A definite masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (13 March 2004)

This is probably one of the best movies ever made in my opinion, and definitely one of my favourites. It's set in New York (obviously) in the 1800s and is about the underworld of then. A lot of people were complaining about how long it ran for, but I think long movies are far more engaging than a short one. It does go for about 2hours 45 minutes, but you won't be watching the clock. The acting is quite good, but I'm not a critic and I don't watch movies to see how good the actors are. I would have to say Daniel Day-Lewis was the best because he played a truly evil character, but there were times I couldn't help liking his ways.There was one thing I noticed; it was that Leonardo Di-Caprio can't really keep an American-Irish accent on very well at all times, but it's very minor and nothing bad. Why I loved this movie was because it reminded me of Braveheart in the way it was violent, but epic. Speaking of it, the violence in this film is very strong, especially at the start when the Irish immigrants and Bill The Butcher( Day-Lewis)'s gang fight. This scene sets up the story for the movie, in which Bill kills the Irish priest and gang leader, who is Amsterdam(Leo)'s dad. Amsterdam witnesses it and when he is grown up he plots to kill the Butcher. People were saying it was a lazy plot, but I found it very interesting and much better than a lot of movies of the historical/drama genre. The directing in this movie I thought was very good. Scorsese really makes the viewer feel like part of the movie in the street scenes, and the fight scene was also originally done, in a gradual build from Lord-Of-The-Rings-I-Cant-See-Who's-Killing-Who style, to a slow motion bloodbath of near decapitation, gut-spilling and major blood-losses.
Well, everyone has their own opinion, and those who didn't like this didn't like it, but I thought it was a definite classic that should have got best picture. Go rent it, if not buy it. 10/10