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[[File:Gangs_of_New_York_Poster.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Gangs of New York]]__NOTOC__
The <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006RXQ800/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006RXQ800&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1a7786e898d7a531f39a6a1fb458773d Gangs of New York]</i> is widely viewed as an outstanding movie, but the movie plays fast and loose with the factsit is not particularly historically accurate. This movie is a 2002 epic directed by one of the greatest modern directors, Martin Scorsese. The now-defunct Miramax produced the movie, and it was based on an idea by Jay Cocks. The movie had a heavyweight cast starring Leonardo Di Caprio, Cameron Diaz, and Daniel Day-Lewis. The motion picture was generally well-received, but critics were not in love with the movie's script. It was a commercial success, and it received ten academy award nominations but failed to win any awards.
====Is the Gangs of New York a true story?====While the movie is inspired by events in the New York City of the 1860s, the movie is not based on a true story. The Gangs of New York , like many Scorsese movies, is an examination of organized crime in New York City. In essence, the movie is a vengeance drama. It is set in in the American metropolis before and during the American Civil War. The movie's focus is on the gangs that once controlled the Five-Points area of New York, which was a notorious slum. It follows the leader of a criminal gang which is tied to the political establishment in New York City. ‘Bill the Butcher’ played by the Anglo-Irish actor Daniel Day-Lewis rules the Five-Points. The character is a ‘Nativist’ and wants America to remain a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant country. He despises the recent and numerous Catholic emigrants in New York.
====The Plot====
The movie's plot is driven by both his desire to kill Bill and his growing admiration for the man. In the finale of the movie, Amsterdam confronts Bill the Butcher and his gang during the historic Anti-Draft riots of 1863. Amsterdam kills the gang leader and leaves for a new life in San Francisco. The movie was roughly based on the book by Herbert Asbury's, <i>The Gangs of New York</i>. This book is controversial, and many critics believe that Asbury sensationalized the period and his that his book is riddled with inaccuracies. <ref> Herbert Asbury's, <i>The Gangs of New York</i> (New York, Garden City, 1928) </ref>
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====The Five Points====
====How accurate is the movie====
====Related DailyHistory.org Articles====
* [[How accurate is the movie The Aviator?]]
* [[How historically accurate is the movie 'Tora, Tora, Tora'?]]
* [[How historically accurate is the movie 'A Bridge Too Far'?]]
====Further Reading====
Bruce W. Dearstyne, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F81QJM8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01F81QJM8&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=21d19f9c3ae5ea6c8ae32e60fc0ff4d5 The Spirit of New York: Defining Events in the Empire State's History]</i> (Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2015)
Herbert Asbury, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307388980/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307388980&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=51a652fdc03cf809fcffe59af6ad4d70 The Gangs of New York]</i> (New York, Garden City, 1928)
Barnett Schecter, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802714390/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0802714390&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=838a063152ecf571cfd2e48f3293bdc4 The Devil's Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America]</i> (New York, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2005){{MediaWiki:AmNative}}
====References====