A 'Folklore of Bill the Butcher' has been born!

Rating: 8/10 (15 January 2003)

It took 2 viewings to promote this film from being very good (the 1st time)...to being great! (2nd time). And an example of fine film making. An astute reviewer once said of John Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) that it was panned upon it's original release, but all Ford scholars now regard it as an American classic. I wouldn't be surprised if, down the road, history sheds light and provokes the same reaction among film scholars toward Scorsese's epic.
Towering above the grand and detailed setting of mid 19th century New York ("Noo Yawk") is Daniel Day Lewis. His performance as William Cutting (a walking nightmare of Charles Dicken's most unscrupulous characters, complete with stovepipe hat and gangling stride) is the most electrifying I've seen in years. He is both charismatic and cruel. Symbolic, yet seemingly spontaneous. It's hard to believe that this is the same actor from 'My Left Foot' and 'Last of the Mohicans', to name just two. It's difficult to not be in awe of his chameleon capabilities. If he decides to stay in semi-retirement, his place in acting history is still immortalized. It is we, the rest of the world, that will be the loser.
DiCaprio (very believable, more so than 'Titanic') and Diaz perform just fine to create a compelling conflict. You feel their characters wallowing in a dirty, disgusting environment with just enough pride to raise their heads above the muck of life in 1862 to survive with a sense of honor. This is not a world you'd want to walk in without a clothes pin over your nose.
Lifting elements from 'The Bowery'(1933) and especially Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In The West'(1969), Scorsese successfully creates a fictional story of revenge against the backdrop of Five Points that led to the 4 day Draft Riots of the Civil War. After watching this, it's "Thank you! Thank you!" for being born in the 20th century.
Not for all tastes, especially if you're looking for clean cut, sympathetic characters with fine pressed shirts.
Still...I wonder if the director has his own cut to be released on dvd that won't be hampered by theater showtime restrictions. Some story lines could have been further fleshed out.
After seeing this movie, I picked up 'Last of the Mohicans' on dvd (with DTS sound...what a bonus). And I'm still captivated by Day Lewis' performance. Selfishly, I hope his cobbler business goes under.
9 out of 10 !