‘Gangs of New York’: Scorsese’s Non-Mob Period Epic

Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio generate major dramatic friction as characters in opposing 19th-century New York City gangs.

Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio, center left) and William "Bill the Butcher" Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis, C), in "Gangs of New York." (Miramax Films)in

R | 2h 47m | Drama, Action, Romance, Revisionist History | 2002

On director Martin Scorsese’s radar since 1970, the 2002 “Gangs of New York” (“Gangs”), based on the book by Herbert Asbury, is a sprawling, epic period-piece set in the mid-19th century Five Points area of New York City. It was my favorite movie of 2002.