino is one of the best filmmakers of all-time. He has undeniable talent behind the camera, and his movies are fated to leave a mark in each year they’re released. In addition to that, he’s also an extraordinary screenwriter, as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood proves once again. His knowledge of the early decades of film is vast, so every feature he produces is always going to be filled with references to those “fairy tale” years. And that’s precisely what this movie is: a fairy tale in Hollywood, hence its title. Let me just leave this here right off the bat: I’m not going to address any controversy surrounding this film (namely, the whole Bruce Lee depiction and the Manson Family, in general), as I’m always fair and impartial to the movie I’m reviewing. Moving on … My knowledge of the 60s isn’t that good. Obviously, I know the whole Sharon Tate story, as well as the famous Manson murders, but when it comes to actual films from that decade, well … Probably, I only know a few by name, a classic scene, or a memorable soundtrack. Tarantino uses his large runtime to place tons of references to that period, and that’s one of the reasons the first act of the movie drags. There’s a lot of time spent with characters just driving cars while listening to music (references in the songs), wide shots of the city as they drive by (references in the buildings), or even just playing an LP and dancing to it (reference in the songs, again). I understand that these mean something, but if they don’t develop the character in any way, then these are just Easter Eggs and have no impact on the actual narrative. The first hour or so is filled with sequences which sole purpose is to show how much Tarantino knows about that time, and there’s nothing wrong with it, as long as it tells a story. That’s the second issue I have with the first act: it takes too long to establish its characters, and there’s no apparent objective within the story. It feels like a person just strolling around with no destination, which in itself isn’t a bad thing. But if you put together repetitive sequences plus a story that no one knows where it’s going or how it connects to the only thing people are actually expecting (the Sharon Tate event), then you’ll bore the hell out of the audience (a lot of people constantly left my theater to get more food or something, and they weren’t in a hurry). Nevertheless, from the moment we start understanding who Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are, what they do, what they did, and what they want with their lives, then the film becomes incredibly captivating. It’s definitely a character-driven story. It’s a fairy tale where Rick tries his best to overcome his own personal issues to be the very best movie star, after being on an exponentially negative path. Cliff, as his stunt double, lives off of his buddy by doing everything he needs around the house and everywhere else. These two are inseparable, and their scenes are always filled with laughter and joy, even in the darkest moments. OUATIH works because of its beautifully-written characters. If you don’t care about them, then you won’t enjoy the film at all. In addition to this, if you don’t know anything regarding the art of filmmaking, then you’ll probably hate it since it will become extremely dull. It’s one of those movies that anyone can like. However, for someone who knows and understands how films are made, it will always be a better time at the theater. You can love this movie, sure. But if you love filmmaking and you have knowledge of its techniques, you’ll love it even more. There are so many technical achievements worthy of appreciation that I can’t get to all of them, so I’ll just address two of my favorites. The first has to be the black-and-white flicks inside the actual film. Putting Leonardo DiCaprio acting on classic westerns with over-the-top performances is an absolute delight. Watching those features in a 4:3 black-and-white screen, filled with classic sound effects, and cheesy one-liners … Wonderful. The second allows for my favorite scenes of the whole movie: the extensive one-take dialogues. I mean, 10 or 15-minute sequences where DiCaprio just gives it his all. This is how every single film should be done. There’s even a joke in the movie where Rick criticizes a particular type of filmmaking because they would film every character separately saying their lines and then editing them together. Unfortunately, that’s how most features are done today. Therefore, from watching a simple dialogue scene with DiCaprio and Julia Butters (a 10-year-old little girl!) to a bar sequence which belongs to a movie Rick is filming (this one even has Rick asking his lines, and the camera has to go back to its starting point), everything with no cuts whatsoever … What can I ask more from a director?! Obviously, if this is a character-driven narrative, the cast has to be genuinely compelling. Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie … I mean, do I even need to explain how phenomenal they are? DiCaprio proves once again he’s one of the greatest actors of all-time. The ability that he has to put 200% in every single scene is unbelievable. I even started to tear up once his character is able to find his footing, solely due to the actor’s performance. The Oscar nom is guaranteed, let’s see about the win. Brad Pitt also has tons of nominations on his lap with an astonishing supporting display. He has a subtle performance, but it’s pretty incredible how much he can transmit to the audience by putting (apparently) so little effort. Margot Robbie doesn’t have that much screentime, but her character had the simple objective of showing how glamorous and dreamy an actress’ life could be at that time, so she didn’t exactly need to deliver her A-game. It’s always good to see Al Pacino (Marvin Schwarz) on-screen, and I’m thrilled that Margaret Qualley (Pussycat), who I know from The Leftovers (one of the most underrated TV shows of the century), is finally getting some recognition. Technically, like I said above, it’s close to a masterpiece. It’s Tarantino, everyone knows what he’s capable of, but having in mind his most recent features, it’s a pleasant surprise and evidence of quality to the naysayers that he was able to produce a film with less bloody action. There are terrific demonstrations of great cinematography (Robert Richardson), and the editing is always impeccable in Tarantino’s features (this time due to Fred Raskin). The score is addictive, and it carries a very significant role in the movie. I would say that if Tarantino was able to shorten its runtime and control its pacing better, this would be a technically perfect film. All in all, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn’t the best Quentin Tarantino’s movie, but it’s undoubtedly one of the year’s best. Filled with award-winning lead performances (second Oscar for DiCaprio, please), this character-driven story is packed with references to the 60s which will be the divisive point in whether people will enjoy the film or not. Its first act is slow and takes too long to set up its story, but from the moment it’s able to find its footing, it’s an entertaining ride. If you love filmmaking and you know the insides of the art, Tarantino delivers a near-perfect technical production. Its alternate ending to real-life events is meant to be controversial, but for me, it’s a vision of how everything should have happened if the world was fair or, indeed, a fairy tale … in Hollywood. Rating: A-
Gimly2019-08-25
★ 8/10
I'm not here to explain Once Upon a Time In Hollywood, just to enjoy it. Final rating:★★★★ - Very strong appeal. A personal favourite.