Another brutal masterpiece from the maestro

Rating: 8/10 (9 September 2007)

Gangs Of New York (2002)
Top 5 - 2002
Leaving some breathless and stunned and others unsure,Martin Scorsese's last gangster epic of the 90s was Casino (1996). In my opinion a superb film. 6 years later Scorsese gathers his cinematic mastery to create another powerful and brutal period gangster drama about New York (of course).
Gangs Of New York is a bloodthirsty film about the struggling, lawless period that was endured while America was being 'born'. Immigrants were registering in Ellis Island and thereafter were unleashed to prosper (or otherwise) in the land of the free.
Scorsese shows us how the already established 'Americans' fiercely despised the Irish settlers. The film's opening scene is brutal, obscene. A bloody battle led by Liam Neeson for the Irish and a sociopath, prejudiced Daniel Day Lewis (who is astonishing) as Bill The Butcher wanting to clear the scum off of the streets of New York; his streets, his corners.
This is a Martin Scorsese film so I don't need to tell you that a) it is violent and b) it is very good. Though it may not apply to everyone, Gangs is a beautifully crafted, directed and acted masterwork from one of the finest and purest directors of the past three decades.
Watch Leonardo Di Caprio's risky journey as he befriends Bill The Butcher in a mission to ultimately avenge his father's death at the Five Points battle.
"A stunning period gangster epic"
8/10