Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars as main protagonist Rick Dalton.

Rick Dalton is an actor who starred in the fictitious television western series Bounty Law, based on the real-life series Wanted Dead or Alive, starring Steve McQueen.[13] Dalton's relationship with Cliff Booth is based on Burt Reynolds' with his longtime stunt double Hal Needham.[14] Dalton was inspired by actors whose careers began in Classical Hollywood but faltered in the 1960s, such as Ty Hardin, who went from starring in a successful TV western to making spaghetti westerns, as well as by Ralph Meeker.[15][16][17][18] Though not mentioned in the film, Dalton suffers from undiagnosed bipolar disorder, inspired by Pete Duel.[19]

Cliff Booth, Dalton's stunt double and best friend, is a World War II veteran, Green Beret and "one of deadliest guys alive."[20][21] Quentin Tarantino and Brad Pitt modeled Booth after Tom Laughlin's portrayal of Billy Jack.[22] Booth is inspired by Gary Kent, a stuntman for a film made at the Spahn Ranch while the Manson Family lived there,[23] and Gene LeBell, who worked on The Green Hornet after complaints by other stuntmen that Bruce Lee was "kicking the shit out of the stuntmen."[24]

Trudi Fraser, the precocious child actor working on Lancer, is inspired by an actual character from that series.[25] In the film, Marvin Schwarz is Dalton's agent, a role that Tarantino wrote specifically for Al Pacino.[26] Francesca Capucci, a starlet who marries Dalton, is influenced by 1960s Italian actresses Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale.[16][27] Billie Booth is Cliff's wife, whose death echoes Natalie Wood's.[16] Some characters, such as Zoë Bell's stunt coordinator, Janet Miller, and Heba Thorisdottir's makeup artist, Sonya, were portrayed by individuals who performed those same jobs for the film.[28][29]

Sharon Tate, portrayed in the film by Margot Robbie and featured in clips from The Wrecking Crew (1968)

• Sharon Tate was an actress married to film director Roman Polanski, and is Dalton's neighbor in the film. Margot Robbie read Polanski's autobiography Roman by Polanski in preparation for the role.[30][31] Polanski's credits include Rosemary's Baby and The Fearless Vampire Killers, where he first met Tate.[32] Tate’s last film, The Thirteen Chairs was filmed in Italy in 1969, at the same time Dalton makes films there in the movie.[33]
• Jay Sebring was Tate's friend and ex-boyfriend, and friend of Bruce Lee (whom he had helped get started in Hollywood) and Steve McQueen.[16][34] Sebring and Tate attended a party at Mama Cass' house at which Charles Manson was also in attendance.[35]
• Abigail Folger, heir to the Folgers coffee fortune, and her boyfriend Wojciech Frykowski were Tate's friends.
• James Stacy and Wayne Maunder were actors who starred on Lancer.[36] Stacy is last shown in the film leaving the show's set on a motorcycle; Stacy was in a motorcycle accident that resulted in the death of his passenger and the loss of his arm and leg. His ex-wife, actress Connie Stevens, also portrayed in the film, organized a fundraiser for his recovery.[37][16] Maunder died during the filming of the movie and Luke Perry, who portrays him in his last screen appearance, died shortly afterward.[38] Luke's son, Jack Perry, appears with him in the film.[39] Sam Wanamaker directed the real pilot of Lancer, in which the Land Pirates were actual characters.[40] The Land Pirates also appear in the pilot within the film.
• Bruce Lee was an actor and martial artist who starred as Kato on The Green Hornet. He taught Tate martial arts for The Wrecking Crew, and also trained Sebring, Polanski and McQueen.[34]
• "Mama Cass" Elliot and Michelle Phillips were members of the Mamas and the Papas. The sheet music for their song "Straight Shooter" was found on the piano at the murder scene inside the Tate/Polanski residence, and it is also used in the film's trailer.[41] Polanski had an affair with Phillips while he was married to Sharon Tate.[42]
• Harvey "Humble Harve" Miller was a Los Angeles radio DJ who was convicted of killing his wife.[43]
• Tim Roth and Danny Strong shot scenes that were cut. Strong portrayed Dean Martin and Paul Barabuta, and Roth portrayed Amos Russell, Sebring's English butler.[44][45][46][47][48]

• George Spahn was an 80-year-old nearly blind man who rented his ranch out for westerns. The Manson Family lived on the ranch. Burt Reynolds was cast, but died before filming.[49][50] Reynolds did a rehearsal and script reading, his last performance. After reading the script and learning that Pitt would be portraying Booth, Reynolds told Tarantino, "You gotta have somebody say, 'You're pretty for a stunt guy.'" The line appears in the film, spoken to Booth by Bruce Lee.[51]
• "Charlie" (Charles Manson) was a convicted felon and cult leader of The Family (later dubbed "The Manson Family" by the media), a hippie commune based in California. Members of The Family committed nine murders in the summer of 1969.[52] Damon Herriman, who portrays Manson, also portrays him in David Fincher's Netflix series Mindhunter.
• "Pussycat" is a composite character, with her nickname based on Kathryn Lutesinger's "Kitty Kat" yet modeled after Ruth Ann Moorehouse. Manson frequently sent Moorehouse into the city to lure men with money back to Spahn Ranch.[53] Lutesinger met Manson through her boyfriend, Bobby Beausoleil.[54] There was a Manson Family member named Pussycat, who is mentioned by Ed Sanders in his book The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion. According to those interviewed, Pussycat underwent an exorcism with Manson present. The real identity of Pussycat is never revealed.[55]
• "Squeaky" was Lynette Fromme's nickname, given to her by Spahn because of the sound she made when he touched her.[56] She was Spahn's main caretaker, tending to his needs, sexual or otherwise.[53]
• "Straight Satan David", portrayed in the film by David Steen is a member of the Straight Satans Motorcycle Club, associates of the Family, who acted as their security.[52]
• Bill "Sweet William Tumbleweed" Fritsch, portrayed in the film by Tom Hartig was a member of the Hells Angels and Diggers, and Manson Family associate.[57]
• Connie is a horseback-riding customer at Spahn Ranch. As one way of earning their keep, the Family gave horseback riding tours to people visiting the ranch.[53]
• "Tex" was Charles Watson's nickname. Spahn gave it to him because of his Texas accent.[58]
• "Sadie" was Susan Atkins' nickname. Manson gave everyone fake IDs, and the name on Atkins' was "Sadie Mae Glutz". Atkins was called "Sexy Sadie" after a track on the Beatles' self-titled album that some of the Family members may have believed was about her.[52]
• "Katie" was Patricia Krenwinkel's nickname because of the name on her ID.[56] Madisen Beaty, who portrays Krenwinkel, previously portrayed her on Aquarius.[59]
• "Flowerchild" was not the nickname of any member. However, the character in the film is Linda Kasabian, as she was the fourth member to go to Tate's house.[53]
• "Snake" was Dianne Lake's nickname, given to her by Manson because she rolled around in grass pretending to be a snake.[60]
• "Blue" was Sandra Good's nickname. Manson told her, "Woman, you're earth. I'm naming you Blue. Fix the air and the water. It's your job."[56]
• "Gypsy" was Catherine Share's nickname, which she gave herself after meeting a man named Gypsy with whom she shared a birthday and whom she thought was her cosmic twin.[56]
• Catherine Gillies was nicknamed "Capistrano" by Spahn, but called "Cappy" for short.[52] In the film, her name is "Happy Cappy" and she is portrayed by Josephine Valentina Clark.
• "Lulu" was one of Leslie Van Houten's nicknames, and "Clem" one of Steve Grogan's.[53]
• "Tophat", portrayed in the film by Ronnie Zappa was an alias of Bobby Beausoleil. In his 2001 book Turn Off Your Mind, Gary Lachman mentions that, "Beausoleil had a style; a top hat that set him apart from the usual hippie fare."[61] Beausoleil wrote, "I spied a felt top hat in the window of a... shop... I couldn't afford (it)... but it felt like it had been made for me... I couldn't resist the temptation to buy it." Beausoleil claimed that as soon as he put on the hat, ideas floating in his head came together.[62]
• The character of "Sundance" was named by Cassidy Hice, the actress who portrays her. She wrote, "I was asked to name my character by Quentin himself."[63]

Director Quentin Tarantino developed the idea over the course of several years, looking to tell a "fairy tale" set in 1960s Hollywood.

The work that would become the screenplay for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was developed slowly over several years by Tarantino. While he knew he wanted the work to be titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, evoking the idea of a fairy tale set in 1960s Hollywood, he publicly referred to the project as Magnum Opus.[64] The life of the work for the first five years was as a novel,[64] which Tarantino considered to be an exploratory approach to the story he wanted to tell, not yet having decided if it would be a screenplay. Tarantino tried other writing approaches: the early scene between DiCaprio's Dalton and Pacino's Marvin Schwarz was originally written as a one-act play as part of this exploratory work.[65]

Tarantino discovered the centerpiece for the work about 10 years previously while filming a movie with an actor that had been working alongside the same stunt double for several years. Even though there was nothing but a small bit for the stuntman to do, Tarantino was asked to use him, and he agreed. The relationship fascinated Tarantino and inspired him to make a film about Hollywood.[17] Tarantino said that while the stuntman may have been a perfect double for the actor years earlier, at the time he had come to meet them, "this was maybe the last or second-to-last thing they'd be doing together".[65]

Tarantino first created Stuntman Cliff Booth, giving him a massive backstory. Next, he created the character of actor Rick Dalton for Booth to be the stunt double of. Tarantino decided to have them be Sharon Tate's next-door neighbors in 1969. The first plot point he developed was the ending, then moved backwards from there, this being the first time Tarantino had worked this way. He thought of doing an Elmore Leonard-type story, but realized he was confident enough in his characters to let them drive the film and let it be a day in the life of Booth, Dalton, and Tate. He would use sequences from Dalton's films for the action, inspired by Richard Rush's The Stunt Man, which used the scenes from the WWI movie they were making within the film as the action.[66] Further, to get his mind into the Dalton character, Tarantino wrote out five hypothetical episodes of the fictional television show Bounty Law, in which Dalton had starred, having become fascinated with the amount of story crammed into half-hour episodes of 1950s western shows.[45]

Tarantino kept the only copy of the third act of the script in a safe to prevent it from being prematurely released.[67] DiCaprio and Pitt were the only two people who read the entire script.[68] In an interview with Adam Sandler, Pitt revealed that the only other copy of the script was burned by Tarantino.[69]

On July 11, 2017, it was announced that Quentin Tarantino's next film would be about the Manson murders. Harvey and Bob Weinstein would be involved, but it was not known whether The Weinstein Company would distribute the film, as Tarantino sought to cast before sending out a package to studios. Tarantino approached Brad Pitt and Jennifer Lawrence to star in the film. It was reported that Margot Robbie was being considered for Sharon Tate.[70] Samuel L. Jackson was in talks for a major role, and Pitt was in talks for the detective investigating the murders.[71]

After the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, Tarantino cut ties with Weinstein and sought a new distributor, after having worked with Weinstein for his entire career. At this point, Leonardo DiCaprio was revealed to be among a short list of actors Tarantino was considering for the film.[72] A short time later, reports circulated that studios were bidding for the film set in Los Angeles in the late 1960s, that Tom Cruise was in talks for one of the leads, and that David Heyman had joined as a producer, along with Tarantino and Shannon McIntosh.[73] Tarantino later revealed the role Cruise was considered for to be that of Cliff Booth.[74]

On November 11, 2017, Sony Pictures announced they would distribute the film, beating Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Annapurna Pictures and Lionsgate.[75] Tarantino's demands included a $95 million budget, final cut privilege, "extraordinary creative controls", 25% of first-dollar gross,[76] and the stipulation that the rights revert to him after 10 to 20 years.[76]

The main stars of the film, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, and Leonardo DiCaprio

In January 2018, DiCaprio signed on, taking a pay cut to collaborate with Tarantino again.[77][78] Al Pacino was being considered for a role.[79] On February 28, 2018, the film was titled Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, with Pitt cast in the role Cruise was also up for.[80] DiCaprio and Pitt were each paid $10 million.[81] In March 2018, Robbie, who had expressed interest in working with Tarantino,[82] signed to co-star as Sharon Tate, while Zoë Bell confirmed she would appear.[83][84][85] In April 2018, Jessica Lange was in talks to play Mary Alice Schwarzs, but dropped out and Brenda Vaccaro replaced her. In May 2018, Burt Reynolds, Tim Roth, Kurt Russell, and Michael Madsen joined the cast.[86] Timothy Olyphant was also cast.[87] In June 2018, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, Clifton Collins Jr., Keith Jefferson, Nicholas Hammond, Pacino, and Scoot McNairy joined the cast.[88][89][90] Spencer Garrett, James Remar, Brenda Vaccaro, and Mike Moh were announced in July.[91] In August 2018, Damon Herriman as Charles Manson, and Lena Dunham, Austin Butler, Danny Strong, Rafał Zawierucha, Rumer Willis, Dreama Walker, and Margaret Qualley were cast.[92][93][94][95]

When casting the leads, Tarantino invited Pitt, DiCaprio, and Robbie to his house to read the only copy of the full script, to prevent leaks. When Butler first auditioned for the film, he was not aware of which character he was being considered for. Tarantino told him it was for a villain or a hero on Lancer, when in fact it was for "Tex" Watson. To prepare for her audition, Maya Hawke practiced with her father, Ethan Hawke. She stated, "He (Tarantino) actually organized a really amazing callback process that was unlike anything I've ever been through... except maybe auditioning for drama school." Willis auditioned for two roles, neither of which she got, but was later offered the part of Joanna Pettet. Sydney Sweeney said everyone she auditioned with did so for the same character, then were told they could do extra credit. Some did artwork, and she wrote a letter in character. Julia Butters says her sitcom American Housewife was on while Tarantino was writing her character, Trudi Fraser. He looked up and said, "Maybe she can try this."[96] Charlie Day was the producers' first choice to play Manson. Day did not show up to interview for the part because he did not want to see himself as Manson.[97] Macaulay Culkin auditioned for an undisclosed role. It was his first audition in eight years.[98]

With the death of Burt Reynolds (left), the role of George Spahn was recast with Bruce Dern.

Principal photography began on June 18, 2018, in Los Angeles, California, and wrapped on November 1, 2018.[99][100] Reynolds died in September 2018 before filming any of his scenes; Bruce Dern was cast as George Spahn in his place.[50]

Tarantino's directive was to turn Los Angeles of 2018 into Los Angeles of 1969 without CGI.[101] For this, Tarantino tapped into previous collaborators for production: editor Fred Raskin, cinematographer Robert Richardson, sound editor Wylie Stateman and makeup artist Heba Thorisdottir. He also brought first-time collaborators, production designer Barbara Ling, based on her work in recreating historical settings in The Doors, and costume designer Arianne Phillips, who had a strong client list to her name including Tom Ford, James Mangold and Madonna.[102] Despite the director's intent, the production wound up using more than 75 digital visual effects shots by Luma Pictures and Lola VFX, mainly to cover up modern billboards and erasing non-1960s buildings from driving shots.[103]

To film at the Pussycat Theater, production designer Barbara Ling and her team covered the building's LED signage and reattached the theater's iconic logo, rebuilding the letters and neon. Ling said the lettering on every marquee in the film is historically accurate. To restore Larry Edmund's Bookshop, she reproduced the original storefront sign and tracked down period-appropriate merchandise, even recreating book covers. For the Bruin and Fox Village theaters Ling's team restored the theaters, their marquees, and the storefronts around them. Stan's Donuts, across the street from the Bruin, got a complete makeover.[101]

There was a lengthy negotiation period to secure permission to film at the Playboy Mansion.

The Playboy Mansion scene was shot at the actual mansion.[104][105][106] Tarantino was adamant about filming at that location, but it took a long time to obtain permission since by the time of pre-production the mansion had been sold to a private owner following Hugh Hefner's death. Tarantino and Ling met with the new owner to discuss the parts of the property which they wanted to use, but he was reluctant since the property was in the middle of a renovation. After long negotiations he agreed, and Ling was able to dress the vacant mansion, front courtyard, and backyard for the party scene, evoking as much of the 1960s appearance of the mansion as possible.[104]

The scenes involving the Tate–Polanski house were not filmed at Cielo Drive, the winding street where the 3,200 square-foot house once stood. The original house was razed in 1994 and replaced with a mansion nearly six-times the size. Scenes involving the Tate-Polanski house were filmed at three different locations around Los Angeles: one for the interior scenes, one for the scenes showing the exterior of the old house, and a Universal City location for the many scenes depicting the iconic cul-de-sac driveway.[107]

For Bounty Law, Ling went for a dusty, dirty, early Deadwood look. Movie poster artist Steven Chorney created the poster for the film, as a reference to The Mod Squad.[105] He also created the posters for Nebraska Jim, Operation Dyn-O-Mite, Uccidimi Subito Ringo Disse il Gringo, Hell-Fire Texas, and Comanche Uprising, which was reprinted for Dalton's home parking spot.[105] Mad magazine caricaturist Tom Richmond created the covers of Mad and TV Guide featuring Dalton's Jake Cahill.[106] Spahn Ranch was recreated in detail over about a three-month period.[104]

Tarantino told cinematographer Robert Richardson, "I want [it] to feel retro but I want [it] to be contemporary." Richardson shot in Kodak 35mm with Panavision cameras and lenses, in order to weave time periods. For Bounty Law they shot in black and white, and brief sequences in Super 8 and 16mm Ektachrome. In the film, Lancer was shot on a retrofitted Western Street backlot at Universal Studios, designed by Ling. Richardson crossed Lancer with Alias Smith and Jones for the retro-future look Tarantino wanted. The way they filmed Lancer was not possible in 1969, but Tarantino wanted his personal touch on it. Richardson said that filming the movie touched him personally, "The film speaks to all of us... We are all fragile beings with a limited time to achieve whatever it is we desire... that at any moment that place will shift... So take stock in life and have the courage to believe in yourself."[104][108] To improve the use of practical effects, actor Leonardo DiCaprio was allowed to light actual stunt coordinators on fire while shooting scenes with a flamethrower.[109]

The exterior of the Van Nuys Drive-in Theater scene was filmed at the Paramount Drive-in Theater since the Van Nuys Drive-in Theater no longer exists.[110] As the camera rises up over the theater, the shot transitions to a miniature set with toy cars.[111] For some of the driving scenes, Los Angeles freeways were shut down for hours in order to fill them with vintage cars.[112]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[113]
Pitchfork	7.7/10[114]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is also the name of the soundtrack. Pitchfork said the music was "a highlight" and an "oft-disquieting mixtape of golden-age rock n' roll, radio DJ patter, and period-specific commercials."[114][115]

Other songs in the film include "The Letter" by Joe Cocker, "Summertime" by Billy Stewart, "Victorville Blues" by The Harley Hatcher Combo, "Ready for Action" by Syd Dale, "Funky Fanfare" by Keith Mansfield, "The House That Jack Built" by Aretha Franklin, "Time for Livin'" by The Association, "I Can't Turn You Loose" by Otis Redding, "Soul Serenade" by Willie Mitchell, "Out of Time" by the Rolling Stones, "Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon)" by the Mamas and the Papas, "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron" by The Royal Guardsmen, "Straight Shooter" by the Mamas and the Papas, also performed by Samantha Robinson as Abigail Folger, and "The Green Door" performed by Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton.[128][129]

Music by Bernard Herrmann created for Torn Curtain is used in the Spahn Ranch scene.[130] Herrman's music from that film included in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is "The Killing", and "The Radiogram". Other music of his used is "The Rocks", and "The Return" (from Have Gun Will Travel). Also used are the themes from Hell River by Vojislav Borisavljevic, Against a Crooked Sky by Alexis de Azevedo, Apocalypse Joe by Bruno Nicolai, and Mannix by Lalo Schifrin. Also, "Paxton Quigley's Had the Course" (from Three in the Attic), "The Bed" by Ennio Morricone (from Danger: Diabolik), "Ecce Homo" (from Sartana Does Not Forgive) and "Mexican Western" (from Any Gun Can Play) by Francesco De Masi, "Cooler" by Elmer Bernstein (from The Great Escape), "Freya Bangs", "Freya", "Karate Dance", and "TV Screen" (from The Wrecking Crew), "Theme from It's Happening" by Paul Revere & the Raiders, "Dalton Gang Ride Entrance" performed by Tom Slocum, John Bird, and the Cattle Annie Band (from Cattle Annie and Little Britches), the "Batman Theme" (from Batman), the "FBI Theme and Score Cues" (from The F.B.I.), and "Miss Lilly Langtry" and "Judge Roy Bean's Theme" by Maurice Jarre (from The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean).[129]

The film was released through digital retailers on November 22, 2019, and on Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD, and DVD on December 10. The 4K version is available as a regular version and collector's edition.[140] In April 2020 Media Play News magazine announced Once Upon a Time in Hollywood earned Title of the Year and Best Theatrical Home release in the 10th annual Home Media Awards.[141] Both the DVD and Blu-ray contain a deleted scene, in which Charles Manson confronts Paul Barabuta, portrayed by Danny Strong, the homeowner and caretaker of the Tate-Polanski residence. Barabuta is based on the home's owner, Rudolph Altobelli and caretaker, William Garretson.[48][142]

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood grossed $142.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $231.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $374.3 million.[4] By some estimates, the film needed to gross around $250 million worldwide in order to break-even,[143] with others estimating it would need to make $400 million in order to turn a profit.[144]

In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $30–40 million from 3,659 theaters in its opening weekend, with some projections having it as high as $50 million or as low as $25 million.[145][146] The week of its release, Fandango reported the film was the highest pre-seller of any Tarantino film.[147] The film made $16.9 million on its first day, including $5.8 million from Thursday night previews (the highest total of Tarantino's career). It went on to debut to $41.1 million, finishing second behind holdover The Lion King and marking Tarantino's largest opening. Comscore reported that 47% of audience members went to see the film because of who the director was (compared to the typical 7%) and 37% went because of the cast (compared to normally 18%).[3] The film grossed $20 million in its second weekend, representing a "nice" drop of just 51% and finishing third, and then made $11.6 million and $7.6 million the subsequent weekends.[148][149][150] In its fifth weekend the film made $5 million, bringing its running domestic total to $123.1 million, becoming the second-highest of Tarantino's career behind Django Unchained.[151] In its ninth weekend, its global total earnings reached $329.4 million, surpassing Inglourious Basterds to become Tarantino's second-highest global grosser behind Django Unchained.[152]

Brad Pitt's performance received critical praise, winning him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 561 reviews, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thrillingly unrestrained yet solidly crafted, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tempers Tarantino's provocative impulses with the clarity of a mature filmmaker's vision."[153] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 62 critics, indicating "universal acclaim."[154] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average of 4 out of 5 stars and a 58% "definite recommend."[3]

The Hollywood Reporter said critics had "an overall positive view," with some calling it "Tarantino's love letter to '60s L.A.," praising its cast and setting, while others were "divided on its ending."[155] ReelViews' James Berardinelli awarded the film 3.5 stars out of 4, saying it was "made by a movie-lover for movie-lovers. And even those who don't qualify may still enjoy the hell out of it."[156] RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico gave it four out of four stars, calling it "layered and ambitious, the product of a confident filmmaker working with collaborators completely in tune with his vision".[157] The Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper described it as "a brilliant and sometimes outrageously fantastic mash-up of real-life events and characters with pure fiction," giving it full marks.[158] Writing for Variety, Owen Gleiberman called it a "heady engrossing collage of a film—but not, in the end, a masterpiece."[159]

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it five out of five stars, praising Pitt and DiCaprio's performances and calling it "Tarantino's dazzling LA redemption song."[160] Steve Pond of TheWrap said: "Big, brash, ridiculous, too long, and in the end invigorating, the film is a grand playground for its director to fetishize old pop culture and bring his gleeful perversity to the craft of moviemaking."[161] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone awarded the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, remarking that "All the actors, in roles large and small, bring their A games to the film. Two hours and 40 minutes can feel long for some. I wouldn't change a frame."[162]

Katie Rife of The A.V. Club gave it a B+, calling it Tarantino's "wistful midlife crisis movie."[163] Richard Brody of The New Yorker called it an "obscenely regressive vision of the sixties" that "celebrates white-male stardom (and behind-the-scenes command) at the expense of everyone else."[164] In Little White Lies, Christopher Hooton described it as "occasionally tedious" but "constantly awe-inspiring," noting it did not seem to be a "love letter to Hollywood" but an "obituary for a moment in culture that looks unlikely to ever be resurrected."[165]

The film also garnered moral and theological praise. A Los Angeles Catholic bishop, Robert Barron, praised the character of Cliff Booth as embodying the four cardinal virtues,[166] while the theologian David Bentley Hart wrote that the film "exhibit[s] a genuine ethical pathos, one that actually brought tears to my eyes" for its portrayal of "cosmic justice." Specifically, Hart praised the revisionism when "Tarantino's version of the story unexpectedly veered away into some other, dreamlike, better world, where the monsters inadvertently passed through the wrong door and met the end they deserved" that "gave glorious expression to a perfectly righteous rage" in "some other order of reality, if only an imaginary one, where ethereal sweetness had survived and horror had perished."[167]

The film premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Palm Dog Award and was nominated for the Palme d'Or.[168][169] The film received 10 nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Director.[170] It received five nominations at the 77th Golden Globe Awards, winning for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay for Quentin Tarantino, and Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Brad Pitt.[171][172] It received twelve nominations at the 25th Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Tarantino, Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio, and Best Supporting Actor for Pitt.[173] DiCaprio and Pitt also received nominations at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards where it was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture.[174] The National Board of Review included the film as one of the top 10 films of the year and awarded Tarantino Best Director and Pitt Best Supporting Actor.[175] The American Film Institute included it as one of the top 10 films of 2019.[176]

On August 5, 2019, it was reported that a four-hour cut of the film may be coming to Netflix.[177] On January 3, 2020, Collider confirmed the statement in an interview with Quentin Tarantino, revealing the extended-cut of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood would probably be available in approximately one year.[178]

Tarantino has expressed interest in creating a Bounty Law television series based on five half-hour scripts he wrote in preparation for the film. If so, he plans on writing three more episodes,[45] hoping to cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Jake Cahill, the lead.[179] The series would be shot in black and white and follow the half-hour format of Western television shows from the 1950s.[180] Scenes from the episodes already written appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Tarantino plans on directing all episodes of the series.[181]

In November 2020, Tarantino signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins. The first book he will write is a novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It is scheduled for release in summer 2021.[182]

Cliff Booth is a reference to Brad Pitt's character in Inglourious Basterds, Aldo Raine, who takes the cover of a stuntman.[183] When Dalton and Booth get back from Italy they walk by the blue mosaic wall in LAX, the same wall that the title character in Tarantino's Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) moves past in the opening credits of that film.[189]

In the film, Bruce Lee engages in a fight with Cliff Booth on the set of The Green Hornet.[189][190] The Green Hornet theme song is featured in Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1.[189] The masks worn by the Crazy 88 gang in that film are the same as Lee's mask as Kato in The Green Hornet.[191] The car Booth drives is a 1964 blue Volkswagen Karmann Ghia convertible. It is the same year, color, make and model of the car that Beatrix "the Bride" Kiddo (Uma Thurman) drives in Kill Bill: Volume 2.[192] Similarly, Rick Dalton's 1966 Cadillac de Ville is the same exact car driven by Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) in Reservoir Dogs. It is owned by Madsen.[187]

Real life director Antonio Margheriti is mentioned in the film. His name was also used as an alias for Eli Roth's character in Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. The final scene features Rick Dalton in a commercial for fictional Red Apple cigarettes, which appear in many Tarantino films.[193][183][185][192]

Charles Manson once approached Steve McQueen outside of his Solar Productions office in San Francisco with a script he wrote, in hopes of getting him to produce it. When McQueen turned him down, an altercation happened, in which McQueen broke Manson's nose.[204] On the night of the Tate murders, Jay Sebring invited McQueen over to Tate's house; however, his date wanted to stay in.[205] After the murders, it was reported that police found a Manson Family hit list with McQueen's name listed amongst others such as Tom Jones and Frank Sinatra.[206]

Bobby Beausoleil was a musician, actor, and porn star. He appeared in the documentary film Mondo Hollywood, also featuring Sebring. Catherine Share met Beausoleil on the set of the softcore porn film Ramrodder. Beausoleil introduced Share to Manson.[207] Susan Atkins met Manson in San Francisco, where she had worked as an actress, portraying a vampire on Anton LaVey's Witches Sabbath Club Show.[208] LaVey appeared with Beausoleil in Lucifer Rising,[209] and claimed to have been a consultant on, as well as appearing as the Devil in Polanski's Rosemary's Baby.[210][211]

Bruce Lee, portrayed in the film by Mike Moh. Moh's portrayal was criticized by some for being offensive and inaccurate.

The film's depiction of Bruce Lee drew criticism. Fans and contemporaries of Lee criticized the portrayal, with Lee's daughter Shannon describing the depiction as "an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air".[212][213] Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with whom Lee trained and appeared in Game of Death, stated: "Of course, Tarantino has the artistic right to portray Bruce any way he wants. But to do so in such a sloppy and somewhat racist way is a failure both as an artist and as a human being."[214]

Mike Moh, who played Lee, said he was conflicted at first: "Bruce in my mind was literally a god. ... Bruce didn't always have the most affection for stuntmen; he didn't respect all of them."[215] He stated, "Tarantino loves Bruce Lee; he reveres him."[216] Brad Pitt objected to an extended version of the fight, stating, "It's Bruce Lee, man!" according to stunt coordinator Robert Alonzo.[217][218] According to Lee's friend and The Green Hornet stuntman Gene LeBell, Lee had a reputation for "kicking the shit out of the stuntmen. They couldn't convince him that he could go easy and it would still look great on film."[24] Lee biographer Matthew Polly stated, "Bruce was very famous for being very considerate of the people below him on film sets, particularly the stuntmen... So in this scene, Bruce Lee is essentially calling out a stuntman and getting him fired because he's the big star."[190]

Tarantino responded, saying Lee was "kind of an arrogant guy," and that Lee's widow Linda wrote in Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew that he could beat Muhammad Ali.[213] She wrote, "Even the most scathing critics admitted that Bruce's Gungfu was sensational. One critic wrote, 'Those who watched him would bet on Lee to render Cassius Clay (Ali) senseless if they were put in a room and told anything goes.'"[219][220] In 1972, Lee himself stated: "Everybody says I must fight Ali some day. ... Look at my hand. That's a little Chinese hand. He'd kill me."[221]

Tarantino gave an early script to a representative of Roman Polanski, Tate's husband, to assure him that "he didn't have anything to worry about". Tarantino stated: "When it comes to Polanski, we're talking about a tragedy that would be unfathomable for most human beings."[222]

Debra Tate, Sharon's sister, initially opposed the film, saying it was exploitative and perpetuated mistruths: "To celebrate the killers and the darkest portion of society as being sexy or acceptable in any way, shape or form is just perpetuating the worst of our society." After Tarantino contacted her and showed her the script, she withdrew her opposition, saying: "This movie is not what people would expect it to be when you combine the Tarantino and Manson names." She felt that Tarantino was a "very stand-up guy"; after visiting the set, she was impressed by Robbie and lent her some of Sharon's jewelry and perfume to wear in the film.[223]

After the premiere, a journalist mentioned to Tarantino that Robbie had few lines. Tarantino responded, "I reject your hypothesis." Robbie elaborated, "I think the moments on screen show those wonderful sides of [Tate] could be adequately done without speaking."[224][225] Tarantino said, "I thought it would both be touching and pleasurable and also sad and melancholy to just spend a little time with [Tate], just existing... I wanted you to see Sharon a lot."[45]

Charles Manson was convicted of the murders of Tate and four others, despite not being present, due mostly to a theory presented by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi that Manson was trying to instigate an apocalyptic race war, leaving only Black Muslims and the Family. According to the theory, the Black Muslims would eventually look to Manson and the Family to lead them. According to members of the Family, Manson referred to the race war as Helter Skelter, getting the name from the song of the same name.[52][226] Musician and filmmaker Boots Riley criticized Tarantino's film for not portraying Bugliosi's Helter Skelter narrative, or depicting the Family as white supremacists.[227]

According to numerous members of The Family, the Tate-Labianca murders were not perpetrated in order to start Helter Skelter, but as copycat murders mirroring that of Gary Hinman, in an attempt to convince police the killer was still at large. Bobby Beausoleil was in jail, charged with Hinman's murder. The Family attempted to get him released.[228] According to Jay Sebring's protege and business partner Jim Markham, the murders were instigated by a drug deal gone bad, not a race war. He believed Manson was at Tate's house the day before the murders to sell drugs to Sebring and Voytek Frykowski, which resulted in the two beating Manson up.[229] In his interview with Truman Capote, Beausoleil said, "They burned people on dope deals. Sharon Tate and that gang."[230]