SERVING THE ON-LINE RPI COMMUNITY SINCE 1994 SEARCH ARCHIVES Current Issue: Volume 130, Number 1 July 14, 2009 Features Holiday Break Movie Review Posted 01-15-2003 at 3:34PM Skip to Gangs of New York Maid in Manhattan About Schmidt Talk to Her Adaptation Catch Me if You Can Star Trek: Nemesis Editor’s Note Gangs of New York Gangs of New York, the latest cinematic endeavor from director Martin Scorsese, depicts the violent gang subculture of nineteenth century New York. The movie grew out of Scorsese’s childhood fascination with his old lower Manhattan neighborhood. The film opens with an epic gang battle in the lower Manhattan slum neighborhood know as The Five Points. The battle occurs between a band of immigrant gangs led by an Irishman know as The Priest (Liam Neason) and an equally formidable band of native gangs led by butcher William Cutting, played by Daniel Day Lewis. The climactic battle scene culminates in the slaying of The Priest in front of his young son, who is later sent to grow up in an orphanage. The film then resumes in the opening days of the Civil War with The Priest’s son (Leonardo DiCaprio) leaving the orphanage to seek revenge for the slaying of his father some 17 years earlier. Throughout the film Scorsese attempts to frame the events in the context of 19th century New York. The scenery was masterfully re-created in Rome where most of the movie was filmed. One of the difficulties in recreating historical New York was to duplicate the wooden frame architecture used at the time, of which there are virtually no examples existing. Beyond trying to capture the brutality of New York City the film also tries to capture a feel for the immigrant experience. While much of the focus on the film is on the Irish, the principle immigrant group of the time, it also acknowledges the impact of other European immigrants as well as free blacks living in the North. The film ultimately reaches its climax with the onset of the New York City draft riots where Irish and other immigrants as well as impoverished residents rioted to protest the Civil War draft. Overall, Gangs of New York is a very entertaining and captivating epic, with reverence toward the historical context of its time, though this marriage between history and Hollywood is at times a bit stylized. With convincing performances by DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis, the film is definitely worth seeing. Next » Posted 01-15-2003 at 3:34PM Copyright 2000-2006 The Polytechnic Comments, questions? E-mail the Webmaster. Site design by Jason Golieb.