Gangs of New York (DVD)

Martin Scorsese's Academy Award-winning film took nearly 30 years in planning and brought two major actors back onto the big screen after several years absence (Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis). 1846 New York and tensions have reached climactic and fatal proportions between the Irish immigrants and the British and Dutch inhabitants of the Five Points neighbourhood. William Cutting (Day-Lewis), aka Bill the Butcher, leads the inhabitants of Five Points and creates the 'Native Americans' gang, whilst the immigrants are led by Priest Vallon (Liam Neeson) and form 'The Dead Rabbits'. After a violent clash between the two gangs which leaves Vallon dead, his son Amsterdam goes missing only to turn up in 1862 under a new name and seeking vengeance for the death of his father. Amsterdam (DiCaprio) manages to integrate himself into Bill the Butcher's corrupt inner circle, which is now running the entire underworld around Five Points, and even becomes his right-hand man. However, his identity is soon revealed and a bloody showdown ensues.