A Most Unforgetttable Scene Sequence . . .

Rating: 9/10 (11 October 2006)

An excellent film, well acted with a solid cast and story line. However, might I point out one of my all time favorite scenes (of any film) that takes place at the end of the film just prior to the credits run. The scenario for Gangs of New York is set in the mid-1860's. Before the plot reaches it's conclusion, several of the leading characters meet their demise . . . including one of the protagonists and the "bad guy", Bill the Butcher. As the film ends, the burial site for these characters is shown as a small well kept cemetery just across the river from Manhattan Island, which appears in the background. What follows is a sequence of scenes that takes place at exactly the same location but at intervals of roughly 50 years apart . . . as the cemetery slowly falls into rubble before disappearing completely by the final (current day) scene . . . while, in the background, we see the skyline of Manhattan undergoing a similar "evolutionary" development from the 1800's to the present. Thus, as the film ends, we have the sense that the characters in this film (fiction based on fact, by the way) have faded into history . . . almost as if they never existed at all. To me, this impressive scene sequence represents a most poignant moment in filmdom . . . one of my all-time favorites. Next time you view this film, look for it.