Gangs of New York/Awesome

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


2002 film

  • Boss Tweed is supremely disappointed that Bill Cutting has just killed Monk McGinn, the Irish sheriff. "You don't know what you've done to yourself." Daniel Day-Lewis then scares the ever-loving crap out of everyone when he taps that knife against his glass eye.
  • "Priest" Vallon belligerently unsheathing a sword hidden inside his crucifix in response to Bill's challenge is definitely a standout.
  • The entire Draft Riot scene, especially when The Dead Rabbits and the Natives are all set for their final showdown...and instead they get bombarded by cannons and shot by Union soldiers.
  • The final scene of the movie, with Amsterdam saying how life in the city would go on despite the carnage of the Draft Riots. This is followed by a time-lapse of the New York skyline from the 1800s up to the present day, set to U2's epic The Hands That Built America
    • Scorsese also said in an interview that they considered removing the World Trade Center at the end of the montage, but elected not to as it's about the city being built, not being torn down.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome - U2's "The Hands That Built America" at the end. Not to mention an instrumental of "Signal to Noise" by Peter Gabriel during the battle at the beginning.
    • The authentic tunes from the era they got on the soundtrack were awesome as well, such as "New York Girls" and "Paddy's Lament".
  • The Bishop smacking McGloin across the head after he complains about there being a "nigger in the church" is awesome, and hilarious as well. He's such a Jerkass that even a Bishop wants to violently shut him up.
  • It's a minor thing, and words don't really do it justice, but the two occasions when Bill responds to a cheering crowd with a bored royal wave have always been standout moments. The fact that he can make a gesture which is so arrogant and dismissive of the adulation (and even look irritated by the tediousness of it,) and actually not come across as a pompous Smug Snake in any way is quite remarkable. May be a C Mo A for the actor rather than the character, but either way, it's awesome.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Gangs_of_New_York/Awesome?oldid=965043"