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| Three major stars peak out over a torn American flag on this poster for Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York |
During the establishment of New York the city was a myriad of gangs, who also ran the fire department. One boy has his father killed in a gang showdown and swears revenge over the brutal 'Butcher'.
Gangs of New York is written by Jay Cocks (Silence (2016)), Steve Zaillian (Awakenings (1990)) and Kenneth Lonergan (You Van Count On Me (2000)), loosely based on the same-titled 1928 novel by Herbert Asbury (The Golden Flood (1941)), and directed by New-Yorker master filmmaker Martin Scorsese (Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967)), whose 18th feature it is.
Right from the get-go, Gangs of New York is an unappealing mega-epic, which wallows in casual violence and cookie cutter-like characters. It is incredibly far from achieving any feeling of realism, so far that it made me wonder whether Gangs would have perhaps worked as a musical instead?
It is terribly long and mercilessly dull and bereft of charm: Cameron Diaz (Shrek 2 (2004)) doesn't cut it in her grifter part; Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Food (1989)) is repugnant as Bill the Butcher, and Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby (2013)) follows his lead for most of the film, which is an odd and exhausting experience.
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The Departed (2006) - Scorsese's Boston-set wildcat of a capital letter Movie
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Top 10: Best 'box office success' movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
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Casino (1995) - Scorsese's sumptuous Vegas gangster tale has the wingspan of a Greek tragedy
The Age of Innocence (1993) or, Stayin' IN the Pants
Cape Fear (1991) - Scorsese adds lots of stuff to remake but loses the balance
Goodfellas (1990) or, Citizen Gangster
Cost: 100 mil. $
Box office: 193.7 mil. $
= Big flop (returned 1.93 times its cost)
[Gangs of New York premiered 9 December (New York) and runs 167 minutes. Scorsese bought the novel rights in 1979 but did not find finance for the film until two decades later. Diaz was paid 17.5 mil. $ for her performance; DiCaprio 10 mil. $ and an undisclosed gross participation; Liam Neeson 2 mil. $; and Scorsese 6 mil. $, of which he had to pay back 3 mil. $ due to budget overruns. An enormous five-block piece of Lower Manhattan was recreated as a set in the Cinecittà studio in Rome. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy and in New York from December 2000 - March 2001. Scorsese and producer Harvey Weinstein battled over the editing and length of the film. The film opened #4, behind fellow new releases The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Two Weeks Notice and holdover hit Maid in Manhattan to a 9.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it stayed in the top 5 one more week (#5) and grossed 77.8 mil. $ (40.2 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 23.7 mil. $ (12.2 %) and the UK with 16.3 mil. $ (8.4 %). The film was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning none. It lost Best Picture to Chicago, Best Actor (Day-Lewis) to Adrien Brody in The Pianist, Director to Roman Polanski for The Pianist, Original Screenplay to Pedro Almodóvar for Talk to Her, Cinematography (Michael Ballhaus) to Conrad L. Hall for Road to Perdition, Art/Set Direction to Chicago, Costume Design to Chicago, Sound to Chicago, Editing to Chicago, and Original Song (U2's The Hands That Built America) to Eminem's Lose Yourself from 8 Mile. It won 2/5 Golden Globe nominations, 1/12 BAFTA nominations, an AFI award, was nominated for a César award, 2 Grammys, won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3.5/4 star review, translating to 4 notches higher than this one. Scorsese returned with 3 documentary projects prior to his theatrical return The Aviator (2004). DiCaprio returned in Catch Me If You Can (2002); Day-Lewis in The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005); Diaz in Shrek 4-D (2003, video short) and theatrically in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003). Gangs of New York is certified fresh at 74 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Gangs of New York?
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