Extraordinary epic! Scorsese's masterpiece!

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2003)

In my opinion, this was an amazing film. I highly recommend a second viewing to fully appreciate it. I've heard complaints that it was too long, but the detail that went into this film could not have been achieved in a shorter amount of time. It does contain quite a bit of violence, which I usually hate, but the director leaves most of the gore in the minds of the viewer and not in the eyes. The history of New York and the draft riots is basically unknown to most Americans and this film details this history very bluntly. No sugar coating. The blatant corruption of government authority and the underlying essence of the role religion played, (and is still playing in our time), and the problems and prejudices facing Americans is all too familiar more than a century later. From the costumes to the architecture, to the leaders and their subjects, Scorsese's vision, his life's work, is finally realized and presented to the public as a spectacle and a reflection of just how much New York has changed and yet is still a part of our lives. The ending scene, where we see the change of New York over time and the cemetary across the Hudson just sort of "reminding" us of what once was, brought tears to my eyes and grief to my soul. Not necessarily "grief" because of sadness. It was more of the grief one can feel from just moving on to someplace new and yet never really letting go of where they've been.