Rating: 
Summary: If you liked Gladiator you will love this film
Review: I saw Gangs of New York on DVD. It was excellent. It was one of these few films that meant something to me.That film shows a true piece of time in New York when the huddled masses are trying to make a life out of poverty and squalor. People living with corruption, lack of money, theft, violence trying to make some meaning out of this mess. Gladiator's battle scenese where superb, the battle scenes in Gangs of New York are even better. I highly reccomend it to anyone that likes a good movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Great atmosphere, strong acting, shows folly of revenge
Review: Martin Scorceses has once again brought us a film that places viewers in the story powerfully. I could almost taste and smell mid-1800s New York, the pictures and sounds were so powerful. The story line is simple enough: Rivel gangs feud and who wins? Leonardo Di Caprio plays the son of a fallen gang leader, who ultimately must seek revenge. Some interesting themes run through the story. There is the morality of "gang-bangers"--family and tribe come first, and honorable vs. dishonorable battle. Subplots about leaders of the rich and poor using each other as pawns also prove interesting. As for the acting--I was impressed. Unlike another viewer, I was schocked at how well Cameron Diaz pulled her role off. She played the beautiful-street-wise-adaptable-Irish survivor quite well. Perhaps those who questioned her placement believed she has been type-cast. However, Diaz may have successfully proven herself capable of serious drama with this role. She still does the sought-after beauty here, but she makes some gutsy decisions that bring tension and suspense to the love-story angle. Bottom-line--I liked it. It would have been better if perhaps 30 minutes or so could have been trimmed off to tighten up the story. A solid 4-stars!
Rating:
Summary: An almost Great Historical Movie
Review: I rarely purchase movies , but after seeing this one I had to have it. Beeing a history buff I was greatly impressed by the forgotten history that is portrayed in this movie.(if you think politicians are corrupt NOW, Boss Tweed practically invented it in America) The added selections on the DVD will be of benefit to those who are interested in the real history of New York in this era. Although DiCaprio is not a favorite actor of mine, he manages to pull this off fairly well. I never stopped thinking that it was Leonardo and not his character, but he does a good job in general. the Real STAR of the movie is Daniel Day-Lewis, he was absolutely amazing. That may be the best acting job I have ever seen on film. The story is very compeling, the action is great (but bloody) and the acting is outstanding (Day-Lewis' portrayal of "Bill the Butcher" does this almost single handedly). The costumes, scenery and storyline are fabulous. I know Chicago beat this movie for the Oscar, but I would have given "Gangs" my vote. Why 4 stars and not 5? Two main reasons; One, is that the "damsel in distress" Cameron Diaz, is nice to look at and she played a good role, but her whole part seemed like she was looking for a place to fit into this story, and never really found it. Secondly, Hollywood screws up the ending- What could have, and should have been a climactic showdown between the characters was inturrupted needlesly by explosions and commotion from the secondary story. I was waiting for a car chase or lasers to appear. Im saying as little as possible here as to not ruin the ending, but it could have been so much better. It seems like I'm dwelling on the negatives here, but the good far outweighs the bad in this movie. All in all an excellent movie that stays reasonably true to the history. You will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good but short of Great
Review: Gangs of New York is a long, winding road of a movie, depicting urban gang violence in New York slum district during the Civil War period. It also tells the story about the first tentative steps of municipal democracy. That's the big picture. At closer range, Gangs of New York is a tale of a young man seeking revenge for his father's murder (yawn). As usual with Scorsese, we get attention to detail, lavish sets and costumes and an engrossing story. But whereas Scorsese's mafia classics such as Casino and Goodfellas flow (fairly) smoothly and cohesively from beginning to end, Gangs of New York comes across as a somewhat unwieldy affair and seams to run out of steam about half way through. What upset me most about this film is Leonardo di Caprio's flat and undynamic performance (come back Tom Cruise, all is forgiven), and not even a colourful effort by Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher or the comfortably assured contribution from Cameron Diaz, manage to inject spice and zest into the flagging brew. While not a complete disaster, Gangs of New York is more of an 'interesting' historical document about a key period in America's history than a riveting popcorn kind of movie.
Rating:
Summary: Bloody America
Review: Shamefully overlooked in the Oscars, no one really wants to acknowledge that America was devised on the back of mass genocide, gang wars, thieves, crooked politicians all coupled with heavy doses of bitter bloody racism. Gangs of New York is all about that and then some more. The film starts with an almost primordial scene as the different warring factions of a place in New York known as the "five points" come together to sort out their discrepancies using clubs, knives, swords, hatchets and claws. Its the "Native American" versus the "Irishman" or the "Native American" versus whoever else sets foot on their land. Bill the Butcher (a massively impressive, larger than life, Uncle Sam from Hell type character played by Daniel Day Lewis), leader of the Natives, wins the initial battle for the five points and soon enough the numerous other failed gangs have had to resign under his power. The leader of the Irishman is killed during the battle and his only son escapes, vowing revenge. 16 years later the son (Leonardo DiCaprio) is back to avenge his father by joining the natives to murder Bill the Butcher as an insider. By this stage the five points is starting to look more like New York and there are plenty of set pieces along the way including the abolishment of slavery marches, warlords feuding, gangs causing trouble in various ways, fire brigades battling each other, corrupt politicians trying to win votes, P.T.Barnum and his shows and DiCaprio's love interest (Cameroon Diaz playing... Cameroon Diaz) caught between two and even more men. Historically you will love it, however the film does fail in that the premise is pretty much just your average revenge story with a whole load of "other" factual historical stuff on the outside, but it moves along at a cracking good pace and the screen time is mostly devoted to Daniel Day Lewis (wise choice from Scorsese - DeNiro is hardly missed at all!), who is an absolute powerhouse and it is his character alone that makes this movie worth its weight it Gold. For all its misgivings the movie still screams past most other historical dramas. Sure it is a little light on plot, but come on - its like the antichrist just directed his version of "Titanic" on a really bad acid trip. It is thoroughly outrageous stuff indeed. What did you expect - Oliver Twist?
Rating:
Summary: DVD features & design
Review: This is a short review, simply to say that the DVD is terrible! *Why is it over two discs, when it could easily be put on a single disc? Because the designers for the DVD printing spread the special features across the two discs. In actuality, they should have had a separate disc altogether for special features...**Also, the way that the film was split is very awkward - disc two actually begins with a sex scene involving 3 girls and Bill the Butcher. I would think it more appropriate to cut to the scene which immediately proceeds it. That way, a better opening would occur (if it has to be on 2 discs that is). ..***Finally, the features are terribly boring, and very repetitive. It seems all special features are going this way nowadays. Whatever happened to the fascinating commentaries which were SCENE SPECIFIC, not just a collection of random comments. For eg. Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers commentary. Anyway - judge for youself.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I thought that the film was very good with parts of intense emotion in it. The film was long and that how i like it, even though the film did drag on it managed to keep an exiting plot. Who ever did the casting should be awarded a medal then be shot for the casting was all very good apart from some fatal mistakes which the film would have been much better without.
Rating: 
Summary: Too Much of A Good Thing
Review: This movie was very boring to say the least! Don't get me wrong the plot was actually quite good, but it was just too stretched out of a movie to enjoy (even The Lord of the Rings movies are fun to watch). This movie should have been an hour and a half...not three hours. In closing, if you like movies that are unispired and are headache inducing, then look no further because this movie is for you.
Rating:
Summary: We're Not Worthy...
Review: The title should have been called "Gangs of Heaven's Gate" for all the advance media hype (both good and bad) which pretty much soured the milk for this epic. In truth, although it's not a bad film, it was hyped up to be this pinnacle of Scorcese's achievements, when the reality is, he's been past it for a long time. What does this film have in common with "Casino"and "Bringing Out The Dead"? It's extremely well-crafted, but lacks a soul. While you have to give credit to Scorcese for pulling it off, I think the real stars of this film are the supporting actors and the prop/wardrobe department. Say what you like about Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz; neither of them really sinks this film, but it is true that the movie would have benefitted with a bit better casting. Maybe somebody like Robert Downey Jr. or Johnny Depp instead of Leo. Diaz could have been replaced by almost anybody, but Scorcese likely hired her for the same reason he put Sharon Stone in Casino; bankability. Daniel Day-Lewis steals the show, and rightfully so; his character has the best lines, the best character development, and you can tell he put 110% into his performance. Liam Neeson is also good for the short time he's on-screen. And the set department surely deserved all the accolades they received for re-creating the massive sets of the Five Points. Whether the film is historically accurate or not matters little to those who're in search of entertainment. There's plenty to be found here, even if you're not a fan of period pieces. This is a flawed motion picture created from the wisps of an old man's greatness.
Rating:
Summary: An Epic That Tragically Falls Short
Review: Anticipation was high last year around Christmas time for Martin Scorsese's new epic Gangs of New York. It was over-budget, had numerous problems on set and was supposed to be a brilliant epic motion picture. Unfortunately, it did not deliver all of the goods, but its a great joy to watch him try. The film captures perfectly the time period of Civil War era with sets costumes and character actors. The plot starts out good enough: orphan seeks revenge on the man who killed his father. But, in the film's difficult middle section, the plot languishes and becomes tedious to watch. However, the film's last 45 minutes or so bring back the starting intesity and it makes for a good ending. The problem is basically that in the middle of the film the characters really have no direction and Cameron Diaz's character seems tacked on and really unecessary to the overall film. With that complaint concluded, I have to say that it was still a great film. I saw it in the theatre with my brother, who normally wouldn't be caught dead at more artsy films, and although he lodged the same complaint as I did about the film's middle section, he thought it was a great movie. The REAL story of Gangs of New York is Daniel Day-Lewis. He hits all the right notes in his portrayal of the ferocious "Bill the Butcherer." The audience comes away both charmed and terrified by this intriguing character. DiCaprio's performance is good too, but he's overshadowed by Day-Lewis' Bill. Its kind of like going on stange after the Beatles: how in the world can follow up something as great as it? Anyway, I would highly recommend renting Gangs of New York. Its a great, but flawed, film.
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