Product Details

• Actors: Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Jim Broadbent, Peter-Hugo Daly, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Miramax
• DVD Release Date: July 1, 2008
• Run Time: 167 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (683 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0017APQ1K
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #113,564 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Gangs of New York [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Gangs of New York may achieve greatness with the passage of time. Mixed reviews were inevitable for a production this grand (and this troubled behind the scenes), but it's as distinguished as any of director Martin Scorsese's more celebrated New York stories. From its astonishing 1846 prologue to the city's infernal draft riots of 1863, the film aspires to erase the decorum of textbooks and chronicle 19th-century New York as a cauldron of street warfare. The hostility is embodied in a tale of primal vengeance between Irish American son Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his father's ruthless killer and "Nativist" gang leader Bill "the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis, brutally inspired), so named for his lethal talent with knives. Vallon's vengeance is only marginally compelling; DiCaprio is arguably miscast, and Cameron Diaz (as Vallon's pickpocket lover) is adrift in a film with little use for women. Despite these weaknesses, Scorsese's mastery blossoms in his expert melding of personal and political trajectories; this is American history written in blood, unflinching, authentic, and utterly spectacular. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description

Miramax Gangs Of New York (Blu-ray) An epic tale of vengeance and survival, "Gangs Of New York" now hitsharder than ever on Blu-ray Disc(TM). Directed byAcademy Award(R) winner Martin Scorsese (2006, Best Director, "The Departed"), this motion picture event stars two-time Oscar(R) winner Daniel Day-Lewis (1989, Best Actor, "My Left Foot"; 2007, Best Actor, "There Will Be Blood"), Leonardo DiCaprio, and Cameron Diaz. After years of incarceration, Irish immigrant Amsterdam Vallon (DiCaprio) returns to lower Manhattan's lawless, corrupt Five Points section seeking revenge against the rival gang leader (Day-Lewis) who killed his father. But before long, Amsterdam's personal vendetta becomes part of an erupting wave of full-blown gang warfare. Feel your heart pound while weapons and cultures clash in a chaotic symphony of life and death. Surrender to the tumultuous atmosphere of 1860s New York as phenomenal sound and stunning visual clarity transport you back in time. Prepare to experience Scorsese's masterpiece as never before on Blu-ray High Definition.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

148 of 177 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Where is the director's cut?!?! May 27, 2003

By Ryan

Format:DVD

One of the big controversies surrounding this film was that Martin Scorcese was forced to cut nearly an hour of footage from his final vision in order to get the studio to release it. That's understandable, as not many people will be willing to sit through a 4 hour movie in theatres. So with the release of it on DVD, we should get the complete version, right? Well... it doesn't seem so.

The details on this DVD mention nothing about extra footage. Isn't one of the benefits of the DVD format that we get to see what the director intended before politics and marketing step in? I for one would like to see the COMPLETE movie, the movie that Scorcese wanted to make, rather than the movie which was released, even though that movie was quite good.

I have a feeling that the studio is just doing the usual DVD scam of releasing the theatrical version as soon as possible to catch people while they are still hyped on this movie from the theatrical release and post-Oscar boost. After a few months, hopefully they will release a director's cut, causing many people to go back and buy the DVD a second time. I, for one, will wait as long as it takes until the full version comes out. I'm sick of getting scammed by these studios into buying one version, and then seeing a "special edition" with all sorts of extras come out a few months later. Not gonna happen this time, buddy-boy.

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars True Or Not, It's Still A Great Film January 2, 2003

By Daniel V. Reilly VINE™ VOICE

There's been a lot of flack directed at Gangs of New York for it's supposed "Historical Inaccuracies". I can't add anything except this: If you go to the movies for your History Lessons, something's wrong with you. If you go to be entertained, Gangs of New York is just the ticket.

Based on Herbert Asbury's turn-of-the-century book, Gangs tells the epic tale of the Five-Points section of Manhattan, and the colorful gangs (The Dead Rabbits, The Plug Uglies, The Swamp Angels, The Nativists, etc.) that ruled her mean streets.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Amsterdam Vallon, who witnessed his father "Priest" Vallon 's murder at the hands of Bill "The Butcher" (The amazing Daniel Day-Lewis) as a child, and in typical movie fashion, swore revenge. Amsterdam is released from reform school sixteen years later, and heads off to kill the Butcher. Along the way we get the usual romance, with Cameron Diaz acquitting herself well as pickpocket Jenny Everdeane, despite the fact that she isn't really given much to do in the film.

Like other Historical epics (Titanic, Pearl Harbor, Saving Private Ryan), Gangs takes the central topic and places fictional characters into the action. Although there really WAS a Bill the Butcher, he died well before the draft riots that end the film. Director Martin Scorcese deserves high marks for bringing a piece of seldom-seen American history to the screen. Despite it's nearly three-hour length, Scorcese keeps the film moving briskly along, and the opening battle, an exquisitely grotesque symphony of violence, is worth the price of admission alone. Only Scorcese could make such savagery seem beautiful...

The performances are all good, but Daniel Day-Lewis is a revelation as the charming and deadly Bill the Butcher; He blows everyone else off the screen. If he doesn't win Best Actor at The Academy Awards it'll be another black eye to their selection process. Hopefully Scorcese will get some long overdue recognition as well. While Gangs isn't his best film, it's still head-and-shoulders above most of 2002's movies. Highly recommended.

37 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Redemption March 3, 2010

By Deviation

Format:Blu-ray|Amazon Verified Purchase

Every issue with the original Blu-ray release of this movie has been fixed, moving it from one of the worst releases on the format to one of the very best. This film now looks and sounds spectacular on Blu-ray and is a must own for any fan.