Great movie. Best i have seen in a while. I like it because of the great story, and mustaches. There was very good acting and an interesting ending... The only part the freaked me out a little was all of the butcher knives being thrown. I like how they did that back then!
Gangs of New York
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Is it age appropriate?
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Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Brilliant but devastating. High schoolers and up.
Themes in this movie include: crime
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 16–17
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Gangs of New York was written by Nell Minow
Parents need to know that this movie is extremely violent, with savagely brutal battles and oceans of blood. Bill the Butcher uses his expertise to cause the most painful damage possible. Characters are badly wounded and killed, including a hanging. The movie also has very strong language, including the "N" word and sexual references and situations, including nudity, prostitution, a character in bed with three naked women, and a reference to abortion. Characters engage in every possible kind of corruption and illegality.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about how our history creates us. What does the movie tell you about present-day New York? Why does Amsterdam's father tell him to leave the blood on the blade and never to look away? How does Scorsese show us parallels between the different gangs and between the gangs and other groups, like the Tammany hall politicians and the draft protesters?
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More on Gangs of New York
What’s the Story?
GANGS OF NEW YORK is the story of the origins of New York, in the Civil War era where it was not yet a city, but "a furnace where a city might be forged." When the leader of the Dead Rabbits gang is killed by the leader of "the natives" (who've been in the U.S. for generations) in a huge and brutal skirmish, his young son, Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), is taken to an orphanage/reformatory. He returns twenty years later, determined to finish his father's fight. By this time, the man who killed his father, Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis) runs just about everything in the sprawling area called "Five Points." In Five Points, Amsterdam recognizes some of his father's supporters, including Happy Jack (John C. Reilly) and McGloin (Gary Lewis). The only one who recognizes him is Johnny (Henry Thomas). Amsterdam infiltrates Bill the Butcher's inner circle, and when he begins to treat Amsterdam like a son, the boy who lost his father cannot help but respond. Amsterdam also begins to care for a pickpocket/thief, and sometimes prostitute named Jenny (Cameron Diaz).
Is It Any Good?
Martin Scorsese is a director of astonishing power and Gangs of New York is a movie of astonishing imagination, ambition, and scope. The first fifteen minutes are as dazzling as any images ever put on screen. The rest of the movie veers from brilliant to flawed, but it is unfailingly arresting, provocative, and powerful. The struggle between good and evil is represented at every level, from the internal struggles within Amsterdam to the massive battles between the immigrants and the natives. Scorsese also puts the combat in Five Points within the context of the riots in New York after the Union began conscripting soldiers. His reach is over-ambitious at times, but he has a sure hand with the narrative and fills each frame with splendid images.
After the terrible fighting is over, Scorsese shows us how the city was delivered, in both senses of the word. Superfluous voice-overs and flashbacks are very annoying, Thomas' character is poorly conceived, and Cameron Diaz, though game, is badly miscast. DiCaprio just manages to stay on top of his role, but Day-Lewis gives a career-topping performance of such ferocity that the character almost bursts out of the screen.
Movie Details
Studio: Miramax, Director: Martin Scorsese
Run time: 167 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/20/2002, DVD release: 7/1/2003
MPAA Rating: R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language
Run time: 167 minutes
Theatrical release: 12/20/2002, DVD release: 7/1/2003
MPAA Rating: R for intense strong violence, sexuality/nudity and language
Our Members Say
See 10 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 13 and give it
Interesting Story, but can be a little nasty
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I rate this title iffy for age 16 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate sexual content
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Awesome movie! OK for most older teens.
Great performance! Especially by Daniel Day-Lewis. The movie itself is very brutal, lots of fist-fights, gun-fights, rioting, etc... Pretty gory at times. Quite a bit of racism, many uses of different racial slurs... as well as some other strong language. The sex scenes are all onscreen, showing entire female frontal nudity. Including a scene where the 2 main characters celebrate in a brothel, where nearly everyone is naked. All in all, its an excellent, and also somewhat educational movie. It shows you the side of the Civil War that you don't usually see.
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I rate this title on for age 12 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Great Film and Great Acting Performance
Daniel Day Lewis gives another stunning performance in Gangs of New York. DDL should have won best actor and the film should have won best picture. It's a great film for anyone above the age of 12.
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I rate this title off for age 17 and give it
...
This moving was so boring and slow-paced that I kept wishing for it to be over. NOT for kids.
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I rate this title iffy and give it
The best movie of 2002
Well folks, Shakespeare didn't write Hamlet every time. But it would have been a lot easier for Marty to do it if he had not have had Harvey Weinstein on his back. This movie, when taken out of the context of Scorcese's carreer, is an amazing film. The scope of this project is awesome. Leo gives his best performance yet, as well as the master Daniel Day Lewis. A must see for anyone interested in American history.
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I rate this title iffy and give it
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I rate this title off and give it
A horrible excuse for film
I should have turned it off but kept hoping it would redeem itself. I was wrong. This was nothing but an indulgence in gory violence. Disgusting.
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I rate this title off and give it
good but not for kids
This was a great movie and Leonardo Decaprio was brilliant as usual. But it was also very depressing and violent. There is even one part where a man gets stabbed in the back and the man who kills him pushes the knife further into him. There's also some nudity and sex stuff. Only for mature teens and adults
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I rate this title iffy and give it
Great
This movie is great and suprisingly educational. I wrote a report on this movie for U.S. History and got extra credit. It deals with mid 19th centry New York City and gives a very good and acurate look on life in New York along with the descrimination on immigration. This movie has very strong violence which most accurs in the last hour during the draft riots. there is some sex and one very brief but expicit scene but the camera moves past it very fast. Minimal language the worst was three uses of f**k. This movie is great for older teens and is recommended.
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I rate this title on and give it
Wow - who knew?
I just watched this movie again. I love it!! I think it deals with a time period that so many people think they understand but really don't. I was shocked at how brutal life was and how many people really had no idea what the civil war was actually being fought over (ex: immigrants getting right off the boat and being shipped out to fight). I teach high school history and would love to use this movie in class because it deals with so many important social and historical issues - immigration, the civil war, racism, social classes, and on and on. However, I don't think this movie would fly in my school without some serious parental consent forms. There is a lot of swearing and use of the "n" word (to describe many different groups)in addition to the violence and sexual situations. I think the good things definitely outweigh the bad but I'd want each parent to determine if their kids could watch it before I would show it.
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