Gangs of New York (2002)

Having seen his father killed in a major gang fight in New York, young Amsterdam Vallon is spirited away for his own safety. Some years later, he returns to the scene of his father's death, the notorious Five Points district in New York. It's 1863 and lower Manhattan is run by gangs, the most powerful of which is the Natives, headed by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. He believes that America should belong to native-born Americans and opposes the waves of immigrants, mostly Irish, entering the city. (imdb)
Cast and Information
Directed By: Martin Scorsese
Written By: Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan, Jay Cocks
Starring: Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Marsan, John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Graham, Henry Thomas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Barbara Bouchet, Cara Seymour, Daniel Day-Lewis
Genres: Drama, Crime, Action, History
Country: Germany, Italy, Netherlands, UK, USA

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5 | ![]() |
Pickpocket | 8 82nd |
Some of the best costumes and set design ever put on film. DDL is fantastic and steals every scene. Only Brendan Gleeson can keep up with him. It's too long and Diaz should not be in this movie but it's still a kickass movie that I would recommend.
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eveelun | 72 48th |
A difficult film to evaluate because there are things that I love about it, including the incredible sets and costumes, a great opening sequence, some fine characters (Gleeson's Monk and Reilly's cop) and, in particular, Day-Lewis's spectacular performance. Then again, Leo is blah, Diaz is miscast and awful, the story has a number of characters (including Diaz and "Johnny") who should have been cut or reduced, and the movie's pacing and coherence are lost in the last hour.
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djross | 55 53rd |
Re-watching this in 2021, it's hard to recall why I liked it so much the first time: everything is just a little bit ridiculous and the script and plot barely suffice. Day-Lewis works hard as always, but the material was not really possible to take seriously, and all the build-up leads to not very much. OK so the opening narration raises the possibility that an element of fiction or dream is involved, but still... Really, what was I thinking?
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doctor7 | 72 55th |
Daniel Day-Lewis is absolutely amazing and makes this film worth watching. I don't think anyone else gave anything less than a good performance but when you've got Day-Lewis absolutely overshadowing everyone else it really makes everyone else look worse.
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Luna6ix | 89 96th |
An era of history and place that together are untouched by Hollywood, which makes it a very interesting watch, not Scorsese's best, but stacks up well against the vast majority of other movies to come out post-2000. I was only really diappointed with Diaz and Dicaprio, but that's not too much to ruin everything else.
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MartinTeller | 69 34th |
I liked the recreation of the period and the characters are reasonably interesting, but the acting is horrible and the film drags. A goofy accent does not make a great performance.
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Sockman | 56 37th |
A disappointing picture by Scorsese, although his direction is certainly not the root of the problems here. They are, namely: poor narration, Cameron Diaz's "acting", and an over-long running time. But for these faults, so much was done right: Daniel Day-Lewis is fantastic, and the set design is excellent for a period piece.
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2 | bren | 71 41st |
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Far too long. Far too long. Far too long! Daniel Day-Lewis was awesome though.
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CCLZA | 70 51st |
The details are very carefuly put together and the acting is on point. Not the best Scorsese.
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riquemiura | 100 95th |
Um dos grandes filmes de Martin Scorsese, onde junta-se suas maiores qualidades em se explorar universo e personagens a partir de analogias e simbolos.
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TheDenizen | 85 91st |
Pretty awesome except for Cameron Diaz's pointless character and her frankly laughable attempts at an accent.
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chow25 | 90 90th |
Great style, great history. Fantastic imagery. Loved the story, loved the ending. Leo was great, as was Daniel Day-Lewis.
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1 | Jherman89 | 85 84th |
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Daniel Day Lewis steals the show in this visually stunning but, drawn out epic drama
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TheDiceman | 75 89th |
Great film.
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CHIMP | 70 37th |
A disappointing effort from Scorcese, visually interesting but barely coherent and uncompelling as a story. Daniel Day-Lewis, Brendan Gleeson and John C. Reilly act their miscast younger counterparts (Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz) off the screen. At least DiCaprio proved himself worthy of a lead in a Scorcese film in "The Aviator".
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teknicolor | 94 96th |
Despite the DiCaprio and Diaz, I loved this movie. Day-Lewis, Reilly, and Gleeson were shining in this film, and along with the awesome costuming and sets, make this movie one I'd willingly watch over and over.
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Alex Watkins | 4 70th |
There are weaknesses - Diaz's dead weight, superfluous and flat narration, troublesome pacing and a somewhat forced theme - but the strengths outweigh them, namely the lively and slightly exaggerated period portrayal, which is the backbone of the entire picture. The highlight, of course, is Daniel Day-Lewis's turn as Bill the Butcher, a ruthless, eloquent, and grotesquely charming villain that is one of the most memorable in recent movie history.
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Bunyas | 72 66th |
An average film by Martin Scorsese!
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1 | Skenkere | 73 64th |
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Not quite as good as I had expected, although maybe that was owing to the weird style of a lot of the scenes. During the opening scene, I was actually thinking "this is Scorcese? Really?" One thing hat is undisputably great about this movie though is Daniel Day-Lewis. Amazing performance, and its worth seeing the movie for him alone. Also, once you get past some of the superfluous narration, irrelevant love interest and odd stylistic choices, it can still be a really entertaining movie.
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JooJoo | 6 95th |
Daniel Day-Lewis continues to prove that he's just so much more talented then basically everyone. It's hard to believe such a silly opening gives way to this amazing movie - ditto on the imaginative historical recreation from Scorsese. This movie is just full of surprises. I didn't even mind Diaz but why is Stephen Graham basically a background character? What a waste.
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recklessmess | 67 43rd |
Loved the hat.
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gtown1479 | 77 60th |
Scenery and costumes are pretty cool (cool enough that I am actually mentioning it). The problem though is that I think that is the best part of the movie. DDL is very good with his character (esp the knife throwing exhibition), and is fun to hate. I would almost go as far as to say I could give this move two sep scores for DDL scenes and scenes w/out DDL. I know the female role is needed, but wish it wasn't Cameron Diaz playing it. Some of her stuff could be cut to shorten the film.
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imnotlaughin | 40 31st |
For a plot that could be combed through in less than a minute, this film is insanely long. Unfortunately, the length doesn't owe to anything of merit - rather several drawn out digressions which detract from the overall point. As mere line deliverers, the big actors were fairly successful, but the characters felt less than compelling as real people - perhaps owing more to a flawed script than anything else. For better Day-Lewis or Scorsese see any of their other works. This one misses the mark.
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Vandelay1 | 70 75th |
Good movie
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dst7175 | 96 99th |
Daniel day Lewis was awesome.
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1 | kav | 59 30th |
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The definition of needlessly long.
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Bmunise | 93 54th |
It's a mess, but the photography is excellent, period design superb, and acting from Daniel Day-Lewis, Brendan Gleeson, and Liam Neeson fantastic. Scorsese was still figuring out how to use DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz is... well, she's just not very good at acting. John C Rielly was a pleasant surprise, as was Stephen Graham. Ultimately, I expect more from a film that opens with "Directed by Martin Scorsese".
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1 | moron | 80 70th |
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not scorseses best but impressive
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1 | johnshaft | 76 59th |
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DANIEL-Day Lewis is fantastic, but the movie is only decent.
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Nroo | 68 36th |
The slo-mo fight scene at the beginning was the worst thing Scorsese's ever done...
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pewbeng | 90 91st |
Scorcese Lewis. BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE! Costumes are awesome, Cameron Diaz is not.
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Rufam | 65 42nd |
One of Scorsese's biggest weaknesses as a filmmaker is more evident than ever in "Gangs of New York" -he pays more attention to craft than characters and emotions. The streets in "Gangs" are beautifully filmed but you 'll find yourself only mildly interested in what's going on in them. It's still an impressive piece of filmmaking, but it's cold and it leaves us out. It's an impressive demonstration of craftsmanship, but lacks warmth and immediacy.
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hellboy76 | 71 84th |
Excellent. Daniel Day Lewis is Creepy, Leo is competent, Diaz is not.
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SlantMag | 40 97th |
"Never before has Scorsese been so willing to let his naked enthusiasm--his love not only for the history within the film and its characters but also the purity of cinema--reveal itself in all of its unabashed glory." - Chuck Rudolph
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1 | bemoaner | 92 98th |
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Scorsese creates a film so resonant that it is both a work of great art and an anthropological document.
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Paxton | 68 53rd |
Cameron Diaz. I know she's good for something, but I do not know what it is.
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NBD Rab | 65 25th |
I like the premise a lot more than the execution. The plot is just all over the place and badly needs pruning. Day-Lewis is easily its highest point, showing shades of the brilliance he would achieve in There Will Be Blood.
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Dullshimmer | 95 81st |
This is one of those movies where I feel the setting outshines any of the stars associated with it. This is not saying anything negative about the leads, but the setting of New York City in the 1860s has almost a life of its own. While of course the history isn't quite right, it is also not an area of history that we hear about very often, if ever. The politics and tensions of the day almost overshadow the story, which is the weakest point of the movie but the rest of the movie makes up for it.
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Hawkins | 71 46th |
Neither Diaz or DiCaprio could suppress their California drawls for 3 hours. "Oim a foighter, oil kick yer arse from the 10 to the 405 all the way to Burbank where you belong, dude!" Classic father vengeance setup, but I don't think it's clear why Amsterdam actually takes so long to get his revenge beyond 'otherwise there wouldn't be a movie'. What I got more out of on rewatch was all the ironic subtext about 'Native' Americans.
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Daigoro | 4 19th |
Daniel Day-Lewis was definitely the highlight of this film. Everything else, meh. Was also way too long.
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MichaelMan99 | 76 56th |
Flawed and overlong, Gangs of New York is one of Scorsese's weakest films, but it's still enjoyable, mainly for Daniel Day Lewis's great performance.
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Average Percentile 54.88% from 13376 Ratings | ![]() |