Rating: R
Genre:
Epic
Release Date: 07/01/2003
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD5.1/DTS
Run Time: 167 Minutes
Flags: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Miramax
The violent rise of gangland power in New York City at a time of massive political corruption and the city's evolution into a cultural melting pot set the stage for this lavish
historical epic, which director
Martin Scorsese finally brought to the screen almost 30 years after he first began to plan the project. In 1846, as waves of Irish immigrants poured into the New York neighborhood of Five Points, a number of citizens of British and Dutch heritage who were born in the United States began making an open display of their resentment toward the new arrivals.
William Cutting (
Daniel Day-Lewis), better known as "
Bill the Butcher" for his deadly skill with a knife, bands his fellow "Native Americans" into a gang to take on the Irish immigrants; the immigrants in turn form a gang of their own, "The Dead Rabbits," organized by
Priest Vallon (
Liam Neeson). After an especially bloody clash between the Natives and the Rabbits leaves
Vallon dead, his son goes missing; the boy ends up in a brutal reform school before returning to the Five Points in 1862 as
Amsterdam (
Leonardo DiCaprio). Now a strapping adult who has learned how to fight,
Amsterdam has come to seek vengeance against
Bill the Butcher, whose underworld control of the Five Points through violence and intimidation dovetails with the open corruption of New York politician
"Boss" Tweed (
Jim Broadbent).
Amsterdam gradually penetrates
Bill the Butcher's inner circle, and he soon becomes his trusted assistant.
Amsterdam also finds himself falling for
Jenny Everdeane (
Cameron Diaz), a beautiful but street-smart thief who was once involved with
Bill.
Amsterdam is learning a great deal from
Bill, but before he can turn the tables on the man who killed his father,
Amsterdam's true identity is exposed, even though he has concealed it from nearly everyone, including
Jenny.
Gangs Of New York was the first film in two years from actor
Leonardo DiCaprio; ironically, it was at one time scheduled to open on the same day as
Catch Me if You Can, the
Steven Spielberg project that
DiCaprio began filming immediately after
Gangs wrapped.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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