Superb fictional but historically-valid account of gang warfare that shaped New York city in the 19th century.

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 2004)

Feb 2010 edit: I saw it again presently and it still is a fascinating movie. A must-see.
'Gangs of New York' is a long movie at 2 hours and 45 minutes, but it never did feel 'long', it never got boring. As the historical featurette on the DVD shows, the time, place, characters and events are predominantly real, New York in the period between about 1840 and 1865 was the dirtiest and most dangerous place in the USA, perhaps in the whole world. The five points area, near what is now Little Italy and Chinatown, drew immigrants, primarily Irish, and freshly-released convicts. Police were there mainly to keep the wealthy from getting mugged by the poor. Rival volunteer firefighter groups would often fight each other and loot the burning buildings. There really was a 'Boss Tweed' and a 'Bill the Butcher.' Young female pickpockets thrived. There were a whole host of rival gangs, and being part of a gang was essential for survival. The riots protesting the draft really did result in almost destroying New York.
So, what we have in this movie is a very closely historical look and feel of that era, interwoven with a fictional story. The clear star of the movie is Daniel Day-Lewis as 'Bill the Butcher'. He creates an unforgettable character that is eloquent, sometimes funny, always terrifying, and often deadly to his opponents. Leonardo DiCaprio is very strong as the young man 'Amsterdam' whose father (Liam Neeson) had been killed years earlier in the gang brawl that opens the movie. Cameron Diaz plays Jenny who has connections to both Bill and Amsterdam. The picture and sound on the DVD are first-rate, with either a Dolby 5.1 or a DTS 5.1 sound track selectable. The movie is long, so the only extra I watched was the historical one, and it is a treasure. I like this movie and rate it highly. Anyone who wants to learn more about the 'hidden' history of New York should see this movie.
The remaining comments contain SPOILERS and are for my future recollection. Do not read further. If you want more details, go read the critic Ebert's excellent review.
Bill was the vicious leader of the 'Nativist' gang that wanted to keep out the foreign immigrants, especially the Irish who they considered even lower than the black former slaves. The rival gang featured here were the 'Dead Rabbits'. (As the DVD extra explains, the real Irish name was different, but sounded much like 'dead rabbit', and actually had a meaning close to 'large and dangerous brute'.) In the opening fight Bill kills 'Priest', Amsterdam's father, the fight ends as the Nativists prevail. Amsterdam is sent to an orphanage to grow up, then we see him 16 years later being released, he goes back to Five Points.
Being a quiet but assertive and competent type, Amsterdam soon gets into the good graces of Bill. Voice-over, 'It is strange being under the wing of a dragon. It is warmer than you think.' But eventually Bill learns who Amsterdam really is, and is prepared when he deflects a knife thrown by Amsterdam, subdues him, spares his life but brands him on the right cheek with a glowing hot knife blade. Jenny the pickpocket and Amsterdam were on the way to falling in love, she helps nurse him back to health, he assumes leadership of the Dead Rabbits, he challenges Bill to a brawl, which takes place right when the militia begin to fire upon that section of town using cannons on ships in the harbor, to break up the military draft protest riots. Bill gets mortally wounded, Amsterdam finishes him off. His revenge taken.