Scorsese tries to squeeze a mountain of melodrama and history into his picture, too much to absorb at one sitting.
Then there's Diaz, who rather flounders about in a role that seems beyond her; she's much too twentieth century for the nineteenth-century pickpocket she plays. Besides, it's never entirely clear why Diaz's character is in the movie at all. Broadbent is always good, though, ("The appearance of the law must be upheld," says his Tweed, "especially while it's being broken"), as is Reilly as the ruffian cop. But I wish there could have been more screen time for Liam Neeson. As in "The Phantom Menace" he's one of the best things in the film, and he dies much too soon.
Although the Civil War is raging in the South during most of the story, you'd hardly know it except for a few fleeting mentions at the beginning of the movie and during the draft riots at the end. The War is supposed to remind us of the situation of the newly arrived Irish immigrants, who were looked down upon as inferiors by New York natives as much as blacks were denigrated by Southern bigots. But like everything else, even a war and its causes get lost in the movie's overtaxed plot lines.
"Gangs of New York" attempts to be an epic, a broad panorama on a vast canvas, using gigantic sets, spectacular cinematography, handsome costumes, and an extensive cast; while at the same time it tries to be an intimate, very personal character study. The two elements don't always blend. Moreover, it's not the movie's plot, themes, or characterizations that most viewers are likely to remember. It's the violence. The brutality. There's a ton of macho posturing, fighting, wars, knifings, axings, shootings, and blood. In the end, maybe it's that, the blood, buckets of it, streets of it, that is the dominant feature of the film, and it's what eventually makes us numb to everything else.
As far as the original music by Bono, Peter Gabriel, and Howard Shore is concerned, a good deal of criticism has been leveled against it as sounding too modern for the story's mid nineteenth-century setting. Granted, music is quite subjective, but I've never found too many period films that are actually underscored by music of their time, anyway, (Was "Tara's Theme" from "Gone With the Wind" really mid nineteenth century?), so it's never seriously bothered me. Mostly, the music in "Gangs" is representative of the Irish/Celtic style, modern or otherwise, and for me it was largely unobtrusive, even entertaining.
In time "Gangs of New York" may be considered a great film, a classic film; only the years will tell. For now, it's an important but distinctly flawed film.
Video:
For the most part, the video is merely OK. The image is presented in a wide, 2.35:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. The colors, mostly earth tones of brown, gold, red, and orange, are deep and often brilliant; and definition, especially in darker areas of the picture, is well rendered. My only concerns are minor: some moiré effects that are noticeable from time to time, particularly in the bricks of buildings; some halo effects; and a soft, overall glossy sheen, rendering fine details somewhat obscure.
Audio:
The audio playback is available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround. In DD 5.1 you'll find superb channel separation, strong dynamics, and good, hefty bass. The rear speakers are put to use for voices, crowd noises, music, and natural, environmental ambience. The sound complements the video well, and the two combined provide a splendid sensory experience.
Extras:
Given the importance of this film as a multiple Oscar nominee, the folks at Buena Vista have seen fit to offer it in a two-disc set. I would have to ask, however, why they chose to split the film over the two discs. If it had been because the film utilized so little compression and so high a bit rate, I could understand. But it doesn't; the bit rate is quite average. Instead, the people at BV decided to put eighty-six minutes of the film on disc one and about eighty-one minutes on disc two. Now, here's the rub: In addition to the eighty-six minutes of movie on disc one, there is over an hour of extras. Wouldn't it have made more sense to put all of the film on disc one and all of the extras on disc two? Oh, well, a minor inconvenience.
Disc one contains the widescreen presentation of Part 1, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, English and French spoken languages, and English captions for the hearing impaired. The major bonuses are an audio commentary with director Scorsese; a "Five Points Study Guide"; a twenty-three minute featurette, "Exploring the Sets of Gangs of New York," which is the best of all the extras; a thirteen-minute featurette, "History of the Five Points"; an eight-minute featurette on "Costume Design"; eleven scene selections; a widescreen theatrical trailer; and a pan-and-scan teaser trailer.
Disc two contains Part 2 of the movie and continues the audio commentary. It also includes a thirty-five minute Discovery Channel Special, "Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York," mostly promotional hype; a music video, "The Hands That Built America" with U2; and the final thirteen scene selections.
Annoyingly, Buena Vista again fail to provide an informational insert for scene indexes and such. I'm reminded of the guy in the TV commercial who saved his company hundreds of thousands of dollars by leaving one olive out of every jar of olives they packaged. Maybe the cost-saving insert omission by Disney and Buena Vista is reaping tremendous rewards for them, I don't know. Makes me wonder what they'll consider eliminating next. The keep case? Maybe use a cardboard sleeve. Save 'em millions.
Parting Thoughts:
Despite its weaknesses, "Gangs of New York" is a compelling motion picture, at least in its initial viewing, beautifully photographed, vividly presented, brutally engaging. Supported by Daniel Day-Lewis's wonderfully villainous, bigger-than-life performance, the film almost makes us forget its weak lead, disjointed plot, and excessive violence. Almost. But not quite. But the movie is still valuable if only for the sake of its spectacle, historical references, morbid curiosity, and, of course, for Bill the Butcher.
Although the Civil War is raging in the South during most of the story, you'd hardly know it except for a few fleeting mentions at the beginning of the movie and during the draft riots at the end. The War is supposed to remind us of the situation of the newly arrived Irish immigrants, who were looked down upon as inferiors by New York natives as much as blacks were denigrated by Southern bigots. But like everything else, even a war and its causes get lost in the movie's overtaxed plot lines.
"Gangs of New York" attempts to be an epic, a broad panorama on a vast canvas, using gigantic sets, spectacular cinematography, handsome costumes, and an extensive cast; while at the same time it tries to be an intimate, very personal character study. The two elements don't always blend. Moreover, it's not the movie's plot, themes, or characterizations that most viewers are likely to remember. It's the violence. The brutality. There's a ton of macho posturing, fighting, wars, knifings, axings, shootings, and blood. In the end, maybe it's that, the blood, buckets of it, streets of it, that is the dominant feature of the film, and it's what eventually makes us numb to everything else.
As far as the original music by Bono, Peter Gabriel, and Howard Shore is concerned, a good deal of criticism has been leveled against it as sounding too modern for the story's mid nineteenth-century setting. Granted, music is quite subjective, but I've never found too many period films that are actually underscored by music of their time, anyway, (Was "Tara's Theme" from "Gone With the Wind" really mid nineteenth century?), so it's never seriously bothered me. Mostly, the music in "Gangs" is representative of the Irish/Celtic style, modern or otherwise, and for me it was largely unobtrusive, even entertaining.
In time "Gangs of New York" may be considered a great film, a classic film; only the years will tell. For now, it's an important but distinctly flawed film.
Video:
For the most part, the video is merely OK. The image is presented in a wide, 2.35:1 ratio anamorphic widescreen. The colors, mostly earth tones of brown, gold, red, and orange, are deep and often brilliant; and definition, especially in darker areas of the picture, is well rendered. My only concerns are minor: some moiré effects that are noticeable from time to time, particularly in the bricks of buildings; some halo effects; and a soft, overall glossy sheen, rendering fine details somewhat obscure.
Audio:
The audio playback is available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 Surround. In DD 5.1 you'll find superb channel separation, strong dynamics, and good, hefty bass. The rear speakers are put to use for voices, crowd noises, music, and natural, environmental ambience. The sound complements the video well, and the two combined provide a splendid sensory experience.
Extras:
Given the importance of this film as a multiple Oscar nominee, the folks at Buena Vista have seen fit to offer it in a two-disc set. I would have to ask, however, why they chose to split the film over the two discs. If it had been because the film utilized so little compression and so high a bit rate, I could understand. But it doesn't; the bit rate is quite average. Instead, the people at BV decided to put eighty-six minutes of the film on disc one and about eighty-one minutes on disc two. Now, here's the rub: In addition to the eighty-six minutes of movie on disc one, there is over an hour of extras. Wouldn't it have made more sense to put all of the film on disc one and all of the extras on disc two? Oh, well, a minor inconvenience.
Disc one contains the widescreen presentation of Part 1, with Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, English and French spoken languages, and English captions for the hearing impaired. The major bonuses are an audio commentary with director Scorsese; a "Five Points Study Guide"; a twenty-three minute featurette, "Exploring the Sets of Gangs of New York," which is the best of all the extras; a thirteen-minute featurette, "History of the Five Points"; an eight-minute featurette on "Costume Design"; eleven scene selections; a widescreen theatrical trailer; and a pan-and-scan teaser trailer.
Disc two contains Part 2 of the movie and continues the audio commentary. It also includes a thirty-five minute Discovery Channel Special, "Uncovering the Real Gangs of New York," mostly promotional hype; a music video, "The Hands That Built America" with U2; and the final thirteen scene selections.
Annoyingly, Buena Vista again fail to provide an informational insert for scene indexes and such. I'm reminded of the guy in the TV commercial who saved his company hundreds of thousands of dollars by leaving one olive out of every jar of olives they packaged. Maybe the cost-saving insert omission by Disney and Buena Vista is reaping tremendous rewards for them, I don't know. Makes me wonder what they'll consider eliminating next. The keep case? Maybe use a cardboard sleeve. Save 'em millions.
Parting Thoughts:
Despite its weaknesses, "Gangs of New York" is a compelling motion picture, at least in its initial viewing, beautifully photographed, vividly presented, brutally engaging. Supported by Daniel Day-Lewis's wonderfully villainous, bigger-than-life performance, the film almost makes us forget its weak lead, disjointed plot, and excessive violence. Almost. But not quite. But the movie is still valuable if only for the sake of its spectacle, historical references, morbid curiosity, and, of course, for Bill the Butcher.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]10854[/release]