Gangs Of New York (2002)
America was born in the streets
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Gary Lewis, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, Alec McCowen, David Hemmings, Larry Gilliard Jr., Cara Seymour
Director: Martin Scorsese
Running Time: 166 minutes
US MPAA rating: N/AUK BBFC rating: 18
Action, Crime, Drama
On DVD Any DVD with so many Oscars, Golden Globes and Baftas hanging over its title is probably making a rod for its own back. It creates one helluva high expectation level on the part of the viewer. An expectation level which, in this case, is a mammoth struggle for the movie to live up to.
Running at just short of 3 hours, director Martin Scorsese obviously has a lot he wants to fit in. First off, there's the predominant plotline following Leonardo DiCaprio as the vengeful Irish laddie-o out to appease the murder of his father (Liam Neeson) by killing the moustachioed 'butcher' responsible (Daniel Day-Lewis). Then there's the half-hearted love story unfolding between DiCaprio and an uninterested-looking Cameron Diaz. There's also a bunch of stuff going on in the background relating to legal and political corruption, opposition to the floods of immigrants arriving at the harbour every day, and hostility to the impending Civil War army call-ups.
If my house was as cluttered as this film, I'd be ashamed to let any unexpected visitors put as much as a foot past the front door. The acting is decent, though once again those expectation levels take their toll. Even Daniel Day-Lewis, widely commended for his blood-thirsty performance as New York's gruesome gang daddy, left me underwhelmed. Day-Lewis hadn't made a movie for a staggering five years before this one - and hopefully he wasn't spending all of that time practicing his slightly-crappy NY accent. He does, however, provide us with the piece's only truly watchable character, if only because you'll be curious to see who he's going to bludgeon next.
DVD Extras: Set design, set exploration, costume design, Five Points history lesson, Discovery channel documentary 'Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York', U2 'The Hands That Built America' music video, 'Making of' featurette, theatrical trailer, and a cuddly toy! That last one might not be true.
It's Got: Marvellous sets.
It Needs: To trim down the ridiculous running time by concentrating more wholly on one single aspect of the story.
Alternatives: Goodfellas, The Godfather Trilogy
Summary: Offers us something different from the usual (and increasingly tiresome) gangland matter, but the end product is confusing, muddled-up and far, FAR too long. Any fans of DiCaprio out there (well, it takes all sorts) would be much better off picking up a copy of the vastly-superior Catch Me If You Can.
Review by Gary Panton
Review Date: 26th July 2003
External Links
Gangs Of New York at the IMDB
Comments1 Comment |
| In the aftermath of The Aviator, Gangs of New York shines in its portrayal of early American life. Don't miss it... |
| Comment by:- gilletbd1977 | www.thedvdreport.com/dvd_revie... | 27 June 2005 | ip: logged |
