Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York

Gangs of New York may achieve greatness with the passage of time. Mixed reviews were inevitable for a production this grand (and this troubled behind the scenes), but it's as distinguished as any of director Martin Scorsese's more celebrated New York stories. From its astonishing 1846 prologue to the city's infernal draft riots of 1863, the film aspires to erase the decorum of textbooks and chronicle 19th-century New York as a cauldron of street warfare. The hostility is embodied in a tale of primal vengeance between Irish American son Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his father's ruthless killer and "Nativist" gang leader Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis, brutally inspired), so named for his lethal talent with knives. Vallon's vengeance is only marginally compelling; DiCaprio is arguably miscast, and Cameron Diaz (as Vallon's pickpocket lover) is adrift in a film with little use for women. Despite these weaknesses, Scorsese's mastery blossoms in his expert melding of personal and political trajectories; this is American history written in blood, unflinching, authentic, and utterly spectacular. --Jeff Shannon

Genre: Crime, Drama, History
Production: Miramax Films
  Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 50 wins & 124 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.5
Metacritic:
72
Rotten Tomatoes:
74%
R
Year:
2002
167
$77,605,296
Website
24,119 Views

Bill:
[Smirking] Is this it, Priest? The Pope's new army? A few crusty b*tches and a handful of rag-tags?

Priest Vallon:
Now, now, Bill--you swore this was a battle between warriors, not a bunch of Miss Nancies. So, warriors is what I brought.

[Vallon's Dead Rabbits are joined by a coalition of other gangs; the O'Connell Guard, the Plug Uglies, the Shirt Tails, the Chichesters, and the Forty Thieves; each gang's leader identify themselves as they arrive.]

O'Connell Guard leader:
The O'Connell Guard!

Plug Ugly leader:
The Plug Uglies!

Shirt Tail leader:
The Shirt Tails!

Chichester leader:
The Chichesters!

Forty Thieves leader:
The Forty Thieves!

Priest Vallon:
[after all the other gangs are gathered] Well, what do you think of us now, Bill? Together with the other five gangs, my new army matches the number with yours. What say you, brother?

Bill:
[Smiling] Uh-huh. Well, I guess we're even then. Let's get started then. [to his fellow natives] Bené? [Two Natives remove Bill's overcoat and top hat; Bill and the other Natives then arm themselves as the leader gives his pre-battle speech] On my challenge, by the ancient laws of combat, we are met at this chosen ground, to settle for good an' all who holds sway over the Five Points; us, Natives, born right-wise to this fine land, or the foreign hordes defiling it.

Natives:
Yeah!!!

Priest Vallon:
By the ancient laws of combat, I accept the challenge of the so-called "Natives"--you plague our people at every turn; but from this day out, you shall plague us no more, for let it be known that your hand that tries to strike us from this land shall be swiftly cut down.

Dead Rabbits and other gangs:
YEAH!!!

Bill:
Then may the Christian Lord guide my hand against your Roman popery.

Priest Vallon:
[Priest unsheathes his sword] Prepare to receive the true Lord!

[With a final cheer, the Natives and the other gangs charge at each other.]

Bill:
No, I don't never sleep too much. I have to sleep with one eye open, and I only got one eye, right? How old are you, Amsterdam?

Amsterdam:
I'm not sure, sir. I never did quite figure it.

Bill:
I'm forty-seven. Forty-seven years old. You know how come I stayed alive this long? Fear. A spectacle of fearsome acts. A man steals from me, I cut off his hands. If he offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises up against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike. Raise it up high so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear. That one tonight, who was he? A nobody. A coward. What an ignominious end that would have been. I killed the last honorable man fifteen years ago. Since then, it's... You seen his portrait downstairs?

Amsterdam:
Mm-hmm.

Bill:
Is your mouth all glued up with cunny juice? I asked you a question.

Amsterdam:
[angrily] I said I seen it, sir.

Bill:
[smiles] Oh, you got a murderous rage in you, and I like it. It's life, boiling up inside of you. It's good. The Priest and me, we lived by the same principles. It was only faith divided us. He gave me this, you know. That was the finest beating I ever took. My face was pulp, my guts was pierced, and my ribs was all mashed up. And when he came to finish me, I couldn't look him in the eye. He spared me because he wanted me to live in shame. This was a great man. A great man. So I cut out the eye that looked away. Sent it to him wrapped in blue paper. I would have cut 'em both out if I could have fought him blind. Then I rose back up again with a full heart and buried him in his own blood.

Amsterdam:
[pause] Well done.

Bill:
He was the only man I ever killed worth remembering. I never had a son. Civilization is crumbling. [places a hand on Amsterdam's head] God bless you.

Bill:
[after foiling Amsterdam's attempt to kill him] I want you all to meet the son of Priest Vallon. I took him under my wing and see how I'm repaid. He saved my life one day so he could kill me the next like a sneak thief, instead of fighting like a man. A base defiler, unworthy of a noble name. [pulls the knife out of Amsterdam's chest]

Amsterdam:
Oh, God! Jesus!

[Bill hits him in the face. Amsterdam falls to the floor and McGloin begins to search him for hidden weapons]

Bill:
That'll do, McGloin. Spread him out.

[Amsterdam is spread out on a table. Bill climbs on it with cleaver in his hand]

Bill:
This is fresh meat! You know what I mean? [drives a cleaver into the table] We need to tenderize this meat a bit. Alright, lets kiss goodnight to that pretty face of yours!

[Bill leans down and actually tries to kiss Amsterdam, who spits in his face. In response, Bill screams furiously and headbutts Amsterdam several times]

Jenny:
No!

Bill:
[stands up and grabs the cleaver] What'll it be then? Rib or chop? Loin or shank? [throws the cleaver up in the air; the cleaver is shown going up, and then falling, in slow motion, and eventually hits the table right next to Amsterdam's head]

Crowd:
The liver! The spleen! The kidney! The lung! The liver! The tongue! The heart! The heart!

Bill:
The heart? This boy has no heart.

Crowd:
Then kill him!

Bill:
He ain't earned a death! He ain't earned a death at my hands! He'll walk amongst you marked with shame. A freak! Worthy of Barnum's museum of wonders. God's only man, spared by the Butcher. [grabs a red-hot knife and burns a mark on Amsterdam's cheek]


Share your thoughts on Gangs of New York's quotes with the community:

0 Comments

    Quote of the Day Today's Quote | Archive

    Would you like us to send you a FREE inspiring quote delivered to your inbox daily?

    Please enter your email address:

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this movie page to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Gangs of New York Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Dec. 2024. <https://www.quotes.net/movies/gangs_of_new_york_quotes_4358>.

    Know another quote from Gangs of New York?

    Don't let people miss on a great quote from the "Gangs of New York" movie - add it here!

    Quiz

    Are you a quotes master?

    »
    Who said: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."?
    A Ray Charles
    B John Lennon
    C Freddie Mercury
    D Paul Simon