Gangs of New York

One great (Day-Lewis) and other good (DiCaprio, Reilly, Gleeson) performances are met with a lousy script, Scorsese's tired direction and outrageously long runtime. After about an hour, the fight of gangs against gangs turns into the viewer’s fight against boredom... And boredom will win out in the end. You could count the impressive scenes on one hand, and the film is quite strange in that it wants to feel like an intimate drama and a sweeping epic at times, but it doesn't quite manage either. I was also struck by the music. I don't mean the Howard Shore music, but the modern music that plays in the opening battle - I seem to have misunderstood something about its use. Not to mention the final slow tune by U2.__P.S. Liam Neeson was here for maybe only five minutes, but he still impressed me the most after Daniel Day-Lewis. (01/22/2012)

Scorsese is back! Personally, one of the peaks of the historical genre for me, with great sets and Daniel Day-Lewis. It's not fast, it's not aggressive, I wouldn't hesitate to call it a tribute to classics. It is slow storytelling with emphasis on characters, with minimal visual effects, accompanied by period music. An impressive fresco. (10/26/2003)

The very opening action scene is extremely impressive, and the rest of the film impresses with spectacular sets, gorgeous costumes, excellent music, and of course the acting of the master Daniel Day-Lewis. In the end, this is a first-class historical spectacle that, under a less experienced director, would have ended up with the much-touted boredom and tedium due to its dense running time (which isn't actually bothersome). Moreover, both DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz can act well with good direction, which was confirmed here. And one more thing – Scorsese, with his perfect direction, manages to create a great "dirty" atmosphere in places, which adds to the already powerful overall experience. I haven't seen everything from Scorsese yet, but I dare to say that I will still rank "Gangs" very high after watching his other films. (09/25/2010)

I certainly wouldn't call the script for this film outright cheesy or about nothing, as has been mentioned several times in the reviews here. It's true that those 160 minutes are a bit much, and I looked at the clock more and more in the last hour, but Scorsese has an uncanny gift for conquering almost any uninteresting material, and it paid off here. The story, despite all the flies, fleas and God knows what else, is extremely interesting, with a brilliantly depicted Civil War-torn New York and flawless sets. And there’s also the trump card called Daniel Day-Lewis. He literally imprinted his role with body and soul and gives a heroic performance that perfectly overshadows even the usually bland DiCaprio, as well as the protracted and wannabe spectacular ending. It’s certainly not as great as the ten Oscar nominations might make it seem, but Scorsese did his job well. (06/16/2012)

Fundamental themes of life in the unusual setting of the 1860s. Daniel Day-Lewis steals the show in every scene, but overall this is a showcase of exceptional acting performances, and the actors really have some material to work with. Even Marty flashes past the camera in the role of the head of a robbed family. Amazing sets. (12/30/2011)