Rating: 
Summary: What a terrible movie!
Review: After sitting through 2 disc's waiting for something good to happen...I'm still waiting.
Rating:
Summary: Looking for a plot? This is not the one for you!
Review: If you want to see a film which shows what New York City was like in the 1860's, the background scenery is for you. History buffs might like it for that reason. But the plot--if it can be called that--very quickly descends into one long, bloody, gory beating. Granted, mindless violence is quite popular these days, but I think filming a boxing match would have provided more of a storyline than this epic actually managed to churn out. The only parts I found remotely noteworthy was the portrayal treatment of the Irish immigrants in the turbulance of the Civil War era. So, in brief, the only way I could see this picture even being considered for "Best Picture of the Year" would be if the only other contenders were "Ishtar," "Plan 9 from Outer Space" or anything else by Ed Wood.
Rating: 
Summary: Great movie in many aspects
Review: This movie is great. As a woman, there was a bit too much gore for my liking but if it didn't have all the gore, I'd rate this a perfect 5 of 5. Leo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis are astonishingly wonderful actors portraying believeable characters. Leo's accent drops a few times (not sure why they didn't catch it and correct his errors) but for the most part the accent was good. The storyline is great, although the movie is long it goes by fast since it is so exciting. I'd definetly recommend this movie.
Rating:
Summary: PRISTINE TRANSFER OF A QUESTIONABLE HISTORICAL EPIC
Review: "Gangs of New York" is director, Martin Scorsese's attempt to bring his zeal for Mafia style film making to the by-gone era of turn of the century New York. The film stars Daniel Day Lewis, in a masterful performance and Leonardo DiCaprio, in one that is "less than" as opposing members of rival gangs ready to rumble during a much publicized slaughter that has its basis in history. However, the film's plot, like that of James Cameron's Titanic, relies heavily on romance and fiction to get its point across, skirting around history and using it only as a backdrop. The CGI rumble sequence in the film is really obvious.
Transfer wise: a nice job overall, enhanced for widescreen televisions. Colors are rich and nicely balanced. Black levels are deep. Fine details are well defined. There is some minor edge enhancement present and a bit of shimmering but nothing to get in the way of the performances, such as they are. The sound is 5.1 and aggressive, with deep bass and a powerful punch in the surround channels.
BOTTOM LINE: I'm at a loss to explain why Leonardo DiCaprio gets thrown into "historical epics". He's out of his element and the film borders on pure romantic tripe, gussied up to look like history. As entertainment alone, you might find something to take away from the experience, but I prefer Scorsese when he sticks to thugs that dress in three piece suits instead of suspenders and top hats!
Rating: 
Summary: An over confident film, but there is good things to be said
Review: Backed with a huge production, a historically based plot about one of the most ruthless and gritty times in American history and a handful of big name actors, Gangs of New York appears to be a film of epic proportions, but is really 167 minutes of over confidence in its pursuit of greatness. There is definitely good things to be said about this film. Visually, it's stunning. There was a vast array of great costume designs and the set designs were definitely appropriate for this film. Daniel Day-Lewis' performance was nothing short of astonishing in his part as a ruthless tyrant of the gangs in the Five Points. The battle scenes were nicely executed and were bloody and brutal. But I felt that this film was about 45 minutes too long. With its endless line of dialogue and its bloated storyline, the film definitley felt like it was trying to out due itself. I also felt the film failed to capture a real feeling of 19th-Century New York City in the viewer. But hey, it is hard to argue with 10 Oscar nominations.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This movie is really good and some other reviewers don't give it enough credit. In this movie they showed how the "Natives" had so much hatred towards the irish.They showed how Amsterdam's
dad was killed by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. It should how violent the fights would get and there was alot of it.
This movie is an excellent historical fiction movie.
Rating:
Summary: Disregard What Others Say!This Is Great Filmaking!
Review: I've been a huge fan of Scorsese's films since i first saw "Taxi Driver" over 25 years ago. This,along with "The Last Temptation Of Christ" and "Taxi Driver" is one of his best films.It's a great exploration of the history of what happened in downtown n.y.c.in the mid to late 19th century,and everything about it is flawless,from the costumes to the sets to the photography etc.Why this movie did not win the Academy Award for the Best Picture of 2002 is beyond my understanding.It's informative,intelligent-all in all a great film.Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: A Flawed Movie But Thank God for Daniel Day-Lewis!
Review: "Gangs of New York" is well worth seeing, for the superlative sets, the cinematography, the glorious costumes, and the artistic directorial eye of Martin Scorsese. But it also has four serious flaws. The first is a problem that haunts all Scorsese films -- his inability to understand that in every tragic situation, there is an element of humor, as in every comic situation, there is an element of tragedy. This is the reason why Scorsese's
"The Age of Innocence" was a failure, since the Edith Wharton novel upon which it is based comes to life through the author's barbed wit and acute sense of irony, whereas Scorsese's rendering is well-acted, visually stunning, but completely devoid of humor. (This doesn't mean that Scorsese's movies are all without chuckles. "The Last Temptation of Christ" is unintentionally quite funny, with all those New York-accented actors carrying on in Biblical Jerusalem. And Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" is such a superlative actor that he himself infuses his role with humor, but it is De Niro and not Scorsese who deserves the credit for making this film a classic. Ditto for De Niro and the "Goodfellas" cast.) Perhaps, Scorsese should seriously look at the films of Charlie Chaplin before his next project. Personally, I would recommend that he study every frame in Jan Kadar's "Shop on Main Street" to learn how humor and tragedy can be combined to devastating effect. If Scorsese ever gets this problem resolved, he'll be a force to be reckoned with. Secondly, "Gangs of New York" lacks a protagonist people can identify with. The fact that Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo deCaprio) sees his father murdered by "Bill the Butcher" Cutting as a boy and decides to avenge this death as an adult doesn't necessarily make Vallon a character one cares about. No matter how brilliant a movie is technically, how can any director sustain a nearly three-hour film without a strong central figure we feel some empathy with? (And why this Irish-American character is given the Dutch name of "Amsterdam" -- a name associated with New York's history -- is a mystery and something one could quibble about. Is Scorsese trying to tell us in a less than subtle way that the character is a New Yorker foremost?) Thirdly, Leonardo deCaprio is limited as an actor and is dwarfed in every scene he shares with Daniel Day-Lewis, a factor that unbalances the entire movie. Day-Lewis is an exceptional actor, whose villainy as "Bill the Butcher" is the only thing that brings this film to life. Notice, by the way, Daniel Day-Lewis's impeccable Robert De Niro imitation when a New York accent is required. Just shut your eyes when Day-Lewis is speaking, think De Niro, and you'll see what I mean. And fourthly, Amsterdam's relationship with Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz) is choppy and sometimes emotionally incomprehensible, and it might help a bit if we could care about these two characters and their on-again, off-again relationship.
Rating:
Summary: A good start but a bad finish
Review: I think this film is over-rated. I watched it yesterday expecting the great movie people say it is. The opening battle is great and makes you think the rest of the movie will be that good....but it's not. I sat through the very long length expecting a big battle at the end to top the one in the beginning. However the battle at the end is hardly a battle at all, the one in the beginning is a lot longer and much better. The film starts out with Amsterdam wittnessing his father brutally killed by Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day Lewis) in a great opening battle. Amsterdam returns to where his father was killed seeking revenge against Bill. He gets close to him, as a trusted servant and finds himself almost even liking him and getting almost as bad as him. I liked the beginning more than the whole movie but it was still entertaining after that but it falls part in the half hour. I expected a big confrontation between Bill and Amsterdam at the end but you never get it. Their battle is short and disapointing and not worth 2 1/2 hours to wait for. Which leaves Daniel Day Lewis's performance the only reason to really stick with the movie. Surprisingly Cameron Diaz is very good as well in a serious role for once. DiCaprio is alright but his performance in (Catch Me If You Can) is much much more impressive. Martin Scorsese had a good vision for the film but it fails to be as good as a lot of his other films.
Rating:
Summary: Daniel Day-Lewis superb in Gangs of New York
Review: The review of Gangs of New York written by a person from Fairfield, CA, a top 100 reviewer, illustrates well the value of the service provided by Amazon.com. His/her comments prompted me to view the film on DVD. One word of caution. Normally, the widescreen version of the film will reduce moderately the picture at the top and bottom of the TV screen. In the case of Gangs of New York, approximately half of the viewing surface of the TV screen was lost -- too much, in my opinion to enjoy the full effect of this action oriented film. Those people who wish to see this film and do not have one of the new TVs formatted for DVDs may wish to get the video version of the movie. As the person from Fairfield mentions, this film is flawed, particularly in the final third of the movie. Even so, the performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill the Butcher is so compelling that we are willing to forgive some plot inconsistencies and historical inaccuracies, both mentioned by several other reviewers. This is not a masterpiece by Martin Scorsese, watch Raging Bull if you want to see him at his absolute best, but Gangs of New York is worth seeing, if only for Day-Lewis's magnificent performance.
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