Gangs Of New York (2002/Touchstone/Disney/Blu-ray)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B-
I like
Martin Scorsese’s Gangs Of New York
(2002) which offers more success than failure as a compete film, but it has its
problems and part of it is the inability (try as they may) of Scorsese and
Harvey Weinstein to do an epic film together.
You have a genius like Scorsese that is a realistic filmmaker and
Weinstein who is also very smart, but is known (while he and his brother were
still at Miramax) for producing and promoting sometimes safer artsy fare. The result is a raw film trying to be smooth,
but with more going for it than it gets credit for.
The tale
of several groups struggling for survival and power in the city once known as
New Amsterdam initially pits gangs headed by Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson,
but the arc becomes a character study of the rise of what America became and
could become, as well as a reflection of so many of the same issues today that
reflect the issues about what life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is
about at its darkest. After some early
sequences, we move up years later when new groups are taking hold (one of which
will be led by Leonardo DiCaprio) and follows their story and their lives from
there all the way to Scorsese’s reverse-take on The Odessa Steps sequence in (if you think about it) Sergei
Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.
A valiant
effort, complete with a real cast of thousands and real full-sized sets, the
film has appreciated in value in the five years since its first appearance
thanks in part to the deluge of bad digital substitutes for sets and
people. There is no doubt about the
energy and ambition of the film, even if the editing (and lighting in parts)
are rougher than Scorsese’s usual. Jay
Cocks delivers easily his best script to date, the film is never overlong, we
get few false notes and the supporting cast including Cameron Diaz, Jim
Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Henry Thomas, Brendan Gleeson, Alec McCowen, David
Hemmings, Tim Pigott-Smith and Barbara Bouchet delivers. It is a very good film overall.
The 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image is pretty good, but has some softness in
parts, vying with some great demo-quality shots. This might be a slightly older HD master, but
fares well enough here. Lensed by
Michael Ballhaus, A.S.C., a semi-regular Scorsese cinematographer, it is the 6th
of 7 films so far they have made together and it is a collaboration that
works. I expected a little more from the
PCM 48/24 5.1 mix and though it is much better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
overall, it was did not have the kind of enveloping soundfield I had hoped
for. However, despite some sound being
more towards the screen than I would have liked, dialogue is decently recorded
and Howard Shore’s score is a plus.
Extras include
a teaser, trailer, audio commentary by Scorsese, Music Video for The Hands That Built America by U2,
Discovery Channel special Uncovering The
Real Gangs of New York and four featurettes separately covering the costumes,
History Of The Five Points and two on
the amazing sets.
- Nicholas Sheffo
