His final film, Once Upon a Time in America, was originally envisioned as two three-hour films which were then cut down to one 269-minute version, later 229 minutes, and most disgracefully, chopped to 139 minutes without his participation. Sergio Leone only directed eight films over the course of a more than 50-career, but six of them are stone cold classics. A Case For Greatness, this series, tries to argue for, and to champion, forgotten or underappreciated films in a variety of genres that may be worthy of being called “classics.” And then there are just certain films or even genres that too infrequently receive the critical attention they deserve, are too obscure to break through to bigger audiences, or just aren’t taken seriously enough to merit consideration alongside the ones we “all” already know we love or respect. Organizations that give out annual awards are constrained not only by the limitations of formatting, but perspective - they can’t anticipate which film will survive the buzz of its initial acclaim or success and become part of the cultural firmament.
Cinema is populated with enduring, venerated works of art that deservedly adorn list after list, but those lists are rarely updated, and less often expanded to include new, equally worthy entries. Classics never die, but they seldom get replaced.