"The film premiered out of competition at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival[1] in its original running time of 229 minutes (3 hours 49 minutes). However, against Leone's wishes, it was released in the United States in a heavily edited and truncated version (almost ninety minutes shorter than the original version released in Europe). The short version eliminates the elaborate flashback structure of the film, instead placing all of the scenes in chronological order. Leone was reportedly heartbroken by the American cut, and never made another movie before his death in 1989, making this his final film." I completely agree man, probably my favorite part of the film are the flashbacks. You get a better in depth of the storyline. Love the kind of bittersweet ending.