GANGS OF NEW YORK

Scorsese has once again delivered an epic and a masterpiece. DiCaprio is good. Diaz is better and Day-Lewis absolutely struts his stuff in a masterful performance


Click for full sized poster

Gangs of New York

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
Screenplay by Jay Cocks and Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Martin Scorcese
website: www.gangsofnewyork.com


IN SHORT: Epic in every way. [Rated R for Intense strong violence, Sexuality/nudity and Language. 168 minutes]

Four corners is the place in our country where the edges of four states come together in perfect symmetry. Back in the mid-1800s, when the bustle of New York City didn't extend much past 14th Street (Brooklyn was an independent city and Harlem was the suburbs) the intersection of Mulberry and Worth and Cross and Orange and Little Water streets formed what was called Five Points, a nasty little place dominated by local gangs, political bosses and the conflicting jurisdictions of various police and fire departments. Welcome to the wild, wild East.

Based on or inspired by the 1928 book by Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York may not be historically accurate enough for fanatical history buffs but, as we used to say in one of our past careers, it's close enough for rock 'n' roll. We're not history buffs, but we were aware of the Civil War Draft Riots -- essentially the northernmost battle fought during the Civil War -- and of the gangs that ran rampant through New York City in the mid to late 1800s. Despite the razzle dazzle names which fly at you in the first scene of Martin Scorsese's film -- we'll get to the stomach turning violence later -- many gangs took their names from their neighborhood or street, and those particular names are still with us today, even if memory of the gangs, or the streets that inspired the names, are not.

It is a fine thing to think of New York City as always having been the urban metropolis that it has been for most of the last century, but it just isn't so. New York in 1862 and 1863 was a politically fractured place where independent fire and police companies battled each other for turf; Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent) and the political mega-power of Tammany Hall swapped soup for votes and ran the political structure of the city; gang bosses like Bill "the Butcher" Cutter (Daniel Day-Lewis) took their piece of every illegal operation around -- and had fingers into all the legal stuff as well. The New York we see in this film is as lawless and dangerous as any town in the frontier West. The self-proclaimed "natives," descended from original Dutch settlers, battle it out with hordes of Irish immigrants fleeing famine. The natives control the streets. The poor Irish live in tunnels beneath those streets.. The rich folk lived up on Fifth Avenue, south of the in-construction Central Park or way up north in the suburb of Harlem. Brooklyn was an independent city that wouldn't link to Manhattan Island until late in the century.

The one battle that stands in "the Butcher's" memory as his greatest was against the Dead Rabbits Gang, led Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson). The Butcher believes that The Priest was the one foe who had standards and beliefs as high and solid as his own. The fifteen years since that epic battle have seen a lot of smaller fights for control of the territory, but nothing that brings any pride to this Boss. Even his terms for keeping his gang "pure native" have started to slide. Here and there, and occasional Irishman will join the gang. Some Irish have found corruptive jobs in the government -- Happy Jack (John C. Reilly) of the Rabbits is now a constable. Some, like enforcer turned barber Monk McGinn (Brendan Gleeson), take the highest offer. And dontcha just know that the lad at The Butcher's side, his growing right hand man and son that he never had, is a native Irishman called "Amsterdam" (Leonardo DiCaprio)? Surely times are changing!

One small thing The Butcher doesn't know: Amsterdam's last name is Vallone. You figure it out.

Amsterdam's eye has fallen upon Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), a bludget who is also the apple of another man's eye (Henry Thomas as Johnny, a "native" who arranges Amsterdam's place in the gang). Scorsese's Gangs is thick with dialog as dead and buried as the principals, real or imagined -- a "bludget" is a female pickpocket -- and at times DiCaprio's voice narrates explanations for what has been said or descriptions of what is being seen on screen. It toes the line at "history lesson" but provides enough information that we didn't feel like a stranger in a strange land.

Be warned, though, that the language gets thick and the weaponry tends to lean towards sharp slicing and pointy things rather than pistols. We've all become so blase about gun violence that, once you take the boom out of the picture, the stomach may roll. That aside, Scorsese has once again delivered an epic and a masterpiece. DiCaprio is good. Diaz is better and Day-Lewis absolutely struts his stuff in a masterful performance that damned well better get him noticed at Oscar time --



Gangs of New York
"Oh yeah, that was terrible"
Louise Block
(Exit Poll)




Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
"...a fever-sprawl of a movie, a melting-pot panorama, brought to full boil." more...

BBC
Nev Pierce
"...both astounds and enthrals..." more...

Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
"It is very good but not great." more...

Chicago Tribune
Michael Wilmington
"...definitely the work of a master." more...

Cincinnati Enquirer
Margaret A. McGurk
"...a work of harsh and fearless artistry from a master at the top of his form." more...

E! Online
"...wavers between being about the big picture and a character study--only to get lost like so many huddled masses." more...

filmcritic.com
Sean O'Connell
"...magnificent..." more...

Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
"Astonishing and audacious, the film certainly creates a kind of perverse beauty and excitement out of its horrors." more...

Los Angeles Times
Kenneth Turan
"It has not been worth the wait." more...

New York Post
Jonathan Foreman
"Though never dull and often visually beautiful, this work of operatic sweep doesn't fulfill its own ambitions." more...

New York Times
A.O. Scott
"...a near-great movie." more...NO. A GREAT MOVIE MR. SCOTT. A GREAT MOVIE. AS GOOD AS A MOVIE CAN BE AT LESS THAN FIFTEEN HOURS.




Rolling Stone
Peter Travers
"...something better than perfect: It's thrillingly alive." more...

San Francisco Chronicle
Mick LaSalle
"Though big in size, Gangs isn't big in ideas." more...


Seattle Post-Intelligencer
William Arnold
"It doesn't come together to tell a coherent story that leaves us with an emotion higher than disgust at its violence." more...

USA Today
Mike Clark
"If Martin Scorsese's staggeringly ambitious one-of-a-kind finally has too many flaws to be great, it has as much greatness in it as any movie this year." more...






Scorsese has once again delivered an epic and a masterpiece. DiCaprio is good.
Diaz is better and Day-Lewis absolutely struts his stuff in a masterful performance




The Five Points area wasn’t always a place of squalor. In 1798, Collect Pond was a picturesque spot and the source of New York City’s water supply. But by the early 19th century, tanneries using the pond to process leather goods had so profoundly polluted it that the Common Council ordered the pond drained in 1808. (Tannery workers in the Pearl Street area of Five Points left behind tools of their trade which archeologists discovered in 1991.)


Approximately twelve years after Collect Pond had been filled in, the land began to sink. As the area became increasingly run down, it was known as one of the worst places in New York City. Visitors from abroad, like Charles Dickens, often asked to see the area firsthand since they had heard so much about it in their own countries.
Click for full sized poster

in Five Points was difficult, archeological digs have unearthed evidence of legitimate businesses. Fencing operations, which were “shops for the reception and purchase of stolen goods,” were not the only business establishments in the area’s slums. Five Points was always a mixed residential, industrial and commercial neighborhood. Retail shops prospered along Chatham Street (now called Park Row).



Gangs of New York

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz
Screenplay by Jay Cocks and Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Martin Scorcese.

RESEARCH SITES


LIFE IN FIVE POINTS FIVE POINTS . THE BOWERY
website: 6. THE IRISH ARRIVE7. GANGS AND TAMMANY HALL9. BILL THE BUTCHERwww.gangsofnewyork.com10. MURDER OF BILL THE BUTCHER11. MONK EASTMAN AND JOHNNY SIROCCO12. 1863 DRAFT LAW 8. DEAD RABBITS vs. THE BOWERY BOYS13. 1863 15. MORE HISTORICAL FACTSDRAFT RIOTS

Organized in 1789, theSociety of Saint Tammany (initially created for patriotic and social purposes) had become wedded to New York City politics. Using a blend of charity and patronage, Tammany members initially helped displaced persons to find jobs and a place to live. They also helped foreigners become U.S. citizens. But during the Civil War, after William March Tweed became leader of the Tammany Club (in 1860) and chairman of the New York County Democratic Party, Tammany Hall was marred by graft and corruption. Between 1865 and 1871, crooked politicians swindled an estimated $75 million (that’s approximately $816,588,890 in today’s dollars) from New York City.



As Tammany Hall degenerated into a power-hungry greed machine, its members looked to local gangs as "enforcers." Intent on having their favored candidates win elections, Tammany politicians dispatched gang members to polling places. Even though they intimidated tenement dwellers from places like "Rag Picker's Corner" and "Bottle Alley" to vote for Tammany-backed candidates, gangs were neither arrested nor prosecuted.
De anti-fo'eign, anti-Cadolic, and anti-immigrant "Native American" political party wuz fo'med in 1843. (At da damn time, de phrase “Native American” referred t'sucka's bo'n in de U.S. and NOT t'de indigenous sucka's uh de country. Slap mah fro!) William Poole (de basis fo' de characta' “William Cuttin'” in de movie) wuz some memba' of de New Yo'k branch uh dat o'ganizashun (which wuz often called da damn "Know Nodin'" Party). He wuz also de haid uh his own West Side gang. What it is, Mama! De Native Americans used Poole as deir chief “enfo'cer. Ah be baaad...” As some butcha' in real life, Poole (wieldin' de knife uh his trade) could accurately hit some target fum 20 feet. Man! He had served an “apprenticeship” wid de Bowery Boys, wuz knode t'gouge out da damn eyes uh his foes, stood mo'e dan six feet and weighed mo'e dan 200 pounds. He, and members uh his gang, had special jobs t'do fo' de Nativists on elecshun days, dig dis: commandea' votes. It be said dat dey stood outside pollin' places wid bludgeons in deir hands. Sometimes dey fo'ced sucka's t'vote mo'e dan once. Dey sought t'elect kindun didates who would guard against "fo'eigners" digtin' jobs dey recon'd should go t'native-bo'n Americans. De Irish-immigrant gangs uh Five Points, who owed THEIR allegiance t'de Democrats uh Tammany Hall, wuz afraid uh Poole. Even de Wasted Rabbits (whose chief “slugger” carried some wasted rabbit

The anti-foreign, anti-Catholic, and anti-immigrant "Native American" political party was formed in 1843. (At the time, the phrase “Native American” referred to people born in the U.S. and NOT to the indigenous people of the country.) William Poole (the basis for the character “William Cutting” in the movie) was a member of the New York branch of that organization (which was often called the "Know Nothing" Party). He was also the head of his own West Side gang.


The Native Americans used Poole as their chief “enforcer.” As a butcher in real life, Poole (wielding the knife of his trade) could accurately hit a target from 20 feet. He had served an “apprenticeship” with the Bowery Boys, was known to gouge out the eyes of his foes, stood more than six feet and weighed more than 200 pounds.

He, and members of his gang, had special jobs to do for the Nativists on election days: commandeer votes. It is said that they stood outside polling places with bludgeons in their hands. Sometimes they forced people to vote more than once. They sought to elect candidates who would guard against "foreigners" getting jobs they believed should go to native-born Americans.



IN SHORT: Epic in every way. [Rated R for Intense strong violence, Sexuality/nudity and Language. 168 minutes]

Four corners is the place in our country where the edges of four states come together in perfect symmetry. Back in the mid-1800s,
when the bustle of New York City didn't extend much past 14th Street (Brooklyn was an independent city and Harlem was the
suburbs) the intersection of Mulberry and Worth and Cross and Orange and Little Water streets formed what was called Five Points,
a nasty little place dominated by local gangs, political bosses and the conflicting jurisdictions of various police and fire departments.
Welcome to the wild, wild East.

Based on or inspired by the 1928 book by Herbert Asbury, The Gangs of New York may not be historically accurate enough for
fanatical history buffs but, as we used to say in one of our past careers, it's close enough for rock 'n' roll. We're not history buffs,
but we were aware of the Civil War Draft Riots -- essentially the northernmost battle fought during the Civil War -- and of the
gangs that ran rampant through New York City in the mid to late 1800s. Despite the razzle dazzle names which fly at you in the
first scene of Martin Scorsese's film -- we'll get to the stomach turning violence later -- many gangs took their names from their
neighborhood or street, and those particular names are still with us today, even if memory of the gangs, or the streets that inspired
the names, are not.

It is a fine thing to think of New York City as always having been the urban metropolis that it has been for most of the last century,
but it just isn't so. New York in 1862 and 1863 was a politically fractured place where independent fire and police companies
battled each other for turf; Boss Tweed (Jim Broadbent) and the political mega-power of Tammany Hall swapped soup for
votes and ran the political structure of the city; gang bosses like Bill "the Butcher" Cutter (Daniel Day-Lewis) took their piece
of every illegal operation around -- and had fingers into all the legal stuff as well. The New York we see in this film is as lawless
and dangerous as any town in the frontier West. The self-proclaimed "natives," descended from original Dutch settlers, battle it
out with hordes of Irish immigrants fleeing famine. The natives control the streets. The poor Irish live in tunnels beneath those streets..
The rich folk lived up on Fifth Avenue, south of the in-construction Central Park or way up north in the suburb of Harlem. Brooklyn
was an independent city that wouldn't link to Manhattan Island until late in the century.

The one battle that stands in "the Butcher's" memory as his greatest was against the Dead Rabbits Gang, led Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson).
The Butcher believes that The Priest was the one foe who had standards and beliefs as high and solid as his own. The fifteen years since
that epic battle have seen a lot of smaller fights for control of the territory, but nothing that brings any pride to this Boss. Even his terms for
keeping his gang "pure native" have started to slide. Here and there, and occasional Irishman will join the gang. Some Irish have found
corruptive jobs in the government -- Happy Jack (John C. Reilly) of the Rabbits is now a constable. Some, like enforcer turned barber
Monk McGinn (Brendan Gleeson), take the highest offer. And dontcha just know that the lad at The Butcher's side, his growing right
hand man and son that he never had, is a native Irishman called "Amsterdam" (Leonardo DiCaprio)?

Amsterdam's eye has fallen upon Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), a bludget who is also the apple of another man's eye
(Henry Thomas as Johnny, a "native" who arranges Amsterdam's place in the gang). Scorsese's Gangs is thick with dialog as
dead and buried as the principals, real or imagined -- a "bludget" is a female pickpocket -- and at times DiCaprio's voice narrates
explanations for what has been said or descriptions of what is being seen on screen. It toes the line at "history lesson" but provides
enough information that we didn't feel like a stranger in a strange land.