21 February 2020
The Gangs of New York (2002)
Director Martin Scorsese has established himself as the king of gangster flicks with Goodfellas, The Departed, and his most recent picture The Irishman all securing their seats in the theatre of cinema history.
In the highly acclaimed Gangs of New York, Scorsese takes his uncompromising style of gang warfare back in history to 19th Century New York City where an Irish immigrant gang called the Dead Rabbits, led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson) and later Amsterdam (Leonardo DiCaprio), stake their claim to a patch of American soil ruled by a fiercely nativist Protestant gang commanded by Bill the Butcher (the outstanding Daniel Day-Lewis).
Martin Scorsese has worked with DiCaprio on five occasions to resounding critical and commercial success: the pair has racked up dozens of Academy Award nominations and wins. Gangs of New York was nominated for ten Oscars, just one short of another of their collaborations The Aviator.
Scorsese was inspired by the centuries-old tombstones in Manhattan and so, in painstaking detail, he recreated the aesthetic, dialect, and armed street conflicts of 1860s New York. In doing so he explores the brutal tribalism that permeated the birth of the United States. CNN critic Paul Clinton labelled it “a grand American epic.”
What will be the cost of vengeance? Empini S1, coming soon
The Roast Of Minnie Dlamini, now streaming
More Mzansi gold
9 most shocking moments in The Illuminated
Are you strong enough to binge Showmax Original documentary series The Illuminated? Here’s what you’ll need to prepare yourself.
Youngins Season 1 Episode 37-39 recap: Expelled!
While the five’s video goes viral, they’re swiftly expelled and forced to return home following a disciplinary hearing in Episodes 37-39 of Showmax Original Youngins.
What to watch on Showmax in May 2024
Stream Barbie and Oppenheimer in South Africa now, only on Showmax. Plus a ton more great stuff coming in May.
The Mommy Club Season 2 Episode 11 recap: Cutting through
In episode 11 of The Mommy Club S2, Hermajesty hosts a ‘Healing with Hermajesty’ night picnic that turns sour. New episodes every Monday.