Gangs of New York (2002)

 Starring- Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz, John C. Reilly, Brendon Gleeson, and Liam Neeson.

Directed By- Martin Scorsese. 

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 Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting: "I don't see no Americans. I see trespassers, Irish harps. Do a job for a nickel what a nigger does for a dime and a white man used to get a quarter for. What have they done? Name one thing they've contributed".

Amsterdam Vallon: “And no matter what they did to build this city up again, for the rest of time, it will be like no-one even knew we were ever here.”
True to his words, the last scene shows New York a 100 years later. As if all that the movie showed, never happened! Yet another chapter in history, gone with the wind!


Personally I thought this was too long, particularly melodramatic, the acting wasn't exactly convincing to me; I wasn't taken there, transported into the essence of the story. Far from Scorsese’s best but still a pretty solid film. The movie was nominated for as many as 9 Oscars; though it didn’t get any in the end.
The star-cast boasts of big names like Leonardo DiCaprio & Cameron Diaz but it is Daniel Day-Lewis as gang leader Bill "The Butcher" Cutting in his roles as a crime boss and political kingmaker who steals the limelight & makes all others look like “also rans".


"THE NEW YORK WAS BORN IN THE STREETS", the quote that summed up the entire plot. The film starts deep underground, in winter, humans living deep in the Earth to survive and stay warm. It is the stuff of nightmares. The detail of this film is endless. It can be overwhelming and as such may take several viewings to digest. A masterpiece with the best characters and best actors possible.
The movie ends with the real-life New York Draft Riots of 1863 & its ruthless crushing by the federal forces under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln. It once again reminds you of the remarkable transformation of the United States from a fragmented, lawless society to a great secular, democratic, republic. 

My Rating- 6.5/10
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