Evil Milkman

Wow.

I saw this flick earlier this evening and it was a real eye-opener for me. I knew that racisim and predjudice was strong towards Irish immigrants and to blacks in New York City during the Civil War, but I didn't realize to what extent. The movie made me realize how barbaric society in general was and how awful and uncivil people can truly be towards one another. I don't know about anyone else who has seen this movie, but I was ready to cry when the very last scene showed. It hit me; that same hate and bigotry that was shown in the movie is still rampant today. It also made me almost angry at the way people use religion to commit hideous acts of violence towards innocents.

I'm not sure if the movie was exactly correct on the history, but I'm trying to find sources on the web that could educate me further on New York City in the late 1800s.

Anyway, to me, it was a great film. Good actors, dialogue, etc. To those who have seen it: What did you think of the movie in general?

Evil Milkman

Bumping this thread in case those who may have seen it tonight can comment.

chicwriter

I also enjoyed the film. I am a film student focusing on screenwriting and have seen Gangs of New York twice since its release. I did some reading up on the history of the period and have found it to be quite accurate in its depiction of New York in that era. I thought Day Lewis was absolutely fantastic in his portrayal of the butcher. The Discovery Channel has a very interested behind the scenes look into the making of the movie. Scorsese is one of my favorite directors and his use of symbols and irreverent spin on religion was quite effective. I highly recommend this movie to any film lover or future auteur out there.

Secular Elation

I very much enjoyed the film as well. I loved the final shot of the movie, where the graveyard is shown with 1860's NYC in the background...then, the backgrounds morphs into later decades, and further, and further, until the modern age, and the cemetery is all but a grass field now.

I was also amazed about the rampant inhumanity. The people in the film were so brutal to each other--and to think that many people today say our modern age is a degraded one and would long for earlier times in this country. After seeing this glimpse of 1800's NYC, no way!

Danya

They had a great show on the History channel comparing what was fact and what was fiction from the movie. It was their History vs. Hollywood show. A couple of the characters were loosely based on real people. Not Leo DiCapprio's part though. I have not seen the movie yet but I plan to.

Evil Milkman

Yeah, I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that the characters themselves were fictional. It's the history behind the events as a whole that I was curious about.

Danya

They talked about that too. They showed what the housing was like, what the streets were like with all the garbage and sewage and waste from the horses. I recommend the show if it comes on again.

xstvn

I've seen the movie and yes, it is amazing how much things haven't changed.
There is still racism, still a distrust and hatred of immigrants, still an intolerance of differing religions.

Imagine Pat Buchanan or Jerry Falwel as Bill the Butcher.

Carlos

For the most part I enjoyed the movie. What struck me the most was the degree to which people identified with certain groups. People assumed the characteristics of the groups that their nationality, ethnicity or religion assigned them to. That's still the case today, but to a lesser degree. I think that it is partly due to this that we are not quite as bigoted as those of 150 years ago.

Didn't much care for DiCaprio or Diaz's characters (thought the acting was ok) but the Butcher (DDL) and Monk were very interesting.

FoE

Is there any chance that this movie will help bring handlebar mustaches back into vogue?