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| Value for Money | 9/10  |
|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9/10 |
Director Martin ScorseseStarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz
Features:
| Eiv |  | £19.99Free P&P |
| Entertainment in Video | | £16.97Free P&P |
| Entertainment in Video | | £12.97P&P: £1.46 |
| Entertainment in Video | | £4.98P&P - Check site |
Full review by
Disillusioned
expert review 
on 2nd Apr 2004
User Rating : 9
Respect :
+1
Good Points: Excellent direction, beautiful set, good story, superb soundtrack, high quality film.
Bad Points: One or two minor lapses in parts of the film.
General comments: Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York was finally released in late 2002. So did it lived up to the hype and was it worth the wait? Absolutely.
As the American Civil War rages, 19th Century New York is a violent and fierce place as rival gangs clash in their fight for New York's Lower East Side. On one side - the brutal Bill The Butcher who leads the Nativists. And on the other, the Irish-Americans led by Amsterdam Vallon.
Filmed on location in Italy Gangs of New York wonderfully recreates 19th Century New York. The set is simply beautiful and massive attention is clearly paid to every detail. Though nothing you see is computer generated - they built 19th Century New York from scratch and built a set over 2 miles long. So it's hardly surprising that Gangs of New York cost well over $100 million to make.
As a very young child Amsterdam Vallon witnesses his father's horrific murder by Protestant Nativist Bill The Butcher. Being just a small boy Amsterdam can do little but he swears revenge and when he returns years later he finally gets to have an attempt at settling old scores. Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as Amsterdam, after proving his superb acting ability himself numerous times in the past (The Basketball Diaries, Romeo + Juliet) maybe critics will finally take DiCaprio seriously as being a good actor.
Daniel Day-Lewis proves his fine acting abilities as the vicious Bill The Butcher - his performance should definitely earn him an Oscar nomination and maybe even win him the Oscar.
Cameron Diaz provides most of the films few comical moments. She plays a charming but deceitful pickpocket. Her romance with Amsterdam provides a valuable subplot to the storyline.
Henry Thomas who you may recognize as Elliot from E.T. stars as Amsterdam's long time friend. Perhaps you can blame the script but his betrayal of Amsterdam seems all too predictable.
Gangs of New York deserves to go down as an epic. The superb quality acting, the beautiful set, the powerful story of a war based on race and religion, the precise direction and the emotive soundtrack - Gangs of New York has everything an epic should have. It's therefore fair to expect a 2 or 3 disc special edition DVD release, just a shame the film didn't get the bagful of Oscars it deserved - Scorsese should have got the Best Director Oscar he is worthy for.
Gangs of New York received an 18 certificate here in the UK, A 15 rating would probably be more appropriate for Gangs of New York though there are a few very graphic violent scenes. There's also some swearing and a little nudity.
Overall Gangs of New York is a brilliant film. Daniel Day-Lewis has came out of retirement to make a real epic, DiCaprio has proved he is over The Beach - his only real flop and Scorsese has added another film to his long list of epics.
Disillusioned's review and ratings | 510 words
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