Gangs of New York (2002)
Country: US
Technical: Technicolor/scope 168m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, Alec McCowen, David Hemmings, Liam Neeson, Tim Pigott-Smith
Synopsis:
New York, 1846-62: gangs of 'native' settlers in the Five Points (South Manhattan) fight to repel immigrants who themselves form into gangs, mostly Irish. Against this background the son of the former immigrant leader, the renowned Priest Vallon, returns to avenge himself on his father's killer, Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting, now in the pockets of a corrupt politician.
Review:
The king of New York stories finally films a subject that has long preyed on his mind; the results are fascinating prehistory, like Cimino's Heaven's Gate focusing on the underclasses, but make for muddled drama. The events in the wider world barely seem real to the protagonists, so much a law unto themselves, but with the climactic political riots they are themselves revealed to be no more than a sideshow: the perfect visualization of the extent to which history has overtaken them. The down side is that the structure of the movie growns under the weight of all these concerns, and some of the characters are sketched in to say the least. Indeed it seems the film may have suffered from cutting by the producers, though many bravura scenes showing Scorsese's eye for detail are allowed to run their course, such as the opening walk out to battle (homage to The Wild Bunch?). In the end it is Day-Lewis's film, a barnstorming performance, like Jimmy Cagney playing Bill Sykes.
Country: US
Technical: Technicolor/scope 168m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, Alec McCowen, David Hemmings, Liam Neeson, Tim Pigott-Smith
Synopsis:
New York, 1846-62: gangs of 'native' settlers in the Five Points (South Manhattan) fight to repel immigrants who themselves form into gangs, mostly Irish. Against this background the son of the former immigrant leader, the renowned Priest Vallon, returns to avenge himself on his father's killer, Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting, now in the pockets of a corrupt politician.
Review:
The king of New York stories finally films a subject that has long preyed on his mind; the results are fascinating prehistory, like Cimino's Heaven's Gate focusing on the underclasses, but make for muddled drama. The events in the wider world barely seem real to the protagonists, so much a law unto themselves, but with the climactic political riots they are themselves revealed to be no more than a sideshow: the perfect visualization of the extent to which history has overtaken them. The down side is that the structure of the movie growns under the weight of all these concerns, and some of the characters are sketched in to say the least. Indeed it seems the film may have suffered from cutting by the producers, though many bravura scenes showing Scorsese's eye for detail are allowed to run their course, such as the opening walk out to battle (homage to The Wild Bunch?). In the end it is Day-Lewis's film, a barnstorming performance, like Jimmy Cagney playing Bill Sykes.
Country: US
Technical: Technicolor/scope 168m
Director: Martin Scorsese
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, Alec McCowen, David Hemmings, Liam Neeson, Tim Pigott-Smith
Synopsis:
New York, 1846-62: gangs of 'native' settlers in the Five Points (South Manhattan) fight to repel immigrants who themselves form into gangs, mostly Irish. Against this background the son of the former immigrant leader, the renowned Priest Vallon, returns to avenge himself on his father's killer, Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting, now in the pockets of a corrupt politician.
Review:
The king of New York stories finally films a subject that has long preyed on his mind; the results are fascinating prehistory, like Cimino's Heaven's Gate focusing on the underclasses, but make for muddled drama. The events in the wider world barely seem real to the protagonists, so much a law unto themselves, but with the climactic political riots they are themselves revealed to be no more than a sideshow: the perfect visualization of the extent to which history has overtaken them. The down side is that the structure of the movie growns under the weight of all these concerns, and some of the characters are sketched in to say the least. Indeed it seems the film may have suffered from cutting by the producers, though many bravura scenes showing Scorsese's eye for detail are allowed to run their course, such as the opening walk out to battle (homage to The Wild Bunch?). In the end it is Day-Lewis's film, a barnstorming performance, like Jimmy Cagney playing Bill Sykes.