Gangs of New York is a vibrant, epic classic. The performances are incredible and the period detailing is unbelievably sumptuous. History lessons have never been so entertaining! Seriously though, Gangs of New York is a movie I never tire of no matter how many times I see it. It's a fantastically directed glimpse into the dark heart of the Union's past. If I were to compile a list of my favorite top 20 films, this one would probably be on it.… Expand

Daneil Day Lewis is amazing in this film and is pretty much the only reason worth watching it for. It can be a little dull at times but most of the time its good and entertaining.

this is a great movie. i want to watch it again. it was great. the storyline was good. the acting was terrific. Daniel day Lewis gave a great performance. if you didn't like this movie then you don't appreciate history or good quality of work. fantastic movie. perfect score.

Gangs of New York is terrific. Its mix of history, crime, love, and revenge come together to create one of Scorsese's best films. Some would say Gangs of New York drags, but for those who love great storytelling you won't be disappointed.

people saying its "boring" and "bad acting" your'e obviously retarded its a great film the acting the music and everything fits perfectly, the cast is great, especially day-lewis who makes the film with his role as the 'Butcher'

Daniel Day-Lewis offers up some of the best acting you'll ever see. This man's performance is amazing; I couldn't believe it when I found out he's not even American! If you happen to be a fan of quality movies and acting and have just not got around to this film- you will really appreciate this. Cameron Diaz and DiCaprio along with the rest of the cast also do a fantastic job. The story builds over the duration of the movie and you may feel lost for the 1st hour, but pay attention and it all comes together at the end.… Expand

My ancestors were in one of the gangs portrayed in this film, I am really proud to see this come to life. I never knew this film existed til just recently.

Phillip R. I believe that you missed the point. [Spoilers Omitted] This was a chapter in American history that they do not want us to know about? 98% of the audience never knew this type of NY existed but it did! What we watched was the evolution of barbaric rituals of gang warfare into today's civilized society. Daniel Day-Lewis was so frightening that his co-stars all said that he remained in character off stage until Gangs was wrapped. He should win the Best Actor Oscar hands down. This is an absolute masterpiece despite the blood and violence.… Expand

The only thing missing is a cameo by De Niro.

Admittedly there are holes in the movie. But, having said that, if for no other reason, Daniel Day-Lewis' performance is definitely OSCAR material. He steals the show.

Worth watching just for Daniel Day-Lewis' unbelievable performance..

There are many words I can say to describe this movie. A small portion of those words would be magnificent, extraordinary, wonderful, excellent, supurb, and great. I thought this film was pretty much great all-around. It has great sets, the writing is crisp, and the acting is very good. I wasn't to taken by Leonardo DiCaprio's potrayal as a young Irish man trying to avenge his father by killing the crime lord and butcher of New York, William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting. Daniel Day-Lewis makes up for DiCaprio's performance and then some. Daniel Day-Lewis's potrayal as Bill the Butcher is excellent, scary and perfect! The other major highlight of the film, besides Day-Lewis's riveting performance, is Martin Scorcese's extraordinary directing. Martin Scorcese has a brilliant vision of the scenery in this film and expresses perfectly on film. I wasn't too crazy about Cameron Diaz's performance. She doesn't deliver a bad performance in the movie at all, but she doesn't deliver a great one either. What can I say? She didn't deserve to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award. This film is for anyone looking to see a fun, wonderfully made, Scorcese flick! Despite popular opinion, Martin Scorsese's best film!… Expand

I believe this was a classic Scorsese movie filled with overwhelming drama, blood, history....and some truth. The large budget and hard work is definitely worth the wait!

Wow! A must see. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb.

I love it. Go see it one and all. Yeas it does have holes in it, but there are so many good bits that make up for it....not to mention Daniel Day-Lewis who is superb! Also Scorsese never puts a foot wrong....class!!

Overlong but wildly alive and vivid! The amount of detail and life in there is amazing, and well worth watching even at 3 hrs long.

Awesome. Daniel Day-Lewis' finest performance.

Despite its flaws, the best film of the year. "Gladiator" looks like a silly childrens' morality tale in comparison. The complexity and honesty of the fluidly realized ideas in this film are without a match in today's simplified world of film.

This film is timeless and epic. The reviewers no not what they are talking about. This film rightly should sweep the Oscars.

An absolute masterpiece that will keep you riveted to the edge of your seat in nervous anticipation. Daniel Day-Lewis should earn an Oscar nomination for his role of Billy The Butcher. The rest of the cast is also outstanding. Destined to become a classic.

This is an absolutely powerful portrayal of NYC in the 19th century. We certainly did not learn about this in our history books and for good reason. Once you see the movie, if you are like me, you will run to your history books to learn more. Daniel Day-Lewis wins the Oscar for Best Actor hands down. He captivates the screen as Billy The Butcher. Go see it today!

Scorsese's epic tale of a bloody period of New York's history nearly forgotten by the history books is not quite a materpiece, but it is a very impressive work nonetheless. With spectacular cinematics, dynamite acting (particularly from Daniel Day Lewis), and a deep passion from its director, the film manages to overcome a weaker script and dazzle with its scope and splendor.

It is great. I just wish it was more historically accurate. But It was a great movie, and I loved it. I am the consumer, not those cheeseball critics who think their $hit smells like roses. They may have not liked it, but I loved it.

Absolutely breathtaking. The fact that Daniel Day Lewis was robbed of the Best Actor Award made me sick.

Simply a masterpiece! kudos to scorsese and day-lewis!

I give the movie a 10 for Daniel Day Lewis's performance. He was superb and stood out as heads and tails above all of the actors. He was much deserving of the Best Actor award.

Beautiful and Daniel Day Lewis' potrayel of Bill the Butcher could be one of the best performances ever

Another excellent film for Scorsese! This makes it 1- Mean Streets, 2- Taxi Driver, 3- Raging Bull, 4- King of Comedy, 5- After Hours, 6- Last Temptation of Christ, 7- Goodfellas, 8- Casino, 9- Bringing Out the Dead, and now 10 stitches to secure the placement of the Filmmaking Hall of Fame patch right on Scorsese's arm!

Picture that friend of yours who falls asleep during action movies. He's always complaining about the clichés, the watered-down plot, the hackneyed action sequences. Gangs of New York is what that friend might dream up given a Hollywood cast and limitless freedom. I was expecting a gaudy, eye-rolling showcase for Diaz and DiCaprio's pretty faces. Instead I witnessed a down-and-dirty masterpiece with inspired acting, dazzling writing, and bold camerawork. The script doggedly avoids empty-headed clichés, instead inventing classic lines for future copycats. One memorable scene takes place on a body-strewn battlefield in the Five Points. Bill the Butcher, folding a blood-stained knife into the hands of a fallen priest, says with dutiful respect: "you'll need this to cross the river." Even the voice-over work in Gangs is fresh, binding the meaty chaos with barbed-wire eloquence. It's a pity some critics label the movie "indulgent", simply because it dares to sustain virtuoso vision for nearly three hours. We should be so lucky to have this-a Hollywood movie that bleeds when pricked. It is rare to have characters we not only care about, but whose conflicts and relationships are unapologetically human. Here is a conniving monster with a heart, and a hero who becomes his son. And why was it news to some that the film is not 100 percent historically accurate? This is a story. A story that ignites as grisly, glorious nightmare the way only film can.… Expand

Excellent movie. Amazing acting. Original and chaotically beautiful. Gritty and intriguing. You should give this movie a chance unless the only action you enjoy is the standard "action flick."

Simply put, this movie is one of the best movies made in years. The acting is incredible, with performances and characters that rival any of the modern classics. A 69 rating from Metacritic, 5 points high than "Stuart Little 2", is obviously ludicrous and an excellent illustration of Metacritc's flaws.

To quote Leonard Maltin - He's waited 11 months for something this powerful/superb to move him & this is it! I agree. Being a "MICK!" i'm a wee-bit prejudiced, i reckon' but this is not exactly a flattering portrait of my heritage anyway? & from pt. I saw trailer last yr. knew OSCARS would love-it & will! Not only finally: Scorsese, but a 2nd OSCAR positively going to: *D. DAY-LEWIS in one of cinemas great villian roles! Don't miss last superb-shot? I predict this & "Chicago," to rec. most nods. 10 or more!? But, in the end this film is the title people will hear most, upon opening of the envelopes!!! & U2 prob. snag 1 as well for song.… Expand

Cut the love story, add all the other scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. Cut the U2 song at the end. Otherwise, very fine. Day-Lewis is just great and hilarious.

Incredible film. One of the best I've seen. Sarcasm, sybolized by Daniel's hilarious hat, is witty yet bitter. Anti-American. Historical and Honest to the facts.

Great films often are initially misunderstood, and this masterpiece ranks among the greatest misunderstood films of all time.

Bold, brutal, and breath-taking. Day-Lewis sets a new standard for great acting and characterization.

I think it need be said that anyone who complains about the ending of the movie, specifically the "draft battle", just doesn't understand why this scene was included. The end of this movie just reinforces the rest perfectly. This is New York, did you really think that this insignificant battle meant anything to the rest of New York? Of course not, that is why the end is there. New York, at that time, was facing much larger problems than either Amsterdam or Bill Poole. The ending of this movie was a reality check; perfectly placed in the script by Scorsese. It's a shame that most don't understand the purpose of these scenes.… Expand

Read Chris E. Right on the mark.

Great movie, lots of history, pretty cool, every person should like it. Lets you see what the world was like.

Scorsese has made two kinds of movies; those where he knew the material like the back of his hand and those where he was a fascinated, even overly reverent, outsider. The former kind has been more successful, his movies about the Italian-American organized crime, the neurosis of contemporary NY, or artistic oddballs of any stripe. The films of the latter category include great films such as Age of Innocence and Kundun. It also includes a clunker like Last Temptation. Gangs of NY falls somewhere in between Scorsese's wildest successes and foulest stupidities. Still, it offers a personal and gutsy historical/cultural vision in our age of meek political correctness and deranged popcultural amnesia. The world of Gangs is fascinating, where the divisions among politics, crime, business, cultural identities, etc are fuzzy, when the idea of Americanism was still not clearly established. It's a vision of hell but also a glimpse into a mad social experiment(by whom, who can tell?), a world of 19th century Clockwork Orange reflected thru the labyrinthine prisms of Alice in Wonderland. Nothing quite seems, but everything feels, real. Oddly, the quiet, reflective moments are best by far in a movie promoted mainly for its macho violence. The dance scene is one of the most beautiful, and the many soliloquies of Bill the Butcher played by the magnificent Daniel Day Lewis are sublime smoldering embers of venomous hate and warped wisdom. Dicaprio's brooding performance slithers beneath Lewis's more showy performance like a snake and the inevitable confrontation between the two comes to a grand climax. … Expand

This is one of Scorsese's finest accomplishments. Though Leo fails to really step it up and deliver, he does fine and hands the spotlight to the far superior (in this film) Daniel Day Lewis, who is fascinating to watch and at the same time chilling. Though he plays the villain, I found myself rooting for him after the first half of the film.

Absolutely brilliant movie of epic proportions that rivets your eyes to the screen and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Daniel Day-Lewis will most certainly receive an Oscar nomination and should be odds on for the Best Actor award. Gangs of NY demonstrates a piece of history that not too many of us are even aware existed. It is a must see movie for all despite the bloody gore and violence. Wow!… Expand

How starved we are for epics -- this one is a masterwork from Scorsese, and one of the year's best.

The hugest, most fascinating, brilliant, dazzling, brawniest, Oscar material of the year, or few years.

Very good film that succeeds in presenting a segment of US history that maybe 1-2% of the US is familiar with. While not entirely accurate (it is a movie after all), it does capture the spirit of the time in all its horror and glory.

Both DiCaprio and Day-Lewis did a handsome job with this. I really would watch it over and over again.

Awesome film, daniel day lewis is incredible, the story on how the world changes around them is epic and well told. The way the film is directed and told is masterful, as well as the brilliant acting on show, the film shows the bigger picture around them and the message it conveys is extremely well done. A fantastic film