Gangs of New York

UPC: 786936165371

Studio: Miramax

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Graphic Violence, Nudity, Not For Children, Adult Language, Sexual Situations]

Summary: 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, Rovi

Category: Epic

Awards: Best Actor – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Best Production Design – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Top Ten Movie of the Year – American Film Institute Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture – null Best Supporting Actress – null Best Director – null Best Original Song – null Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Original Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Costume Design – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – National Board of Review Best Actor - Runner-up – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Director – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Actor – Chicago Film Critics Association Best Cinematography – American Society of Cinematographers Best Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Song – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Art Direction – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Song – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Costume design featurette
Set design featurette
History of the five points featurette
Exploring the sets of Gangs of New York with multiple angles utilizing 306 degree shots of the sets
U2 music video The Hands That Built America
DiscoveryChannel special: Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York
Five points study guide: Luc Sante introduction and five points vocabulary
Feature commentary with Martin Scorsese
Theatrical trailer
Teaser trailer
French language track
Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound
DTS 5.1 digital surround sound
Widescreen (2.35:1) - enhanced for 16x9 televisions

Gangs of New York

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/01/2003

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS Digital Theater Systems

Runtime: 167 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Battle of the Five Points [15:02]
2. A City in Turmoil [8:30]
3. The Gangs [4:05]
4. Fighting Over Fires [5:36]
5. Bill's Tribute [5:23]
6. A Couple of Fidiam Bens [7:15]
7. My Medal [6:48]
8. The Butcher's Lesson [8:51]
9. The Queen of the Dance [2:28]
10. Under the Dragon's Wing [6:21]
11. I'll Bite You [10:14]
Side #2 --
1. Civilization is Crumbling [8:09]
2. Betrayal [3:20]
3. This is a Night for Americans! [6:37]
4. Spared by the Butcher [4:16]
5. Regaining a Full Heart [6:47]
6. Old Uncle Joe [6:32]
7. Just Kill Me [6:02]
8. Sheriff Monk [5:26]
9. Notch 45 [5:35]
10. Settling Terms [4:56]
11. Mob Rule [6:22]
12. A True American [8:30]
13. End Credits [8:40]

Lucia Bozzola

Returning to Lower Manhattan's mean streets, Martin Scorsese's profoundly ambitious and engaging Gangs of New York sheds a different light on America's violent foundation myths. Embedding his signature concerns with Catholic immigrants, rival gangs, and arcane ethical codes in the spectacularly recreated squalor of the Five Points ghetto on the cusp of the 1863 Draft Riots, Scorsese's epic tale of nativist conflict, official corruption, and familial revenge is at once a precursor to his earlier Mob films and a sharp indictment of the usual American bromides about liberty and righteous conflict. From Liam Neeson's magisterial march through a baroque, torch-lit cellar to his death at the hands of Daniel Day-Lewis's eagle-eyed, fiercely charismatic "Bill the Butcher," the opening clash between Irish and "natives" is a stunning, kinetic montage of primitive violence. The U.S. military, however, is responsible for the copious blood on the streets at Gangs' tumultuous conclusion, overwhelming the archaic feud between Bill and Leonardo DiCaprio's Amsterdam and underlining the systemic bloodshed arising from Bill and his cohorts' entrenched racism and classism. Though the more intimate dimensions of the story are a mixed bag of allegorical romance and hoary Oedipal conflict involving DiCaprio, Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz's California-dreaming thief, the visceral punch of the action scenes is occasionally matched by such quiet interludes as the flag-clad Bill's sublimely twisted disquisition on paternity and honor. A potent and thoughtful cinematic experience despite its flaws, Gangs of New York is Scorsese's most vital work since The Age of Innocence (1993). ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Ilaria d'Elia  Actor 
Dominique Vandenberg  Actor 
Alberto Grimaldi  Producer 
Michael Hausman  Executive Producer 
Martin Scorsese  Director 
Howard Shore  Composer (Music Score) 
Bob Weinstein  Executive Producer 
Harvey Weinstein  Producer 
Steven Zaillian  Screenwriter 
Michael Ovitz  Executive Producer 
Graham King  Executive Producer 
Kenneth Lonergan  Screenwriter 
Jay Cocks  Screenwriter 
Rick Yorn  Executive Producer 
Maurizio Grimaldi  Executive Producer 
Leonardo DiCaprio  Actor 
Daniel Day-Lewis  Actor 
Cameron Diaz  Actor 
Jim Broadbent  Actor 
John C. Reilly  Actor 
Liam Neeson  Actor 
Henry Thomas  Actor 
Brendan Gleeson  Actor 
Gary Lewis  Actor 
Stephen Graham  Actor 
Eddie Marsan  Actor 
Alec McCowen  Actor 
David Hemmings  Actor 
Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.  Actor 
Cara Seymour  Actor 
Roger Ashton-Griffiths  Actor 
Peter-Hugo Daly  Actor 
Cian McCormack  Actor 

Country: USA