Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York
File:Gangs NY.jpg original film poster
Directed by	Martin Scorsese
Written by	Jay Cocks Steven Zaillian Kenneth Lonergan
Produced by	Alberto Grimaldi Harvey Weinstein
Starring	Leonardo DiCaprio Daniel Day-Lewis Cameron Diaz Jim Broadbent John C. Reilly Liam Neeson Brendan Gleeson Barbara Bouchet
Cinematography	Michael Ballhaus
Edited by	Thelma Schoonmaker
Music by	Howard Shore
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release dates	December 20, 2002 (USA release)
Running time	166 min.
Language	English
Budget	$97,000,000 US (est.)

Gangs of New York is a 2002 film set in the middle 19th century in the Five Points district of New York City. It was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan. The film is loosely inspired by Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York. It was distributed by Miramax Films.

Gangs of New York is about the conflict between the "native" criminal underworld associated with the Know-Nothings and the immigrant gangs aligned with Tammany Hall. Amsterdam Vallon (DiCaprio) is a young Irish-American, son of the slain 'Priest' Vallon, leader of the Dead Rabbits. Amsterdam attempts to gain the trust of William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Day-Lewis), leader of the Nativist gangs and killer of Amsterdam's father.

The film opens in 1846, but most of the action takes place in the early 1860s, when the two principal controversies in New York were the great wave of Irish immigration to the city and the federal government's prosecution of the American Civil War. The story follows the careers of Amsterdam and Cutting as they rise from crime bosses to political kingmakers during the reign of Boss Tweed (Broadbent), and culminates with a confrontation between them that coincides with the New York Draft Riots of 1863.

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Cameron Diaz
• Jim Broadbent
• John C. Reilly
• Henry Thomas
• Brendan Gleeson
• Barbara Bouchet
• Gary Lewis
• Liam Neeson

See also

• Films with no title
• Soundtrack from Gangs of New York
• Irish Americans in New York City
• Irish Brigade (US)
• The Westies
• The Departed
• State of Grace (film)
• Five Points, Manhattan

Herbert Asbury's Book

• Asbury, Herbert: The Gangs of New York; 1927,1928, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.; 1989 Dorset Press; ISBN 0-88029-429-9

External links

• Official website
• Gangs of New York at IMDb
• Gangs of New York at Rotten Tomatoes
• Complete list of actors who were considered for roles