The best picture of 2002

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2003)

I usually do not review movies because I think it's a waste of time, since I won't say anything what the other reviewers already have. But I felt that it is different with Gangs of New York. This is just one terrific movie.

Caution: `The 2nd half of this paragraph contains slight spoilers' And yes, all you people who worship `Lord of the Rings.' This movie blows LOTR away. It is much more realistic (LotR is just ridiculously fantastical). The Two Towers is much worse than everyone says it is. It's actually disappointing compared to the first, but the depth of the story in the second is what makes so many people say that it is better than the first, when in fact it is not. On top of being more realistic, the acting is far better, too. Just look at the infamous William Cutting. It does not matter what anyone says: Daniel Day-Lewis showcases one of the greatest performances in cinematic history as the gutless Bill The Butcher.' His performance in GoNY is majorly underrated, and will never be given the credit and respect it deserves. Just look at the scene, after the Butcher kills the elected Irish official `Walter 'Monk' McGinn' played by Brendan Gleeson: He sits down to eat his meat, and says one of the most famous speeches in the movie: `....and then I'll festoon my bedchamber with his (referring to Amsterdam) guts....' It's hard to find the words to describe his acting in that particular scene.
Cation: `This paragraph contains slight spoilers' Another great part where Daniel Day-Lewis shines is at the Theater after the assassination attempt of Amsterdam Vallon during the celebration of Priest's death. The whole scene is just acted out with such genius and perfection by Day-Lewis, that it leaves so many other actors in the shadow, you could easily proclaim it as being on of the most famous performances ever, by an actor. ( `forgive my bad grammar, but I'm from Germany, and there, one sentence can be as long as a whole paragraph. NO kidding!') There are just too many countless other unforgettable scenes where Daniel-Day Lewis dazzles with its performance to mention them all.
Nevertheless, after all that I've said, and all that we have seen from Daniel Day-Lewis's performance, no one should be surprised that the Oscar notch went to Adrien Brody. Come on folks, the academy, with its blatant hypocrisy, awards `The English Patient' with 9 academy awards but gives Steven Spielberg's `The Color Purple' nothing, and on top of that sniffs Spielberg of his nomination for directing this beautiful masterpiece. I don't think that the English Patient was bad in any way, but the greatness between The Color Purple and The English Patient lies in no way within 9 Oscars. That's sheer absurdity. It never made sense to me, and it never will.
So, it was to no surprise to me (because it made sense) when Gangs of New York went home with 0 Oscars. But do not be misled by that fact because it does not take away from its greatness. And yes, Gangs of New York is the best movie of 2002, better in every way then Chicago or The Two Towers, or Adaptation, or any other movie of 2002. I am not even going to go into how much superior and grander in scale Gangs is compared to Chicago. It puts the latter to shame.
Yet still, don't get me wrong. I do love the Fellowship of the Ring and every time I see it I love it even more. I just cannot say the same about its sequel. But GoNY is a realistic motion picture, and it's about real life because it shows how people lived in New York during the middle of the 19th century. Gangs of New York is a film about history that really did take place, that's why LOTR can and never will be as great as movies like Gangs of New York, Braveheart, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Color Purple, Godfather, Casablanca, etc.
Don't misunderstand me, LOTR are movies in their own league, but GoNY, and the other major epic motion pictures mentioned in the text above are much more powerful because their issues and characters are authentic, and although some of them are fictional (e.g. Forrest Gump, Don Vito Corleone, Rick Blaine) most of us can relate to at least one of the characters and find authenticity in all' of them. LOTR could never be as authentic because its issues, and characters are not realistic, and thus it could never be as powerful and ultimately as great as GoNY.
I give this movie a 10 out of 10 and 4 stars because it deserves every little bit of positive criticism. This, in my opinion, is Martin Scorsese's most underrated epic motion picture, along with Casino, which is a must-see by the way, too. Gangs of New York is a great epic motion picture event and without doubt the best picture of 2002.