Information
| Year: | 2002 |
| Rating: | 7.4(113161) |
| Listed in: | Crime, Drama, History |
| Directed by: | Martin Scorsese |
| Actors: | Leonardo DiCaprio Daniel Day-Lewis Jim Broadbent John C. Reilly Henry Thomas Cameron Diaz |
| "America Was Born In The Streets." | |
Cast
| Directed by | |
|---|---|
| Martin Scorsese | |
| Actors | |
| Leonardo DiCaprio | as Amsterdam Vallon |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | as Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting |
| Jim Broadbent | as William 'Boss' Tweed |
| John C. Reilly | as Happy Jack Mulraney |
| Henry Thomas | as Johnny Sirocco |
| Liam Neeson | as 'Priest' Vallon |
| Brendan Gleeson | as Walter 'Monk' McGinn |
| Gary Lewis | as McGloin |
| Stephen Graham | as Shang |
| Eddie Marsan | as Killoran |
| Alec McCowen | as Reverend Raleigh |
| David Hemmings | as Mr. Schermerhorn |
| Larry Gilliard Jr. | as Jimmy Spoils |
| Roger Ashton-Griffiths | as P.T. Barnum |
| Peter-Hugo Daly | as One-Armed Priest |
| Cian McCormack | as Young Amsterdam |
| Andrew Gallagher | as Young Johnny |
| Philip Kirk | as O'Connell Guard Leader |
| Rab Affleck | as Plug Uglies Leader |
| Bill Barclay | as Shirt Tails Leader |
| Nick Bartlett | as Chichesters Leader |
| Robert Goodman | as Forty Thieves Leader |
| Tim Pigott-Smith | as Calvinist Minister |
| Liam Carney | as Bill The Butcher's Gang #1 |
| Gary McCormack | as Bill The Butcher's Gang #2 |
| David McBlain | as Bill The Butcher's Gang #3 |
| Dick Holland | as True Blue American Speaker |
| Laurie Ventry | as Resident Woman |
| Ford Kiernan | as Black Joke Chief |
| Nevan Finegan | as Dead Rabbit Gang Member |
| Dominiquie Vandenberg | as Dead Rabbit Gang Member |
| Sai-Kit Yung | as Chinese at Sparrow's Pagoda |
| Basil Chung | as Elderly Chinese at Pagoda |
| Finbar Furey | as Satan's Circus Singer |
| Sean Gilder | as Rat Pit Game Master |
| Richard Graham | as Harvey - Card Player |
| Richard Strange | as Undertaker |
| Douglas Plasse | as Medical Student |
| R. Bruce Steinheimer | as Army Recruiter |
| David Bamber | as Passenger on Omnibus |
| Michael Byrne | as Horace Greeley |
| Alex Howden | as Assistant Hangman |
| James Ramsay | as Arthur - Condemned Man |
| Iain McColl | as Seamus - Condemned Man |
| Louie Brownsell | as Legless Soldier |
| Gennaro Condemi | as She-He |
| Kieran Hurley | as Recruiter |
| John Sessions | as Harry Watkins - Lincoln |
| Michael H. Billingsley | as Uncle Tom |
| Steven Blake | as Mr. Shelby |
| Giovanni Lombardo Radice | as Mr. Legree |
| Bronco McLoughlin | as Assassin |
| Channing C. Holmes | as Tap Dancer |
| Jian Su | as Chinese Acrobat |
| Man Cao | as Chinese General |
| Alexander Deng | as Chinese Boy Singer |
| Peter Berling | as Knife Act Caller |
| Patrick Gordon | as Surgeon |
| Brendan White | as Archbishop |
| Brendan Dempsey | as Provost Marshal Registrar |
| Taddeo Harbutt | as Unruly Man |
| Nazzareno Natale | as Don Whiskerandos |
| Colin Hill | as Nativist Candidate |
| Robert Linge | as One-Armed Veteran |
| Richard Syms | as Drunken Repeater |
| Christian Burgess | as The Mayor |
| Gerry Robert Byrne | as Draft Official |
| David Nicholls | as O'Connell Guard Leader |
| Tim Faraday | as Plug Uglies Leader |
| Sean McGinley | as Forty Thieves Leader |
| John Anthony Murphy | as Kerryonians Leader |
| Terry O'Neill | as Chichesters Leader |
| Vincent Pickering | as American Guard Leader |
| Nick Miles | as Atlantic Guard Leader |
| Ian Pirie | as Slaughter Housers Leader |
| John McGlynn | as Bowery Boys Leader |
| Larry Kaplan | as Bloodied Bureaucrat |
| Leo Burmester | as Telegraph Operator #1 |
| Justin Brennan | as Telegraph Operator #2 |
| Brian Mallon | as Telegraph Operator #3 |
| Joseph P. Reidy | as Police Chief |
| Joel Strachan | as Telegraph Operator |
| Bill Murdoch | as Robber on Dock |
| Iain Agnew | as General Wool |
| Michael Hausman | as Gunboat Captain |
| Bob Colletti | as Soldier in Mist |
| Salvatore Billa | as Native |
| Trevor Cooper | as Man in Tweed's Office |
| Blaise Corrigan | as Riot Thug "There's a $300 Man..." |
| Ottaviano Dell'Acqua | as Bill The Butcher' s Gang #4 |
| Luca Foggiano | as Principal |
| Martin Scorsese | as Wealthy Homeowner |
| Donald Stewart | as Anatomist |
| Vincenzo Tanassi | as Fireman |
| Massimo Vanni | as Soldier |
| Actresses | |
| Cameron Diaz | as Jenny Everdeane |
| Cara Seymour | as Hell-Cat Maggie |
| Katherine Wallach | as Jenny's Girl |
| Carmen Hanlon | as Jenny's Girl |
| Ilaria D'Elia | as Jenny's Girl |
| Barbara Bouchet | as Mrs. Schermerhorn |
| Lucy Davenport | as Miss Schermerhorn |
| Maura O'Connell | as Street Singer |
| Alexia Murray | as Topsy |
| Flaminia Fegarotti | as Miss Eliza |
| Eliane Chappuis | as Chinese Whore |
| Roberta Quaresima | as Whore #1 |
| Marta Pilato | as Whore #2 |
| Kathy Shao-Lin Lee | as Chinese Dancer |
| Angela Pleasence | as Woman Accomplice |
| Brennan Caitlin | as Hot Corn Girl |
| Raffaella Ponzo | as Johnny's Girlfriend |
Movie info
| Languages: | English, Irish Gaelic, Chinese, Latin |
| Filming dates: | 18 September 2000 - 12 April 2001 |
| Budget: | USD 97,000,000 |
| Gross: |
USA - 9,496,870 USD (22 December 2002) UK - 9,780,851 GBP (9 February 2003) Worldwide - 97,000,000 USD (9 March 2003) (except USA) Argentina - 667,253 USD (13 May 2003) France - 8,709,849 USD (21 January 2003) Italy - 7,444,692 EUR (2 March 2003) Spain - 6,934,290 EUR (6 April 2003) |
| Plot: | When his father is killed in New York City, Amsterdam Vallon returns in 1863 to hunt down his father's killer, the ruthless, Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting. It's not easy for Amsterdam as gangs roam a corrupt New York City, with Bill Cutting ruling over everyone. |
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Original Soundtracks
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"Brooklyn Heights" Composed by Howard Shore Produced by Hal Willner Recorded and mixed by Eric Liljestrand Additional mixing by Tom Lazarus Additional recording and mixing by Geoff Foster Orchestrations by Jeff Atmajian Conducted by Andy Brown Solo counter tenor by Will Towers Solo boy soprano by James Kanagasooriam "Signal to Noise" Written and Performed by Peter Gabriel Courtesy of Real World Records, Virgin Records and Geffen Records "Shimmy She Wobble" Written by Otha Turner (as Othar Turner) Performed by Otha Turner (as Othar Turner) & The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band Courtesy of Bottom Third, Inc. "Lament for the Dead of the North" Written and Performed by Davy Spillane Courtesy of Nigel Rolfe/Real World Records Ltd. "Koukou Frappe" Written and Performed by Badara N'Diaye (as Badara Ndiaye) "Drummer's Reel" (2001) Written by Johnny Kalsi Performed by The Dhol Foundation Courtesy of Shakti Records "Lilly Bell Quickstep" Written by G.W.E. Friedrich Performed by Beatrice Pradella, Marco Libanori and Angelo Giuliani "Poontang Little, Poontang Small" Arranged and Performed by Jimmie Strothers on guitar Recorded by John A. Lomax and Harold Spivacke Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Hallelujah/Amazing Grace" Arranged by Alabama Sacred Harp Convention Led by Miss Malden Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Dark Moon, High Tide" Written by Simon Emmerson, Davy Spillane, Martin Russell Performed by Afro Celt Sound System Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd./Virgin Records Ltd. "Dan Tucker" Traditional Performed by Nathan Frazier & Frank Patterson Courtesy of Rounder Records "Last Rose of Summer" Traditional Music Box Recording Courtesy of Dinah Voorhies "New York Girls" Vocal performance by Finbar Furey Performed by Piermario De Dominicis (Folk Road), Vincenzo Appolloni, Massimo Greco , Stefano Petra Finbar Furey appears courtesy of Rough Diamond "New Careless Love" Arranged and Performed by Sonny Terry Recorded by Alan Lomax Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Saor-Free" Written by Ronan Browne Performed by Afro Celt Sound System Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd./Virgin Records Ltd. "Morrison's Jig/Liberty" Performed by Mariano De Simone "Unconstant Lover" Performed by Maura O'Connell "Lament for Staker Wallace" Arranged and Performed by Eileen Ivers Courtesy of Green Linnet Records Inc. "Báidín Fheidhlimí" Traditional Performed by Bono Bono appears courtesy of Universal Music BV "Pigeon on the Gate" Performed by Dan Costescu "The White Cockade" Performed by Franco D'Aniello, Marco Libanori and Angelo Giuliani "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" Arranged and Performed by Piergiorgio Ambrosi "Cantata" Arranged and Performed by Jeff Atmajian "Pakwach Acholi Bwala Dance" Written and recorded by David Fanshawe Courtesy of Nonesuch Records By Arrangement with Warner Special Products "Breakaway" Arranged and Performed by Sidney Stripling Recorded by John Work Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Belle of the Mohawk Vale" Performed by Franco D'Aniello, Marco Libanori and Angelo Giuliani "Paddy's Lamentation" Traditional Arranged by Linda Thompson and Teddy Thompson Performed by Linda Thompson Linda Thompson appears courtesy of Rounder Records "Uncle Tom's Religion" Performed by Francesco Moneri "Devil Amongst the Tailors" Performed by Vittorio Schiboni, Massimo Giuntini, Rodrigo D'Erasmo, Mariano De Simone "Paddy's Lamentation" Traditional, Arranged by Paddy Moloney Performed by Mary Black Courtesy of Wicklow Enterprises Under license from BMG Special Products, Inc. "Massa Juba" Performed by Mariano De Simone, Beatrice Pradella, Alessandro Bruccoleri and Lauren Weiss "Gospel Train" Arranged and Performed by The Silver Leaf Quartet Produced and Recorded by Alan Lomax Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Beijing Opera Music" Written by Hong-Qi Zhang and Da-Can Chen Produced and Arranged by Anxi Jiang "Leaving Home" Written by Hong-Qi Zhang Vocals by Ke-Wei Zhang Produced and Arranged by Anxi Jiang "Durgen Chugaa" Traditional, Arranged by Boris Salchak Performed by Shu-De Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd./Narada Productions, Inc. "Chilumi" Written and Performed by Dr. Hukwe Zawose Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd. "Garry Owens Jig" Performed by Anna De Luca, Alessandro Bruccoleri and Giuseppe Salvagni "Late at Midnight, Just a Little Fore Day" Written by 'Otha Turner (as Othar Turner) Performed by Fife and Drum Band Courtesy of HighTone Records "Dionysus" Written and Performed by Jocelyn Pook Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd./Narada Productions, Inc. "The Murderer's Home" Written by Alan Lomax Performed by Jimpson & Group Produced and recorded by Alan Lomax Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" Arranged by George Spangler & Congregation of Thornton Regular Baptist Church (Mayking, NY) Sung by Ike Caudill and Congregation of the Mt. Olivet Old Regular Baptist Church Produced and Recorded by Alan Lomax Courtesy of The Alan Lomax Archives/Rounder Records "Vows" Written by Jeff Johnson & Brian Dunning Performed by Jeff Johnson , Brian Dunning , John Fitzpatrick , Gregg Williams & Tim Ellis Courtesy of Ark Records (www.arcmusic.com) "Kerry Slides" Arranged by Paddy Moloney Performed by The Chieftains Courtesy of Claddagh Records "The Hands That Built America (Theme from Gangs of New York)" Written and Performed by U2 Featuring Sharon Corr - Violin and Andrea Corr - Tin Whistle Produced by The Edge Engineered and mixed by Carl Glanville Assisted by Chris Heaney String arrangement by The Edge Live strings conducted by Daragh O'Toole Violins by Katie O'Connor and Una O'Kane Viola by Rosie Nic Athlaioch |
Goofs
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Continuity: When Amsterdam meets Johnny for the first time after coming back, they walk along the street and stop. As they talk, Amsterdam's satchel repeatedly moves from over his shoulder to under his arm and back between shots. SYNC: When Bill the Butcher talks to Boss Tweed on the docks as the Irish come off the ships, his words don't match his lip movements. Continuity: SPOILER: When Amsterdam is preparing for the final fight at the end of the film, his Saint Michael medal is wrapped around his hand and positioned on the front of his knuckles. Afterwards as he continues to gear up we see him take the medal and then wrap it around his hand. DATE: Prior to the street battle in 1846, Priest Vallon recites a portion of the Prayer to St. Michael: "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle! Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil." The prayer was written by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. Continuity: When Amsterdam follows Jenny uptown when she's posing as the maid and he confronts her outside, the blood on his neck from her knife changes drastically between shots. Continuity: The scar on Amsterdam's face from Bill the Butcher's sword disappears and reappears throughout the film. Continuity: When Amsterdam is at the pagoda preparing to kill Bill the Butcher, he is shown with his hands behind his back holding his hat which conceals his knife. In the next shot we see him removing his hat with the rest of the crowd as Bill calls the crowd to attention. Revealing mistakes: When the mob throws rocks at the police, a heavy-looking rock bounces off one officers heads, then bounces around as it hits the ground, as if it weighs nothing at all. Revealing mistakes: When Amsterdam shows Jenny his scars on the pier, several makeup effects lift up off of his skin. Continuity: After Jenny fights of her two attackers in the harbor, after shooting the woman, she pulls herself up on a crate. In the next shot, she is crawling toward the crate on hands and knees. DATE: Bananas were available in the United States after the Civil War, not during it. Revealing mistakes: Crystal eye balls are fixed and always look to the front without moving. However, the Butcher's eye moves accordingly to his good eye, revealing that it is in fact a contact lens. Continuity: SPOILER: The amount of blood and dirt on Amsterdam's face and clothes changes drastically between shots at the end of the movie. Continuity: Amsterdam's position at the bar after he fights the bald guy alternates between standing up straight and being hunched over. Continuity: When the young Amsterdam throws the knife in the hole, it isn't wrapped. When he returns 16 years later, it is wrapped in old clothes. Continuity: When Bill the Butcher confronts the newly elected Monk, Monk's cudgel switches from being securely tethered to his right hand to loosely held in his left Continuity: Amsterdam wipes blood from the wrong side of his neck as he and Jenny walk down the street after the scene where she had a knife to his neck. Continuity: About 30 minutes into the film, when Amsterdam is conspiring with the Chinese men to murder Bill the Butcher, he shows them a sheet of paper. When he shows it to them the second time, Amsterdam hands the Chinese man an unfolded sheet of paper, but in the next shot, the sheet is folded, and the Chinese man must unfold it. Continuity: When Amsterdam is fighting the bald guy in the bar, men begin to pull him off, then Bill calls for them to break up the fight. The men approach Amsterdam and pull him off again. Revealing mistakes: When Amsterdam is on the table at the Pagoda and Bill The Butcher throws the cleaver in the air, the cleaver is spinning the wrong way to land and stick in the table, yet it does exactly that. Continuity: When Amsterdam is placed on the table, at the pagoda, Bill the Butcher straddles his chest and pounds a cleaver in the tabletop to the left of Amsterdam's head. With the cleaver still stuck in the table, Bill takes another cleaver from his belt and tosses it in the air. As the cleaver descends toward the table, the first cleaver has disappeared and the new cleaver lands in the original cleaver's place. Revealing mistakes: After the assassination attempt on Bill the Butcher at the theater, Amsterdam rolls around the floor with the assassin. Amsterdam has a knife in his hand; as he touches the blade to the floor, the blade bends sharply to the side. It is obviously a rubber blade. Continuity: After Amsterdam stops Bill the Butcher's would-be-assassin they struggle on the floor. In the wide shot, the assassin's right hand is empty and lying across his stomach. In the next shot, his hand is lying across Amsterdam and has a pistol in it. Continuity: When the Butcher is back on his feet after being shot in the theater, the blood stain is very different from the one that emerged as he was shot and crouched down. For example, his right lapel is now clean, but it was hit by blood earlier. Continuity: During the fight at the beginning of the movie, bright red blood is all over the snow. By the end of the sequence, the snow is gone. DATE: The troops that are sent to quell the riot level their rifles on the command 'Present Arms.' In this time period, 'Present Arms' was a salute and 'Aim' was the proper command for aiming rifles in battle. Also, as the troops approach the mob, they halt before the word 'halt' is spoken. Troops in the era would march until the word is spoken; they do not stop in anticipation of the command. Revealing mistakes: As we enter Satan's Circus, an elderly woman is clearly pretending to sew. The needle never enters the cloth; she just waves it up and down with the thread fluttering after it. DATE: Pink latex balloons decorate the scaffolding at the hanging. After Charles Goodyear's patent for vulcanization in 1843, some toy balloons were made from India Rubber spread thin in a solution of benzol or coal-naphtha, like the preparation used to waterproof raincoats and galoshes, and then vulcanized; they were thick, more like today's balls or the tough inflated pig bladders used in games before. The latex toy balloon was invented in 1931 by Neil E. Tillotson of Colebrook, New Hampshire. The originals were white or black; colored balloons came along even later, when dyes that would not dissolve the latex were developed. Revealing mistakes: In the very beginning before the great battle of 1846, Priest talks to his young son about St. Michael. When Priest says "and what did he do," the boy who plays young Amsterdam mouths the words. DATE: When the rich folk are playing snooker, the remaining balls on the table are blue, pink, and black. The blue ball didn't exist in snooker until the early part of the 20th century. Continuity: At the hanging, when the condemned man at left of screen is calling to his son and delivering his last words, all four men already have nooses around their necks. After he ends his speech and the hood is pulled down over his face, the nooses are dangling free in front of the other three men, and the hangman places the nooses back on their necks. FAIR: The movie refers to Anthony, Orange and Cross Streets as being at the Five Points. By the time the events in the movie take place, they had been renamed Worth, Baxter and Park streets, respectively. The city of New York renamed these streets in an effort to change the overall reputation of what was already called Five Points. This strategy failed as the entire area was still as infamous as ever. Most Five Points residents would have still known and referred to the streets by their original names. DATE: Johnny tells Amsterdam that Bendrick the Cockroach "carries a germ" and "if you try to leave the gang, they say, he hacks up blood on you." The link between germs and disease wasn't known until after Robert Koch's 1876 publication. Louis Pasteur's work, also published in the 1870s, completed the proof to the medical community, though it was called "the germ theory of disease" as late as 1914. In the 1860s, no ragamuffin street kid would have made the connection. He wouldn't have used the word that way, either; the first recorded use outside medical literature is John Tyndall's 1879 Fragments of Science for Unscientific People. Until then, "germ" was the part of a seed from which the plant sprouts. Continuity: In the beginning of the film, Priest cuts his face with a razor. The cut moves from the right side to the left. Continuity: After Amsterdam shoots the assassin, he drops his knife in the wide shot, and it tumbles away. In the next shot, when Amsterdam crawls away with the pistol, the knife is back in his hand, and he drops it again. Fact errors: The pistols and revolvers in the movie are of the standard 'cap and ball' variety, but they are not armed with primer caps, without which they cannot be fired. Continuity: During the opening battle scene, just before Bill walks out, trees can be seen in the background. These trees subsequently disappear a few minutes later when the shot cranes up after the battle. DATE: The hammer dulcimer (string instrument old man is playing) shown just before the fight scene between Amsterdam and McGloin, is of a modern design. Instruments from the time would have been much more cumbersome in design as they would have been homemade, or built by carpenters used to working with furniture. CHAR: When the draft board comes calling, the gang member pretends not to understand English and says, in his best Irish Gaelic, "Nil moran Gaeilge agam" which means "I don't understand Irish very well". What he meant to say was "Nil moran Bearla agam" which means "I don't understand English very well. DATE: When the competing fire companies arrive at the house fire, one fireman is wearing modern-day fireman's pants. He may be an actual firefighter taking part in the scene as a safety precaution. Fact errors: When the Union soldiers take aim at the rioters, each man steps forward with his left foot. During the Civil War, on the command "aim" a soldier would step BACK with his RIGHT foot, bringing it behind his left. Stepping forward would desecrate "the line" (all-important in nineteenth-century warfare). CHAR: SPOILER: During Monk McGinn's funeral procession, the priest is wearing a vestment called a maniple over his right wrist. The maniple is worn over the left arm only. Revealing mistakes: SPOILER: When Bill throws his cleaver into Monk McGinn's back, the fake cleaver that's thrown can be seen bouncing off the door frame (lower left of the frame) before Monk falls. Revealing mistakes: When Amsterdam is outside of the draft office the first time, the red haired man behind the draft officer smokes his cigar 4 or 5 times, but never exhales any smoke. Amsterdam is smoking right next to him, and his smoke is clearly visible. Continuity: One shot during the opening fight scene shows Bill the Butcher killing several people with his meat cleaver and knife, yet the blades stay clean. Continuity: SPOILER: Early in the film, a man in a striped shirt cleaves Priest Vallon in the left elbow from behind with a large curved blade. A cut-away shot shows Bill making a cutting motion at the exact same time. Vallon is holding his cross, and in freeze frame it's obviously him. Bill says "Priest" and takes several steps before he encounters Vallon for the first time during the fight. Vallon, who should be in agony from the blow to his arm, stands and turns towards Bill. Vallon's arm is nearly severed by the opening blow, yet there is no evidence of such a severe injury during the hand-to-hand fight with Bill. As Vallon dies, his coat has some blood in the area of his left elbow, but not enough for the injury as initially shown. Continuity: When Amsterdam first returns to the Five Points, he is walks alone. Monk stands in front of his shop and looks down at the town. To the right, Amsterdam and Johnny are taking before Amsterdam even meets him. Crew: In the final fight scene, when the camera is circling around Vallon in the white smoke, the circular camera tracks are clearly visible at the bottom of the shot. Continuity: Just before the draft rioters break into the Schermerhorn house, as the family is sits down to eat, large celadon vases are visible in the dining room windows that overlook the street. Moments later, when the rioters smash through the windows, the vases have disappeared. Revealing mistakes: When Amsterdam and Jenny fight, before they make love, Amsterdam slams her against a wooden beam in her room. Several times, the black finish comes off the beam, revealing the white foam underneath. Continuity: When Jenny says to Amsterdam and Johnny "I'll leave you in the grace and favor of the Lord" Amsterdam is on the left and Johnny is on the right. When the camera cuts back to them, Johnny is on the left and Amsterdam is on the right. Revealing mistakes: Before the beginning battle takes place, the Priest and his followers stand in Paradise Square awaiting their adversaries. As Bill's men arrive, we see them appear from behind some buildings, and behind these buildings we see a number of large treetops, as if behind the square is a forested area. The problem here is that after the battle, the camera pulls back to show how and where the 5-Corners district is situated in the heart of mid-1840s Manhattan. As the shot zooms out and increases in altitude to reveal the computer-generated cityscape, there are no CGI trees in the scene that correspond with the ones behind the live-action set built to represent the Paradise Square area. DATE: Amsterdam is offended when McGloin likens his behavior to that of a "chiseler." While the verb "to chisel" meaning "to swindle" existed at the time, the noun form didn't show up into English until the 1880s. Continuity: Johnny is forced to meet with Bill, who is seated with 'Boss' to his right. During the scene, the frequent p.o.v. shots change from Bill to Johnny and back and shows 'Boss's' gaze not where it should be on several occasions. Continuity: When Amersterdam follows Jenny onto the tram after she steals his medal her hand is shown reaching into a man's jacket. The next scene shows her take her hand from her lap as if for the first time and reach into his coat. DATE: Paper clips were not invented until 1899. CHAR: When Bill The Butcher tells Boss Tweed about the streets that make up the Five Points, he names five. There were only three; two continuing through and one ending. Little Water and Mulberry Streets were nearby, but not at the intersection itself. CHAR: Jenny shows a scar on her belly and tells Amsterdam it is from an abortion. Abortions are never done that way. They are done from the vagina. A scar of that length could have appeared when doing a caesarean section, but the story never tells about it that way. Continuity: When Amsterdam is placed on the table, at the pagoda, Bill the Butcher is seen lowering his arm after tossing the cleaver in to the air, the next shot shows him lowering his arm again. FAIR: During the Draft Riots, a voice is heard speaking as though coming through a PA system. While it's true microphones were first developed in the 1870s as part of the telephone, and that those capable of being a loud PA system were not in regular use until the turn of the century, no actual PA system is ever actually seen; the odd-timbre'd voice begins when a telegraph is on-screen, meaning the words heard are those being sent over the telegraph, not actually shouted to the crowds during the riots. SYNC: The first dialogue between Tweed and Bill 'The Butcher' in Tammany Hall, Tweed is feeding his birds as he confronts Bill's abuse of the Irish. The line beginning, "You may or may not know, Bill...", clearly does not match his lip movements. |
Quotes
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Bill: You see this knife? I'm gonna teach you to speak English with this fucking knife! Amsterdam Vallon: Lord, place the steel of the Holy Spirit in my spine and the love of the Virgin Mary in my heart. Boss Tweed: The appearance of law must be upheld, especially when it's being broken. Happy Jack: I come for my due and proper. Boss Tweed: You killed an elected official? Bill: Who elected him? Boss Tweed: You don't know what you've done to yourself. Bill: [taps his glass eye with a knife] I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. So because you are lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth. You can build your filthy world without me. I took the father. Now I'll take the son. You tell young Vallon I'm gonna paint Paradise Square with his blood. Two coats. I'll festoon my bedchamber with his guts. As for you, Mr. Tammany-fucking-Hall, you come down to the Points again, and you'll be dispatched by my own hand. Get back to your celebration and let me eat in peace. Bill: I took the father, now I'll take the son. [after someone speaks to him in Irish Gaelic] Boss Tweed: They don't speak English in New York any more? Bill: He was the only man I ever killed worth remembering. Bill: How old are you, Amsterdam? Amsterdam Vallon: I'm not sure, sir. I never did quite figure it. Bill: I'm forty-seven. Forty-seven years old. You know how I stayed alive this long? All these years? Fear. The spectacle of fearsome acts. Somebody steals from me, I cut off his hands. He offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike, raise it high up so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear. Bill: Mulberry Street... and Worth... Cross and Orange... and Little Water. Each of the Five Points is a finger. When I close my hand it becomes a fist. And, if I wish, I can turn it against you. Bill: Thank God. I die a true American. [Amsterdam goes to wipe blood off razor] Priest Vallon: No son, never. The blood stays on the blade. One day you'll understand. Bill: That, my friends, is the minority vote. Bill: At my challenge, by the ancient laws of combat, we are met at this chosen ground, to settle for good and all who holds sway over the five points: us natives, born rightwise to this fine land, or the foreign hordes defiling it. Crowd: Yeah. Priest Vallon: By the ancient laws of combat, I accept the challenge of the so called "natives." They plague our people at every turn, but from this day out, they shall plague us no more. For let it be known, that the hand that tries to strike us from this land shall be swiftly cut down. Crowd: YEAH. Bill: Is this it priest, the Pope's new army, a few crusty bitches and a hand full of rag tags? Priest Vallon: Now, now, Bill, you swore this was a battle between warriors, not a bunch of miss nancies, so warriors is what I brought. [various Irish Gangs proceed to appear] Amsterdam Vallon: If you get all of us together, we ain't got a gang, we've got an army. McGloin: What's a nigger doing in the church? Bill: Hey, have you met Amsterdam? He almost fish-hooked McGloin. Boss Tweed: We're burying a lot of votes tonight. Amsterdam Vallon: Jenny was a Bluget, a girl pickpocket and a turtledove. A turtledove picks out a fine house, disguises herself as a housemaid and robs you blind. It takes a lot of sand to be a turtledove. Bill: Ears and noses will be the trophies of the day. But no hand shall touch him. Amsterdam Vallon: When you kill a king, you don't stab him in the dark. You kill him where the entire court can watch him die. Bill: This is a night for Americans! Bill: Anything in your pockets? Jenny: I ain't started working yet. Boss Tweed: You know why he wears short sleeves? So they can see he's got nothing stashed. I hope that never becomes the fashion. Bill: Is this the Pope's new army? Bill: Burn him, see if his ashes turn green. Bill The Butcher: This is a day for America. Bill: Here's the thing... I don't give a ten-penny fuck about your moral conundrum, you meat-headed shit-sack... That's pretty much the thing. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: Well that was bloody Shakespearian. Do you know who Shakespeare is? He wrote the King James Bible. Amsterdam Vallon: I give you my word, this all will be finished tomorrow. Jenny: No, it won't. Bill: My father gave his life, making this country what it is. Murdered by the British with all of his men on the twenty fifth of July, anno domini, 1814. Do you think I'm going to help you befoul his legacy, by giving this country over to them, what's had no hand in the fighting for it? Why, because they come off a boat crawling with lice and begging you for soup. Happy Jack: I'm paid to uphold the law. Bill: What in Heaven's name are you talking about? Boss Tweed: Remember the first rule of politics. The ballots don't make the results, the counters make the results. The counters. Keep counting. Amsterdam Vallon: Is there anyone in the five points you *haven't* fucked? Jenny: Yes! *You!* Bill: A *real* native is someone who is willing to die fighting for his country. There's nothing more to it. Bill: On the seventh day the Lord rested, but before that he did, he squatted over the side of England and what came out of him... was Ireland. No offense son. Amsterdam Vallon: Nah, none taken, sir. I grew up here. All I ever knew of Ireland was from the talk of the others at the orphan asylum. Bill: And which part of that excrementitious isle where your forebears spawned? Amsterdam Vallon: I've been told Kerry, I lost proof of it in my language at the asylum. Bill: Civilization is crumbling Bill: WOOPSY DAISY! Amsterdam Vallon: New York loved William Tweed... and hated him but for those of us trying to be thieves, we couldn't help but admire him. Boss Tweed: You may or may not know, Bill, that everyday I go down to the waterfront with hot soup for the Irish as they come ashore. Its part of building a political base. Bill: I've noticed you there, you may have noticed me. Boss Tweed: Indeed I have. Throwing torrents of abuse to every single person who steps off those boats. Bill: [gleefully] If only I had the guns, Mr. Tweed, I'd shoot each and every one of them before they set foot on American soil. Bill: You. Whatever your name is... what is your name? Amsterdam Vallon: Amsterdam, sir. Bill: Amsterdam... I'm New York... don't you never come in here empty handed again, you gotta pay for the pleasure of my company. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: I've got forty-four notches on my club. Do you know what they're for? They're to remind me what I owe God when I die. My father was killed in battle, too. In Ireland, in the streets, fighting those who would take as their privilege what could only be got and held by the decimation of a race. That war is a thousand years old and more. We never expected it to follow us here. It didn't. It was waiting for us when we landed. Your father tried to carve out a corner of this land for his tribe. That was him, that was his dead rabbits. I often wondered... if he had lived a bit longer, would he have wanted a bit more? Priest Vallon: Prepare to meet the true lord. Bill: Don't mind him. He used to be an Irishman. Bill: It's Election Day. [as the Irish are drafted as they come ashore] Irish Immigrant: Where we goin'? Another Immigrant: I heard Tennessee. Irish Immigrant: Where's that? Irish Soldier: Do they feed us now? Irish Singer: [singing] Well, meself and a hundred more, to America sailed o'er, with our fortunes to be made, so we were thinkin' / When we got to Yankee land, they shoved a gun into our hands / Saying "Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln."/ There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar, and I wish I was back home in dear old Dublin. [swearing in Irish immigrants as citizens at the harbor] Army Recruiter: That document makes you a citizen, and this one makes you a private in the Union army. Now get out there and serve your country. [as an anti-draft riot takes place] Boss Tweed: Sweet Jesus, war does terrible things to people. Amsterdam Vallon: Suppose you back an Irish candidate, of my choosin', and I'll deliver all the Irish vote? Boss Tweed: That will only happen in the reign of Queen Dick. [as Monk McGinn runs for Sheriff] Boss Tweed: That man was right born for this. Amsterdam Vallon: He's killed 44 men, and laid low a couple hundred more. Boss Tweed: Is that right? We should have run him for mayor. Killoran: Monk's already won by three thousand more votes than there are voters. Boss Tweed: Only three? Make it twenty, thirty. We don't need a victory. We need a Roman triumph. [speaking of Bill the Butcher] Jenny: When I was twelve years old, my mother was dead, and I was livin' in a doorway. He took me in. Took care of me, in his way. After they cut out the baby... well, he doesn't fancy girls that's scarred up. But you might as well know in your own mind that he never laid a hand on me until I asked him to. [as a man is about to be hung] Bill: That's a fine locket. I'll give you a dollar for it. Arthur: It was me mother's... Bill: Dollar and a half? Arthur: Done. Miss Schermerhorn: Is that man drunk? Happy Jack: Och, dead as Good Friday, miss. Young Johnny Sirocco: Oy! Boyo! Young Amsterdam Vallon: Johnny. Young Johnny Sirocco: What you doin', boyo? Young Amsterdam Vallon: There's a battle. The natives against the dead rabbits. Young Johnny Sirocco: Which side are you on? Young Amsterdam Vallon: What do you think? [points behind him] Young Amsterdam Vallon: Dead rabbits. [last lines] Amsterdam Vallon: ...And no matter what they did to build this city up again, for the rest of time, it will be like no-one even knew we was ever here. Amsterdam Vallon: In the end, they put candles on the bodies so's their friends, if they had any, could know them in the dark. The city did this free of charge. Shang, Jimmy Spoils, Hell-cat, McGloin, and more. Friend or foe, didn't make no difference now. It was four days and nights before the worst of the mob was finally put down. We never knew how many New Yorkers died that week before the city was finally delivered. My father told me we was all born of blood and tribulation, and so then too was our great city. But for those of us what lived and died in them furious days, it was like everything we knew was mildly swept away. And no matter what they did to build this city up again... for the rest of time... it would be like no one even knew we was ever here. Bill: [after stabbing Priest] Look to me! Who is this under my knife! Bill: Everything you see belongs to me, to one degree or another. The beggars and newsboys and quick thieves here in Paradise, the sailor dives and gin mills and blind tigers on the waterfront, the anglers and amusers, the she-hes and the Chinks. Everybody owes, everybody pays. Because that's how you stand up against the rising of the tide. Boss Tweed: Bill, I can't get a days work done for all the good citizens coming in here to harass me about crime in the Points. Some even go so far as to accuse Tammany of connivance in this so-called rampant criminality. What am I to do? I can't have this. Something has to be done. Bill: What do you have in mind? Boss Tweed: I don't know. I think maybe we should hang someone. Bill: Who? Boss Tweed: No one important, necessarily. Average men will do. Back alley amusers with no affiliations. Bill: How many? Boss Tweed: Three or four. Bill: Which? Boss Tweed: Four. Boss Tweed: That's the building of our country right there, Mr. Cutting. Americans aborning. Bill: I don't see no Americans. I see trespassers, Irish harps. Do a job for a nickel what a nigger does for a dime and a white man used to get a quarter for. What have they done? Name one thing they've contributed. Boss Tweed: Votes. Bill: Votes, you say? They vote how the archbishop tells them, and who tells the archbishop? Their king in the pointy hat what sits on his throne in Rome. Bill: Well draw it mildly son. Happy Jack don't fill his lungs without I tell him he may do so. Priest Vallon: Now, son, who's that? Young Amsterdam Vallon: Saint Michael. Priest Vallon: Who's that? Young Amsterdam Vallon: Saint Michael! Priest Vallon: And what did he do? Young Amsterdam Vallon: He cast Satan out of Paradise. Priest Vallon: Good boy! Amsterdam Vallon: Challenge. Bill: Challenge accepted. Bill: We hold in our hearts the memory of our fallen brothers whose blood stains the very streets we walk today. Also on this night we pay tribute to the leader of our enemies, an honorable man, who crossed over bravely, fighting for what he believed in. To defeat my enemy, I extinguish his life, and consume him as I consume these flames. In honor of Priest Vallon. Boss Tweed: You're a good one for the fighting, Bill. But you can't fight forever. Bill: I can go down doing it. Boss Tweed: And you will! Bill: What did you say? Boss Tweed: I said, you're turning your back on the future. Bill: Not our future. Bill: I killed the last honorable man, 15 years ago. Since then it's... You seen his portrait downstairs? Amsterdam Vallon: Mm-hmm. Bill: 'S your mouth all glued-up with cunny juice? I asked you a question! Amsterdam Vallon: [angrily] I said I *seen* it, sir. Bill: [smiling] Oh, you got a murderous streak in you! Bill: Careful, Tweedy. The Mort's Frenchified. McGloin: Father! Jesus, did you know there's a nigger in ya church? [the priest hits him in the head with his staff] Amsterdam Vallon: It's a funny feeling being taken under the wing of a dragon. It's warmer than you'd think. Bill: You mother-whoring Irish nigger. Bill: Now that you've had a taste of my mutton, how do you like it? Jenny: [after running into Johnny] Look where you are going, Johnny! [notices Amsterdam] You look stunned and poorly, sir. [both of the men are silent and nervous] [sarcastic] Quite a pair of conversationists, aren't you. Amsterdam Vallon: Maybe not. We're deep thinkers. Jenny: [chuckles] Well then. Gentlemen, I leave you in the grace and favour of the Lord. [walks off] Bill: He ain't earned a death! He ain't a death at my hands! No, he'll walk amongst you marked with shame, a freak worthy of Barnum's Museum of Wonders. God's only man, spared by the Butcher. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: [Pins Amsterdam to the wall] That's it, that's it! Tear my head off and destruct the world! Just like the rest of the stupid Irish in this country! That's why I never ran with your dad! Amsterdam Vallon: Get off me you crazy bastard! Walter 'Monk' McGinn: [Leans in and whispers a line of Gaelic. Then, in English] It means, 'If you're not strong you'd better be smart.' Now I don't know if you're being too clever or too dumb, but whichever it is just remember this much. For all his faults, your father was a man who loved his people. [Releases Amsterdam and walks away] Happy Jack: Thank ye boys. You keep out of trouble now! Priest Vallon: Well well, Monk. Are you with us or not? Walter 'Monk' McGinn: For the last time Vallon, I'm with you if the money's right. Priest Vallon: I'll give you ten per notch. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: Ten? Priest Vallon: You have my word. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: [Picks up his shillelagh] Ten per notch? Priest Vallon: Per *new* notch. Walter 'Monk' McGinn: [Looks at the notches already there, and loops his weapon around his wrist] Then I'm your man. [Turns around and kicks the door open] Shang: [Runs at the soldiers] Bastards! Bill: Pistols? Amsterdam Vallon: No pistols. Bill: Good boy. |
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