The Godfather

I watched the movie last night.
It’s pretty bloody... 😎
Personally, I thought it was fine. It isn't the greatest film ever made, but at least it wasn't as tedious as Titanic 😁 though that final scene had just as much melodrama as Titanic 😉
Daniel Day-Lewis was excellent 🙂

The movie is great, though I wouldn't call it anything beyond that. I’ll probably be just another person in the crowd claiming Daniel Day-Lewis is the absolute standout—the brightest light in the whole production. Honestly, you can't take your eyes off his performance.
As for DiCaprio, he's just underwhelming. I actually mentioned in that Catch Me If You Can thread that he's solid when the plot revolves entirely around him, but Day-Lewis is the true crown jewel here.
The film feels a bit overstretched, though...

Watched it last night.

Honestly, the whole thing felt more like one long music video than a movie. That’s just my take.

I’ve never really been a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but he actually holds his own here—pretty decent performance. 🙂

Daniel Day-Lewis ~ 👍

Cameron Diaz ~ 🤮 ~ I honestly have no clue how she even managed to land an A-list spot in Hollywood. She can't act, and she isn't even much to look at. For real, not even attractive, at least not in my book.

Then again, when you consider the current wave of patriotism sweeping the USA, combined with the film's total pessimism and its scathing critique of how laws and social systems are built in New York City, it’s hardly surprising how it fared at the Oscars. 🙄

The music is great, though. 🙂

Nah, if you look at the current wave of patriotism sweeping the USA, combined with how pessimistic and brutally critical the movie is regarding the way laws and social systems are built here in New York City, it’s honestly no surprise how it fared at the Oscars.

👍

I think a lot of people—especially Americans—felt this slight sense of unease because of how much the film mirrors what's actually happening right now. Scorsese is basically a school of realism (and I don't just mean his obsession with details, sets, or costumes), which isn't really the standard American mainstream style. Scorsese IS subversive simply because he operates within the USA—a country built on fantasy. Anywhere else, he'd be celebrated. In Europe, for instance, a film is judged by its critical merit (maybe an elitist view, sure) rather than just how much it pulls in at the box office.

If you ask me, handing out Oscars to mediocre movies (like Chicago, for instance...), while completely snubbing Scorsese, Daniel Day-Lewis, and everything else... it’s just pure American demagoguery.

Scorsese's only real flaw is that he's an American—he actually looks at the USA through a realistic lens. It’s much easier for Americans to sit there and watch some foreign bloody history—you know, like the Holocaust stuff in Schindler's List—and hand out awards for that, rather than actually looking in the mirror to acknowledge that their own history was just as bloody and genocidal... especially when an American is the one telling the story or filming it.

If Scorsese were, say, European, he’d be celebrated and praised in the States ten times more than someone like Polanski, not even mentioning how many Oscars he would've walked away with.

Anyway, if Chicago managed to snag that many Oscars, then "Gangs of New York" should have taken home somewhere between 25 and 50 of them.
I'm just comparing those two films here. I'm not saying that way more, much better movies haven't been made in Hollywood over the last few years... or decades...

Honestly, I feel like cutting the movie short really did it a disservice, IMO ->
Let’s just say they didn't get nearly enough time to dive deep into the characters,
which is such a bummer—if they had, this would have been an absolute masterpiece for sure;
As it stands, I'd give it a solid 4 out of 5.
The historical bits are totally fascinating, and the production design is gorgeous too.
The directing is pretty solid,
And personally, I thought the whole cast did a great job—nothing to complain about there.

Anyway—I'm dying to track down the "director's cut" on DVD if it ever comes out.

cosmiccanyon68 said:In my opinion, handing out Oscars to mediocre movies (like Chicago, etc.) while snubbing Scorsese, Daniel Day-Lewis, and an entire genre... it’s just pure American demagoguery.

Scorsese's only "flaw" is being an American who actually views the USA through a realistic lens. It’s way easier for Americans to watch some foreign bloody history—you know, like the Holocaust or The Pianist—and hand out awards for that, rather than looking in the mirror and admitting their own past was just as violent and genocidal. Especially when an American is the one telling the story or filming it.

👍

That is exactly what I was trying to say.

Honestly, who even cares about the Oscars? It’s basically just a high-end fashion show masquerading as an arts festival at this point.
The Academy is always trying way too hard to play the political correctness card—even now, in a post-PC era, which is honestly just kind of lame—so then when they actually pull off something "unpredictable"—like, I don't know, giving an Oscar for Best Original Song to a song that actually deserves it—everyone acts totally shocked, like, "Oh wow, look at us, we're so progressive and non-conservative!"
You can say whatever you want, though.

🙄

Moose said:This movie is about as subversive as a mainstream pop song on Top 40 radio. Personally, I think Gangs of New York is easily the worst Scorsese film I’ve ever seen—it feels bloated, shallow, and just incredibly sappy. Daniel Day-Lewis looks like he's constantly nursing a hangover (kind of like De Niro in those old comedies), DiCaprio seems even paler than usual, and even John C. Reilly is underwhelming here. The plot is painfully melodramatic and so over-the-top that it feels like a cheap Hollywood caricature. In the end, everyone dies, and DiCaprio just stares at the sun playing the flute. Whatever happened to Kate Winslet? She seemed to be chasing after too much screen time. To be fair, Titanic is sixteen times better than this mess. As far as being provocative goes...🙄 Politicians are just corrupt, and honestly, between the Irish and Italian gangs clashing and everyone hating on the local crowds, things are pretty messy. It’s all a bit provocative, I guess.

I just got home from the theater, and that's my take on it... though I guess I still think Daniel Day-Lewis was great.
And this too.

It feels like the script was written strictly by the numbers to me. You have friends falling for the same woman, leading to one betrayal, then just like what Morgan Wood14 mentioned regarding Butcher, Butcher betrays DiCaprio. Finally, Monk hands the razor to DiCaprio, who ends up cutting his own face—it’s just a cliché, honestly. I can't quite find the words for how underwhelming that was.

I guess I wonder why they still feel like making those kinds of movies. It just feels like cheap sentimentality to me. 🤮 It seems like every movie that actually has potential gets turned into some standard American chicken nugget, and they just end up ruining the whole thing. I guess.
I guess the production design, costumes, cinematography, and score were all alright.

Stumbled upon this on CNN.com:

Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez: A street orphan from Guatemala who immigrated to Southern California and was a Southern California soldier.

CNN.com Article

The issue with Scorsese is that he’s always trying to lecture Americans on something. Like, telling us history is just going to repeat itself. I think I finally get why he hasn't picked up an Oscar. Someone mentioned his work is subversive, and honestly, I don't have much else to say to that.

Hey everyone, let's be real—movies aren't meant to be documentaries!
Even someone as legendary as Scorsese takes liberties with historical facts just to tell a better story. We really shouldn't take every single film that uses a historical setting at face value as if it's gospel truth!

If you’re going to address me directly... 😉

When I mentioned the movie, I was talking about how those Irish immigrants were basically shoved straight from the ships into the front lines of the Civil War. That’s all I meant. It’s just interesting to me because you see the exact same pattern happening today with Latino immigrants, and we all know how they're treated here in the USA.

Look, movies are art, not history textbooks. A director is an artist; they give you their specific take on the world. If you want raw, dry facts, go grab a book and leave it at that.

Hey everyone, movies aren't a medium for the absolute truth!

😕

Jessica Nguyen85 said:
😕

I mean, it’s basically a media outlet for nothing but absolute facts.

I mean, it’s a news outlet for actual facts.

Is there any other that actually is?

The soundtrack in this movie is way too intense, especially during that opening scene where it’s just pure carnage.

But honestly, what really spiked my blood pressure was the ending. You spend the whole film waiting for this massive showdown between the Dead Rabbits and the Patriots, and then they all just gather around to stare gloomily at each other and... nothing!!!!😠

Besides, DiCaprio wouldn't have even managed to take down Daniel Day-Lewis without help from that little boat.😁 , he’s just not built for those gritty fighter roles—he's got a face that looks a bit too boyish for that kind of stuff.

Jessica Nguyen85 said:Is there actually any kind of sequel coming?

I mean, they really ought to make some documentaries, don't you think?

What I was trying to get at is that people frequently watch these historical movies and just assume everything on screen is the absolute truth, which is honestly such a huge misconception.

Moose said:This movie is about as subversive as a mainstream pop song on the radio. Personally, I think Gangs of New York is by far the worst Scorsese film I've ever sat through—it's bloated, shallow, and just incredibly sappy. Daniel Day-Lewis looks like he’s perpetually nursing a hangover (kind of like De Niro in those old comedies), DiCaprio looks paler than usual, and even John C. Reilly is underwhelming. The whole plot is painfully melodramatic, turned into such a Hollywood cliché that it would make even a classic Western hero blush. It ends with everyone dead, while DiCaprio just stares at the sun playing a flute. And what happened to Kate Winslet? She was way too much of a damsel in distress here. (I mean, let's be honest, Titanic is sixteen times better than this mess.) As for being "provocative" or "subversive"... 🙄 politicians are evil, Italians and Irishmen are fighting, Black characters are marginalized, and nobody likes anyone. It’s not provocative; it’s just tired.

So, what am I even supposed to say to that???
I’m sitting here sadly reminiscing about After Hours, The King of Comedy, Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, and Goodfellas....
Man, I don't know what that guy was thinking. If he hadn't made Bringing Out the Dead, I might actually prefer if he had just retired.

I don't even know what else to say besides the fact that I just can't stand DiCaprio, which is why I thought this movie was absolute garbage! I honestly have no clue why everyone makes such a huge deal out of it.

Logan said:I honestly don't know what else to say besides the fact that I just can't stand DiCaprio, and because of that, I think the movie is total garbage! I have no idea why this film gets so much hype.

Look, you don't actually need DiCaprio to be the reason this movie is bad. Sure, he might drag it down, but even he has had some great moments in other films where you really have to hand it to him. This one is just so poorly made that any praise we give it feels like we're just trying to justify wasting our money. Honestly, we'd have been better off spending that cash on a cheap round of drinks at a local dive bar instead.

It’s one of those movies you forget almost immediately, though I have to admit, seeing how much everyone trashed it actually made me want to give it a shot. 😁

Honestly, the whole cast is pretty rough, but D. Lewis... a total legend. Especially that scene where he loses it over a dead rabbit, or when the gangs are introducing themselves with nicknames like "Killers," "Dead Rabbits," or "Maniacs," and he just counters with: Federation of American Natives 👍
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