TNMC
This site’s design is only visible in a graphical browser that supports web standards, but its content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Gangs of New York
I did not see many films during the 2002 Oscar season. I missed The Pianist (for reasons discussed in my About Schmidt/Punch-Drunk Love review), Talk to Her, and The Hours. I don’t really regret missing any of the aforementioned films (except maybe Talk to Her) but I definitely regret not seeing Scorsese’s Gangs of New York until its DVD release.
While I did not see the film until about a week ago, I knew that Scorsese deserved the best director Oscar. The Academy seems to give awards to those who have been previously snubbed for lesser works (Nicole Kidman was snubbed for Moulin Rouge but was given the Oscar for The Hours while Russell Crowe won for Gladiator when he really deserved it for The Insider). Since Scorsese’s films are considered classics, have become ingrained in American culture for the past twenty years, and he had been snubbed three times by the Academy for an Oscar he should have at least won for Raging Bull, he was the most deserving of the fellow nominees. However, he was not a pedophile, a fugitive from the law, or the maker of a Holocaust film. I guess that’s what took him out of commission. Now that I’ve seen the film, I can safely feel even more that Scorsese was snubbed.
Not only was Scorsese snubbed by the Academy but the film itself also was. In my opinion, Daniel Day-Lewis should have beat out both Adrian Brody and Jack Nicholson for the best actor prize. Scorsese’s direction and style while taking a cross section of America during the Civil War and Day-Lewis’s performance as the film’s villain, Bill “The Butcher” Cutting, are the two best qualities of the film.
Oscar issues put aside, the plot of Gangs, while a bit cliche and not as solid as Scorsese and Day-Lewis’s talent, is fairly enthralling. The film follows Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio), the son of former Irish gang leader “Priest” Vallon (Liam Neeson) who is killed in the battle of the Five Points by rival gang leader Bill the Butcher. Sixteen years following his father’s murder, Amsterdam seeks to avenge his father’s murder and bring the Irish into their rightful spot in American history. Along the way, he becomes the subject of a Shakespearian drama when he is ironically taken under the wing of his new father figure, none other than Bill the Butcher and becomes the love interest of Jenny (Cameron Diaz), a pick pocket and one of Bill’s associates.
The film, with a running time of nearly three hours, has a very brisk pace. The three hours seems to fly by in about a third of the time. This is, without a doubt, due to Scorsese’s direction and the editing of the film. Take, for instance, the beginning fight sequence, which will go down in the history of cinema as one of the most powerful cinematic sequences ever. Scorsese’s use of film speed and music (an extremely powerful instrumental version of Peter Gabriel’s “Signal to Noise”) makes a five to ten minute sequence fly right by while giving the audience a rush and bringing them to put an emotional investment into the characters.
The scene also is one of the best pieces to showcase a 5.1 surround sound set up and a big screen TV. While I noticed some discoloration in the snow (towards the edges of the screen it looked to be a really dirty white, filled with yellowish and greenish streaks), the scene will kick your ass. Listening to the film on the Dolby 5.1 track, I noticed that some of the voice-over seemed to sound as if it were coming from a megaphone. I do not know if this was intended but it was kind of distracting. Also included on the disc is a DTS track, which I have not been fortunate enough to check out. However, due to its inclusion as well as an insightful and entertaining commentary track with Scorsese, the film had to be spread across two DVDs.
The second disc also features a barrage of extra features. Featurettes regarding costume design, set design, and the history of the Five Points, a unique, multiple angle look at the set, trailers, the U2 music video, and a Discovery Channel special “Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York” all grace the second disc, providing an interesting historical context of the film’s setting and plot and the production of the film itself. However, the real features here are the film and its stellar presentation (along with the supplement of Scorsese’s excellent commentary track).
What do you think? Talk about it on the Forums
