Gangs of New York (2002)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers (WGA):

Jay Cocks (story)
Jay Cocks (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 December 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History

Tagline:

America Was Born In The Streets.

Plot:

In 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.

Plot Keywords:

Butcher | New York City | Revenge | Pickpocket | Army

Awards:

Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 59 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Amsterdam Vallon
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting
Cameron Diaz	...	Jenny Everdeane
Jim Broadbent	...	William 'Boss' Tweed
John C. Reilly	...	Happy Jack Mulraney
Henry Thomas	...	Johnny Sirocco
Liam Neeson	...	'Priest' Vallon
Brendan Gleeson	...	Walter 'Monk' McGinn
Gary Lewis	...	McGloin
Stephen Graham	...	Shang
Eddie Marsan	...	Killoran
Alec McCowen	...	Reverend Raleigh (as Alec Mccowen)
David Hemmings	...	Mr. Schermerhorn
Larry Gilliard Jr.	...	Jimmy Spoils
Cara Seymour	...	Hell-Cat Maggie

MPAA:

Rated R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language.

Runtime:

167 min

Country:

USA | Italy

Language:

English | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #39927) | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Brazil:18 | New Zealand:R16 | India:A | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:PG | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (uncut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:18 | Greece:K-17

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Martin Scorsese]the wealthy man at the head of the table being "turtledoved" by Jenny (look for the big eyebrows)

Goofs:

Continuity: Just before the draft rioters break into the Schermerhorn house, as the family is sits down to eat, large celadon vases are visible in the dining room windows that overlook the street. Moments later, when the rioters smash through the windows, the vases have disappeared.

Quotes:

Boss Tweed: You're a good one for the fighting, Bill. But you can't fight forever.
Bill: I can go down doing it.
Boss Tweed: And you will!
Bill: What did you say?
Boss Tweed: I said, you're turning your back on the future.
Bill: Not our future.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Dan Aykroyd/Beyonce (#28.20)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Paddy's Lamentation

The Blood Stays on the Knife

"Gangs of New York" takes us back to a time when America was a young country and New York was divided. Those who felt they were "native" Americans did not want immigrants to enter their great country, spawning hatred between groups all over the city where many of them landed. In the story we see how much of the town is run by one man, with William Cutting ("Bill the Butcher," played marvelously by Daniel Day-Lewis) being the most feared and well-respected man of the "five Points."

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Amsterdam Vallon, who as a boy watched Bill the Butcher kill his father in one of the Points' great battles. Now a grown man, he returns to the Points to find Bill pretty much running the show. He gets on Bill's good side and eventually becomes his number one man, all the while still plotting for his father's revenge.

While there is a lot of gratuitous violence and gore, the film does an excellent job portraying life as it was in New York. You can be sucked in to the time of the movie, and even though the setting is much before our time you don't need a textbook to understand how things were run and what life was like.

I've never been a big DiCaprio fan, but his effort here (along with his performance from "Catch Me If You Can") have made my opinion start to waver a little. He is good as Amsterdam, and believable in his actions and expressions. Daniel Day-Lewis is simply phenomenal as Bill the Butcher and really should have won the Best Actor Oscar. Overall, I feel this was the best film of 2002 and really was robbed at the Academy Awards.

8 out of 10.