Gangs of New York

Name: Gangs of New York
Genre: Drama, History, Crime
Released: December 20, 2002
Duration: 167 min
Rating: 72
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio

2002

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 39 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 357 Ratings

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7.6

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7.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 357 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: December 20, 2002 | R

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio

Summary: Set in New York City between 1840 and 1863, this is the story of a young man named Amsterdam (DiCaprio) who seeks vengeance against Bill "The Butcher" Poole (Day-Lewis), the man who killed his father as a result of warfare between the powerful Manhattan gangs.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Genre(s): Drama, History, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 167 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Peter Travers

Gangs of New York is something better than perfect: It's thrillingly alive. Read full review

David Edelstein

It's a magnificent achievement—holes, tatters, crudities, screw-ups, and all. Read full review

Richard Corliss

This daring, perhaps confusing declaration of irrelevance suggests that the epic is a form a director like Scorsese must subvert even as he invokes it. But it doesn't erase the sordid splendor of Scorsese's congested, conflicted, entrancing achievement. Read full review

Jonathan Foreman

Though never dull and often visually beautiful, this work of operatic sweep doesn't fulfill its own ambitions. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Stunning, and it has the added bonus of being about an era that is virtually new to movies. As a dramatic achievement, however, it is not quite so amazing. Read full review

David Ansen

Gangs is a dream project Scorsese has wanted to make for 30 years. You have to honor its mad ambition. But sadly, it feels like a dream too long deferred. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Scorsese and his team have created a heavy-footed golem of a motion picture, hard to ignore as it throws its weight around but fatally lacking in anything resembling soul. Read full review

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User Reviews

dip4lyfe

Sep 20, 2010

the greatest thing about gangs is the way the "old way" of corruption ruling the lands slowly collides with the new way of order and reform as the movie slowly winds to a head as it goes on. Against that backdrop is the struggle of young Vallon trying to carry out a vendetta against what hethe greatest thing about gangs is the way the "old way" of corruption ruling the lands slowly collides with the new way of order and reform as the movie slowly winds to a head as it goes on. Against that backdrop is the struggle of young Vallon trying to carry out a vendetta against what he first perceived as a villain in Bill the Butcher, but as time winds on his bad deeds seem to have reason/meaning behind them and he seems almost honorable in his actions. They both grip to their old ways in the face of the changing landscape, physical and political... the dawning of a new world and as Bills eye closed for the final time as if the curtain finally closed on the ways of the old. This movie is a true cinematic masterpiece and my favorite of all time.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

BrendanCogs99

Mar 16, 2013

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.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Joseph

Feb 27, 2007

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."

3 of 6 users found this helpful

schyguy96

Dec 9, 2013

In terms of ranking Gangs of New York as a 'great movie', it does not achieve that. I do not believe, in watching it, that it ever intended to be a purportedly great film. It is very good, as a historical drama film, however. Scorsese does not fail at capturing the idea of The Five Points,In terms of ranking Gangs of New York as a 'great movie', it does not achieve that. I do not believe, in watching it, that it ever intended to be a purportedly great film. It is very good, as a historical drama film, however. Scorsese does not fail at capturing the idea of The Five Points, the gang warfare, or perhaps most importantly, the political corruption that ran rampant. For all of its faults, it is made up for by representing itself, in a historical term, relatively well. The key selling point to make Gangs of New York a better than film than it might have otherwise been is the ineffable performance of Daniel Day-Lewis. In a career defined by great performances, only his performance as Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood rivals his riveting spin on Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting. Adrien Brody in The Pianist won the Academy Award for Best Actor this year, and I do not fault the Academy for selecting him entirely, but I do believe that Day-Lewis was robbed of his most deserving award here. He defines the villain that you love, even though their morals may be flawed. You lose sight of the fact that you are watching an actor during the film, as I see Day-Lewis become Bill The Butcher. The scene in which he sits in the brothel bedroom, discussing Priest Vallon with Amsterdam, is one of the greatly acted scenes in cinematic history, although much of the movie could be attributed with that title. If you are a fan of historical dramas and of great acting performances, I believe that Gangs of New York would pique your interest, and suggest it for you.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

afm185

Jun 21, 2020

I don’t know exactly where to start with this one. The story is pretty great, I was interested the whole time even though the execution left something to be desired. It’s super long but parts felt undeveloped at the same time. Especially the relationships between characters. The way it’sI don’t know exactly where to start with this one. The story is pretty great, I was interested the whole time even though the execution left something to be desired. It’s super long but parts felt undeveloped at the same time. Especially the relationships between characters. The way it’s paced feels kinda off because near the beginning to a little past the middle things build pretty slowly and then at a certain point it all speeds up in an awkward way and as a result the ending feels a bit unsatisfying. There were a total of 0 times I felt affected by a character death, it all just felt like it was a progression of the plot rather than something you should feel saddened by. I mean I felt tension quite a few times, but the movie is oddly predictable especially when it comes to deaths. Though that’s not such a bad thing I guess. I should say again the story is great. Like it really does feel kinda epic. The characters are great and they feel like interesting people, but again just a bit undeveloped. Even the two main characters I kinda wanted to get a feel for who they were a little more. And that’s weird considering how much you see them. I really don’t even know how to describe it. Their motivations and struggles always feel a bit ambiguous, aside from one pretty clear goal for the main character. The dialogue from everyone is usually great so conversations almost never felt tedious to watch. The acting is fantastic in this and the setting looks amazing for what it is, which is 1800s New York. It was cool to learn more about how society worked, but again even that felt just a little hard to grasp because there were aspects to it they just didn’t explain that well, including bits I’d say are eventually pretty damn relevant. I should mention though- the action scenes in this are pretty bad. I was genuinely disappointed by how boring most of them were. In fact, just the conversations were infinitely more entertaining for me. I should say I wasn’t particularly enjoying myself throughout the movie, but I was definitely interested in seeing how everything would go down.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SethF.

Jun 11, 2008

I felt it was a solid film, up until the end. I felt there were two films going on, and by the time there was the epic battle between Day Lewis and DiCaprio, I felt let down. But Scorsese proves he doesn't have to have the present day to make an effective film. I loved watching it!

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MeritCoba

Apr 21, 2016

As a young kid Leonardo Dicaprio's sees his dad killed by Daniel Day-Lewis in a street squabble between immigrants of all feathers and the natives. Not the Indian natives mind you, but those white dudes born and raised in the US from fathers who stole the country from those other natives aAs a young kid Leonardo Dicaprio's sees his dad killed by Daniel Day-Lewis in a street squabble between immigrants of all feathers and the natives. Not the Indian natives mind you, but those white dudes born and raised in the US from fathers who stole the country from those other natives a few generations before. Get of my property (that use to be someone elses) is their slogan!
So Dicaprio swears to do Day-Lewis in as a little kid. Just wait until I am older! The movie therefore fast forwards sixteen years into the future to come to a halt around the time of the civil war. We learn that Dicaprio's desire to kill Day-Lewis has not dampened. Has he learned all kinds of usual skills that help progress him and society towards a better goal? Nope of course not: he just knows how to kill people with a knife.

The next two hours then might see interesting things about the historical background of the US in the late 19th century, say the civil war, or about the life of the immigrants, but nope.. it is all about a gang of criminals. The kind that plague society any time in any setting and is filled with thugs, hoodlums, scumbags, crooks, sadists and profiteers and anyone else preying on society. But perhaps that was the message?The US is made by criminals? A country full of sociopaths? The end of the movie seems to imply as much.

It takes Dicaprio around two hours to do in Day-Lewis, which he could have done by gunning the guy down in the first fifteen minutes, but he needs to linger because of reasons of morality. But actually no noble goal is guiding him. It is just bloody revenge that he wants.Get a life dude!

There is some kind of romancing going on between him and Cameron Diaz, which is probably in there just to extend the movie even further for it feels like they just go through the motions. Diaz is a unlikable as the others, only she is female, so maybe that is her excuse.

For my life I can't figure out why anyone would sit through this movie that has such unlikable lurid characters. It almost feels like Goodfellas but with even more abject characters. Perhaps the acting is great, but really, why would you watch two hours of bloody violence, an awkward romance and nothing else? It is just a boring movie about one guy wanting to do in another and taking two hours to do it.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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84	#84 Best Movie of 2002
16	#16 Most Discussed Movie of 2002
36	#36 Most Shared Movie of 2002