Gangs of New York (2002)

Réalisateur:

Martin Scorsese

Scénaristes (WGA):

Jay Cocks (story)
Jay Cocks (screenplay) ...

Date de sortie:

20 décembre 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drame | Histoire

Accroche:

America Was Born In The Streets.

Intrigue:

In 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.

Plot Keywords:

Butcher | New York City | Revenge | Pickpocket | Army

Récompenses:

Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 59 nominations

A la Une:

67e Gala Golden Globe : Martin Scorsese recevra un prix honorifique
 (Par Critique-info. 12 novembre 2009, 12:04 PM, PST)

Avis des utilisateurs:

Suppressed History Finally Surfaces

Ensemble

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Amsterdam Vallon
Daniel Day-Lewis	...	Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting
Cameron Diaz	...	Jenny Everdeane
Jim Broadbent	...	William 'Boss' Tweed
John C. Reilly	...	Happy Jack Mulraney
Henry Thomas	...	Johnny Sirocco
Liam Neeson	...	'Priest' Vallon
Brendan Gleeson	...	Walter 'Monk' McGinn
Gary Lewis	...	McGloin
Stephen Graham	...	Shang
Eddie Marsan	...	Killoran
Alec McCowen	...	Reverend Raleigh (as Alec Mccowen)
David Hemmings	...	Mr. Schermerhorn
Larry Gilliard Jr.	...	Jimmy Spoils
Cara Seymour	...	Hell-Cat Maggie

MPAA:

Rated R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language.

Durée:

167 min

Pays:

USA | Italy

Langue:

Anglais | Irish Gaelic

Couleur:

Couleur

Rapport de forme:

2,35 : 1

Son:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Classification:

USA:R (certificate #39927) | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Brazil:18 | New Zealand:R16 | India:A | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Israel:PG | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) (uncut) | Singapore:NC-16 (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:18 | Greece:K-17

Lieux de tournage:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Société:

Miramax Films

Anecdotes:

Elmer Bernstein's original unused score was released as a limited edition CD along with Bernstein's unused scores for The Journey of Natty Gann (1985) and The Scarlet Letter (1995) in 2008.

Goofs:

Continuité: When Amsterdam follows Jenny uptown when she's posing as the maid and he confronts her outside, the blood on his neck from her knife changes drastically between shots.

Guillemet:

[after someone speaks to him in Irish Gaelic]
Boss Tweed: They don't speak English in New York any more?

Connexions De Film:

Référencé sur "Saturday Night Live: Salma Hayek/Christina Aguilera (#28.15)" (2003)

Bande son:

Dark Moon, High Tide

Suppressed History Finally Surfaces

I am a Civil War "buff," so I wanted to see this movie the moment I heard it was being made. Yes, the New York Draft Riots did happen, just two weeks AFTER the Northern victory at Gettysburg, demonstrating that the outcome of the War was anything but certain, even after Lee had been forced to retreat to the south bank of the Potomac River. Today, many would find this surprising.

The movie did take some license, however. There was no wholesale firing on civilians by Union soldiers. In fact, reported deaths after three days of rioting were less than one-hundred. Many of the dead were randomly selected blacks, who were hanged and mutilated (which was accurately depicted in the film). Today, many would also find this surprising, because the schools teach that the North was good, and the South was bad. The truth is that blacks were subjected to inhumane treatment everywhere, especially in the Nothern cities.

There was also no firing by offshore naval vessels. That was artistic license. (My source for all of the above is a doctoral dissertation that was published about ten years ago titled "The New York City Draft Riots.")

The movie makes the important point that the North had run out of "home grown" manpower to fight the South. Had it not been for Irish and German volunteers through 1863, and black volunteers in 1864, the North would have sued for peace. The 1864 Democratic Platform promised to bring the War to a swift and speedy conclusion.

Bravo to Scorsese for bringing all of this to light. In the meantime, the movie is about twenty minutes to long. The brothel scenes, the "uptown" scenes, and some of the scenes in the catacombs struck me as slow and superfluous. On the other hand, the street scenes and the scenes of the random gangs (of which I wish there were more) were glorious.

One thing Scorsese left out, however: The mountains of animal and human waste in the streets! Not long after his movie was released, the History Channel produced a documentary on the Five Points area, and it is staggering to consider the tons and tons of animal and human waste piling up in the streets, and the thousands of gallons of urine running in the gutters. There were old photos of waste in the streets stacked six feet high. Needless to say, infant mortality in such a fetid environment was about 50%. Scorsese leaves this out, and there is scarcely a horse in the movie.

Day-Lewis does a superb job with a character that is unevenly developed. He is a homicidal thug in the beginning, a menacing, but somewhat benign, presence in the middle, and a psychotic killer in the end. It isn't really clear why he vacillates the way he does. Bi-polar, I guess. DiCaprio proves he can act, and he exudes a manliness he did not possess in earlier films. Diaz turns in a creditable performance. The cast of thousands adds a nice touch to the film.

I would never say this is a "great" film, but it certainly is worth a look. Kudos to Scorsese for the herculean effort, and a tip of the kepi for the poetic ending, which reminded me of the ending in 1936's "San Francisco."