Rating: 
Summary: Flawed, but still good.
Review: Like all Scorsese films, Gangs of New York was eagerly awaited by many film fans. Scorsese has proven on more than one occasion that he is a master of the gangster genre, and thus expectations were naturally high prior to the release. The film itself, however, falls somewhat short of these expectations. Certain flaws are hard to ignore and Scorsese has certainly made better films before. It has been said that many scenes had to be left on the cutting room floor, and perhaps that explain some of the problems (let us hope that the DVD will provide a director's cut version). Furthermore, Cameron Diaz's character is more or less superfluous to the story (must all films have a love story?), and Leonardo Dicaprio was perhaps not the best choice for the leading role. Having pointed out these flaws, however, one must also acknowledge the good things that the film has to offer. Day-Lewis delivers a powerhouse performance and Scorsese's direction is first class. In addition, the production design is brilliant and the story is generally interesting throughout the two and half hours. All in all, a good film - but still it could have been better.
Rating: 
Summary: freedom of speech?not in the us,...
Review: ...gangs of new york: a great movie!go and see it and you will understand americas human nature and motivation that keeps you alive:fear......democracy:welcome to the jungle!
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps the Worst Film Ever Made
Review: This movie is perhaps the worst film ever produced and made...to Cameron Diaz being cast to Scorsese's tasteless cameo that is amazingly out of place. The movie deserves one star because of a few things. One) Daniel-Day Lewis, the actor who portrays Bill the Butcher the killer of Amsterdam's (DiCaprio) father (Liam Neeson). He is creepy, intelligent, and we can almost sympathize with him. Two) the first 20 minutes...what a display of brilliant action, music, and intense epic tone. Then it all goes down hill. Three) the costumes...they are brilliantly over the top and a joy to poke fun at or admire for its lunacy. Then this film goes completely down hill. I believe Scorsese doesn't know what he is directing...a film about immigrants and the Civil War, Immigrants and Revenge, Immigrants and Sex, or Immigrants and Gang wars. These "Gangs" in the title aren't really there that often and the themes and editing are so sporadic, you need Tylenol to watch. I kept shifting over to my friend when I saw it and did Monty Python lines over and over since I couldn't take this mess of a film seriously. Diaz is atrocious...DiCaprio is 15 (or at least he looks like that) and is better fit for Catch Me If You Can then something supposedly this epic. Henry Thomas looks so much like Dominic Monaghan that I was distracted the whole time. I never thought I would say this, but John C. Reilly wasn't even that great. The values Scorsese goes for, honor in combat, are betrayed by typical villain actions that made me scoff. And even though Day-Lewis is astounding, I grew tired of his continued rhetoric and lack of development later on. The list could go on to the amazingly fake bloodshed to the hokey set design and mild attempts at historic accuracy (though the sports ones were great!). Gangs of New York was set to be a motion picture event but once I heard Bono's voice I knew this was a Hollywood blunder. The only movie I can see as worse then this is Bram Stroker's Dracula which was a complete cartoon. Why Gangs of New York got 10 Oscar nominations I can't understand but why it was shutout 0-10 in the big event is perfectly understandable to me.
William Johnson
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Review: Gangs of New York is one of my favorite movies i have ever seen. Lewis was great and i hope he win the acedemy award. I normally don't like decaprio but i thought he did a great job in this movie. The music was also amazing especially at the begginning. It really gets you in the mood for this great movie. i highly recommend this movie
Rating: 
Summary: HISTORICALLY FASCINATING DRAMATICALLY NOT
Review: Such a very thin story line in a colorful and colossal documentary-like depiction of mid 19th Century New York City. The camera's sweeping view of the city is an astounding sensual experience, but the final hour of the film drags terribly as the plot is chiseled down to a very weak romance and a Popeye and Bluto-like duel to the finish. The historical accuracy is alarmingly dead-on target, if my American History college course is any indication.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent , Exciting Historical Drama
Review: In my life, I have seen many movies. I usually don't like all too many. Snobby? Yeh, sort of.... I prefer to call it "high standards".There have been three movies I have seen in my thirty-one years that have devastated for me, for whatever reasons. After seeing these movies I left the theater, shaking and speechless. The movies that had complete and total impact on me were Jungle Fever, Schindler's List and Gangs of New York. Gangs of New York is directed by the best American director we have going these days, Martin Scorsese. Not the most influential [Spielberg, darn good!] but certainly the best. Scorsese has exquisite command over his actors, over his sets, camera direction and pacing. He completely comprehends his material, and is able to deftly utilize all the facets of cinema (plot, sound, color, composition, so on) to create massive impact. Scorsese's attention to detail borders on clinical psychosis. Gangs of New York is deliberate, impeccable filmmaking. Daniel Day Lewis defies description. Every moment he is on screen is cause for rapt attention: his performance is easily the best of the year (of what I have seen) never going too far (easy to do with his character). There are scenes where he looks like an animated political cartoon from the 1860's. His gait, his grooming and his costumes only add polish to Lewis's uncanny New York accent, his mannerisms and overwhelming presence. And here we come to some small problems. One being Leonardo. With the direction of Scorsese, Leonardo does a good job. The script is solid and Scorsese knows how to direct his actors, Leonardo is in capable hands. The problem becomes evident in Leonardo's scenes with Lewis: when side by side, Leonardo is overpowered. The scenes pitting them against each other feel unbalanced: a serious detriment to a film that is attempting to weigh (simply put) good vs. evil and power vs. violence. Simply because of acting we find our opinion being swayed! Cameron Diaz does a commendable job as the love interest. Hopefully she has more dramatic roles in her future (she was the only reason to see Vanilla Sky). Some will be frightened by the violence in Gangs of New York. But understand, the violence here is essential to the plot and accurate to the period and is the main theme of the film, not gratuitous; when is violence appropriate and how does it interplay with 'power' (i.e., does might make right)? To those who tend to stray from violence in media I would say this: violence is at the core of humanity (alongside sex). We all house the same machinery, confront to understand, don't hide from or wish it away. Scorsese has made a career boldly exploring that side of humanity and has taken some serious critical shots for it. In Gangs of New York Scrosese makes his most eloquent statements about violence and its implications and does so in a manner I think many could not criticize. If you have not seen this movie yet, I urge you to rent it or buy it when it comes out. It is well worth the time. Like the Zen proverb, if you do not like it the first time, please watch it again. If you do not like it then, please watch it again. And so on... This truly is one of the greatest movies of the past 25 years and can be appreciated on many levels, particularly in light of recent world events.
Rating:
Summary: Blood, guts, & Gore!
Review: The only good thing about this movie is Daniel Day Lewis, who deserves an oscar for his performance as the Butcher. His acting skill in this movie is five stars.
If you are a fan of rivers of blood, guts and gore, then this movie is for you. I was so disappointed in this over rated film and wish I had saved my money. Hollywood has a habit of pushing a movie they know needs help. I was gulible and fell right in.
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I saw Gangs of New York 10 times and each time I saw something that I didn't see originally. The direction was great and so what the acting. Something that got me confused though was Leo's accent. A couple of times in the movie, it changed drastically. It sounded as if he was back in Basketball Diaries or something. Daniel Day Lewis was just sexy. He's hot :)Overall, it was a good movie and I can't wait to get it on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Must See
Review: Great movie, DiCaprio learned how to act somewhere between titanic and Gangs, must see this one
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Despite what others have said about this film, I found it to be one of the best pieces of cinema released in the last five years. One does not have to be a huge fan of Martin Scorsese to enjoy this one. Being a native New Yorker myself, I have always been fascinated by this unique period of history. Many people don't realize that the antebellum/civil war era was one of the bloodiest epochs in the history of the city. The massive influx of unskilled Irish immigrants to the area as well as the numerous economic depressions taking place at the time made the city a powder keg. The resentment of unskilled, cheap labor taking away jobs from native born Americans led to a climate where people were literally willing to fight in the streets. While much artistic license was taken in depicting the events of the movie; they were certainly inspired by true (and historically documented) events. We New Yorkers are often full of pride about our history, but we tend to gloss over the reality that was the Five Points. There really was a living, breathing den of corruption and human filth right in what is now present day Little Italy and Chinatown. There was a district in New York City where one out of every ten homes was a brothel . . . Disease ran rampant . . . Corruption was the expected norm . . . The character portrayed by Daniel Day Lewis was superb. The fact that he could take a character so unloveable and actually have you feeling somewhat sympathetic . . . excellent. Leo DiCaprio played an adequate, but not spectacular part in the movie. And Cameron Diaz was good, but underdeveloped as a character. All in all, a must see to people who can understand a little violence.
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