At that time, the Five Points District in New York was the endorsement of the slums, with three religions, a mixture of fish and dragons, corrupt officials, numerous gangs, gathering Italians, Irish, Chinese, Germans... so it is a tangible metaphor to call it a melting pot.
In 1846, the local gang headed by The Confederation of American Natives and the immigrant gang headed by The Dead Rabbits of the Irish fought for control of the Five Points District in New York. . In the duel, Bill The Butcher (Bill The Butcher, the leader of the gang, played by Daniel Day Louis) killed the priest (Priest, the leader of the Dead Rabbit Gang), the Dead Rabbit Gang was defeated, and the Butcher Bill rightfully won the control of the five-point area. After the battle, the priest's son was captured and sent to the orphanage.
Sixteen years later, the priest's son (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) returned to the five o'clock area, met John, and learned from him that the Dead Rabbit Gang had collapsed. It’s worth mentioning here that 1862 was the second year of the outbreak of the Civil War. In the movie, the New York pier appeared many times in the movie. The men led the ships on the pier and went to the front line. Unloaded from the docked ship. This is not only to satirize the war, but the men who went to the war were all immigrants from slums. The New York riots behind the film were caused by these unfair phenomena.
The pastor’s son started working under Bill under the pseudonym of Amsterdam and met the female thief Jenny (Cameron Diaz). Because of her outstanding ability, she began to be promoted by the butcher Bill. In an assassination, the pastor’s son saved the butcher Bill and let He was trusted by the butcher, and when the pastor's son felt that the revenge he had been brewing for a long time could be realized, he was betrayed by his friend John, causing the assassination to fail and being humiliated by the butcher Bill. When the pastor's son was sinking, McGinn (helping the pastor at a cost of murder in a duel) persuaded the pastor's son. The pastor's son decided to revive his father's dead rabbit gang, and the Irish who had been suppressed by the local gang for a long time began to gather together. Butcher Bill killed the son of John warning the priest. As the Irish power continued to grow, Bill the Butcher killed McGinn again. New and old grudges, the priest's son challenges Bill the Butcher.
The background of this decisive battle was the New York riots. The duel is nothing but the cannon fodder of that riot, the gang fight escalates to the class war, and the movie is sublimated here. The priest's son killed Bill the Butcher, but in that riot, Bill the Butcher's death was just a small embellishment.
I have to talk about the background music: the
film has two duels: the beginning of the film---the Butcher Bill and the priest, the
end of the film---The Butcher Bill and the priest’s son
always play the Irish-style tune before the duel, like ancient times His groaning is like a war drum beating again.
I have to talk about the New York riots: The New York riots in
1863 were caused by conscription. Lincoln decided to draft 100,000 troops. At that time, the draft was drawn by rolling wheels. Those who were drawn could choose to pay 300 dollars for exemption or apply. In this case, most of the applicants are poor. Comparing the death list sent from the front line with the enlistment list, people in the slums were enraged. They began to seize weapons, occupy the police station, and a large number of mobs rushed into the rich areas to attack the rich. In the era of war and inflation, Irish and blacks rushed to find jobs. Irish people with strong racism had long-standing grievances, making blacks their main target of venting. The black man was tied up and dragged to death on the ground. After his death, he was tortured to death.
In this riot, official statistics accounted for more than 300 police casualties and more than 100 mob deaths (private statistics more than 1,000). Later, the government sent troops to suppress the riots.
Bill the Butcher:
The Butcher Bill, interpreted by Daniel Day Louise, is brutal, cold-blooded and a little cute. He is of Italian descent and believes that the local gang is noble and should be superior to other gang races as the helm of the five-point zone. , He was very arrogant even in the dialogue with the congressmen. Bill the Butcher makes a good throwing knife and a good pig. There have been several special features in the film-the American flag next to Butcher Bill, which represents everything that Butcher Bill defends. He values honor. When he died, the last line was "Thank God, I Die A True American." I was not right. A sinner sings praises and sees too much from a character. He shows the superb acting skills of an actor.
View more about Gangs of New York reviews
