# Gangs Of New York.....who's waiting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2002, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649 "2002-08-13T07:12:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/1 "2002-08-13T07:12:33Z")
Although Martin Scorsese’s long delayed _Gangs Of New York_ is finally coming out this X-mas after a 1 year delay, it doesn’t seem like most movie fans (even Scorsese fans) are even interested in seeing it. I personally can’t wait for this movie to arrive, if only because the idea of the cinematic depiction of 19th century gutter poverty, blood feuds, ruthless gang warfare and utter social malaise seems like quite an antidote to the usual generic movies released at X-mas. Or, for that matter, any other time of the year. One read of the Herbert Asbury’s book (the historical source for the film) makes it apparent why they wanted the film delayed. In the aftermath of 9/11, I doubt your average moviegoer would sit still through a film that depicts volunteer firefighter companies fighting rival companies to determine which group would get the honor of putting out the fire, much less the depiction of a police force more violent and corrupt than the criminals they persue. It won’t be a “feel-good” movie, for sure, but I think we’ve got too many of those already. It’ll be one of my rare moviegoing outings, along with the other 2 movies I’ll see the rest of 2002: _Red Dragon_ and _Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers_ Anyone else anticipating? Or think the movie will be crap? ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/2 "2002-08-13T07:54:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Keith Berry \* > \*\* > Anyone else anticipating? Or think the movie will be crap? \*\* Oh, I’ll be there! I’m sure it will be brilliant. The preview shown at Cannes blew everyone away. > [@](#): > > It’ll be one of my rare moviegoing outings, along with the other 2 movies I’ll see the rest of 2002: Red Dragon and Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers December is going to be an absolutely KILLER month for potentially very good to great movies. Unlike you, I’ll be spending practically the entire MONTH hanging around movie theaters. From now until the end of the year, there are at least 20 **MUST SEEs** on my list, and a couple dozen other **Will Almost Certainly Sees**. Heck, on _Christmas Day alone_, we get: • Gangs of New York (dir. Scorsese, Di Caprio, Diaz, Day-Lewis) • Catch Me If You Can (dir. Spielberg, Di Caprio, Hanks) • Chicago (Zellwegger, Zeta-Jones, Gere) • Pinocchio (dir. Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi) Plus, depending on where you live: • The 25th Hour (limited) (dir. Spike Lee, Edward Norton, Brian Cox, Rosario Dawson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brittany Murphy, Anna Paquin) • About Schmidt (limited) (dir. Alexander Payne, Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Kathy Bates) • Spider (limited) (dir. David Cronenberg, Ralph Fiennes, Gabriel Byrne, Lynn Redgrave, Miranda Richardson) **Gangs** is my first choice, but I want to see all of these! (well, I’m not 100% on Chicago and Pinocchio, I’ll have to see reviews, but otherwise…) ---
**Author:** ![Keith\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/22d042/32.png) [@Keith\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keith_Berry)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/3 "2002-08-13T07:58:10Z")
AH, I totally forgot about SPIDER! Make that 4 moviegoing outings…I never miss a Cronenberg film if I can help it. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/4 "2002-08-13T14:50:30Z")
I saw the trailer for **Gangs of New York** … and was absolutely uninspired to go see it. It just looked so contrived, and there didn’t seem to be any point except to show a bunch of guys beating on eachother. I do love Daniel Day-Lewis though, so maybe I will go see it. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/5 "2002-08-13T15:00:40Z")
I am wondering if the film can ever be as good as that mid-70s documentary about gang life in NYC, _The Warriors_. That was a powerful movie. “Warr-i-ors, come out to pla-ay” _clink_ _clink_ Chilling. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/6 "2002-08-13T15:13:11Z")
Looking forward to _Gangs of New York_; I saw a little feature on IFC about Scorcese. Apparently George Lucas visited the huge set they built in Italy to replicate 19th century Hell’s Kitchen; he thought they should have done the whole set with computers. Fortunately, Scorcese doesn’t work that way. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/7 "2002-08-13T16:30:55Z")
I’m sorry, Scorcese may have directed it, but it stars Leonardo DiCaprio. So I can almost guarantee that I won’t want to see it. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/8 "2002-08-13T20:36:01Z")
I’m positively drooling about it. Scorsese has wanted to make this movie for over a decade; I can’t wait to see whether so many years of mulling produces a storytelling quality different from the projects he’s put together more quickly. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2002, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/9 "2002-08-13T20:57:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > I am wondering if the film can ever be as good as that mid-70s documentary about gang life in NYC, _The Warriors_. That was a powerful movie. > > “Warr-i-ors, come out to pla-ay” _clink_ _clink_ > > Chilling. _Documentary?_ Did I get wooshed? I watched and enjoyed the movie; I might have used powerful or chilling at the time (I was a teen), but not anymore. Today, I’d say I prefer the other gang movie from that year, _The Wanderers_ ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/10 "2002-08-14T06:08:00Z")
Oh, me! Me! I can’t wait! (And I really don’t think it’s fair to hold Leo’s fame and teen idoldom against him, he’s actually a truly fine actor.) ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2002, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/11 "2002-08-14T12:40:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Baldwin \* > \*\*Looking forward to _Gangs of New York_; I saw a little feature on IFC about Scorcese. Apparently George Lucas visited the huge set they built in Italy to replicate 19th century Hell’s Kitchen; he thought they should have done the whole set with computers. Fortunately, Scorcese doesn’t work that way. \*\* Good Christ, can you imagine the Scorsese canon as directed by George Lucas? Jar-Jar as Henry Hill? “All-a my life, me-sa wanna be a gangsta!” Hayden Christensen as Travis Bickle? “Are you talking to me? There’s no one else here. And that upsets me. I am really depressed now - nobody likes me! Wahhhhhhh!” Brrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/12 "2002-08-21T11:20:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > \*\*I am wondering if the film can ever be as good as that mid-70s documentary about gang life in NYC, _The Warriors_. That was a powerful movie. > > “Warr-i-ors, come out to pla-ay” _clink_ _clink_ > > Chilling. \*\* Now, I **know** you’re not making fun of my man, David Patrick Kelly! 😉 Sigh…I don’t think he should be ashamed of the role by any means. It got him his SAG card, and his place in pop culture. But think of it: when he dies, **that’s** the shot that will be on the “In Memoriam” reel at the Oscars! I hope that at some point before that, he’ll have a role to eclipse “clink…clink…clink…” (I also hope he doesn’t die anytime soon. He’s only fifty, and may find his niche with older characters.) Now as far as **GoNY** …Oh god! I just LOLed! Now add that the the fact that I also LOL every time I see one of those shots of Leo DiCaprio in a flippin’ top hat, and I think we’re gonna get a camp classic for Christmas! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/13 "2002-08-21T12:19:38Z")
I just thought Daniel-Day Lewis’s character looks just like Snidely Whiplash. I have to wonder if he ties Cameron Diaz to the subway tracks at some point. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2002, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gangs-of-new-york-whos-waiting/123649/14 "2002-08-21T13:38:40Z")
Well, I lived in Hell’s Kitchen for a year, and I read this great book called _Hell’s Kitchen_ because I was interested in the history of my old neighborhood. Lemme tell ya, it was _brutal_ in the 19th century! Everything from the Draft Riots of 1863, which killed 2,000 people to housing condition protests. And the general fighting between the new immigrants, the Irish, the Germans and Italians. Then of course there were the notorious street gangs such as The Nineteenth Street Gang, Fourth Avenue Tunnel Gang, the Forty Little Thieves, the Little Plug Uglies and the Whyos and the Hells Kitchen Gang. There was a lot of bloodshed back then. I am soooo glad I wasn’t around. I can’t **wait** for this movie!