Gangs of New York Essay -- Film Analysis

Picture Manhattan in 1860, a time before the city had been dolled up and gotten ready for the silver screen, before the glamour and allure took over. Amsterdam Vallan (DiCaprio) is a young Irish man that migrates to the USA at a young age. Amsterdam’s story takes place in Five Points District of New York, a filthy and dangerous part of the city before it was deleted form history. As a young boy Vallan witnessed his father’s murder at the hand of William Cutting or Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis) during one of their many gang wars. As Amsterdam’s story progresses along side The Butcher they become inseparable, but Amsterdam had ulterior motive. Ultimately, Amsterdam attempts to betray his new found ally in order to avenge his father’s death. Historical accounts of events are almost always synthesized by the storyteller; in the case Gangs of New York Martin Scorsese tells of Five Points, The Dead Rabbits Riots, and The Draft Riots, but is his fictional story a ccurate through history? "This is the place; these narrow ways diverging to the right and left, and reeking everywhere with dirt and filth... Many of these pigs live here. Do they ever wonder why their masters walk upright instead of going on all fours, and why they talk instead of grunting?" (Dickens 61) The outlandish filth described by Charles Dickens was a first hand account of the intersection of Orange Street, Cross Street, Anthony Street, and Little Water Street, better known as Five Points New York. It became the setting for many of 17th century gangs, but the most prominent were the Bowery Boys and The Dead Rabbits. This wicked part of town was known for its depravity the crimes that flooded the streets, from mugging to murder. Clearly, the slums were the place for v... ...†¢ Burrows, Edwin G., and Mike Wallace. Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. New York: Oxford UP, 1999. Print. †¢ Cocks, Jay, Steven Zaillian, and Kenneth Lonergan. "Gangs Of New York Final Script." Web. . †¢ Dickens, Charles, and Patricia Ingham. American Notes for General Circulation. London: Penguin, 2000. Print. †¢ Ellis, Edward Robb., and Jeanyee Wong. The Epic of New York City. New York, NY: Carroll & Graf, 2005. Print. †¢ "RIOTING AND BLOODSHED; THE FIGHT AT COW BAY†¦ THE CITY UNDER ARMS." The New York Times. 6 July 1857. Web. . †¢ Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File, 2001. Print. †¢ Slayton, Robert A. Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith. New York: Free, 2001. Print.