‘Mulberry Street… and Worth… Cross and Orange… and Little Water. Each of the Five Points is a finger. When I close my hand it becomes a fist. And, if I wish, I can turn it against you.’ – Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting
Jeeez…chill Bill, we were only asking for directions. We’re all friends here, so join us for the latest episode of Reel History!
Clearly, the chillingly charismatic Bill Cutting could never be accused of mincing his words or shying away from confrontation. Portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002), this is one of the actors most iconic on-screen achievements. He delivers up a scene-stealing (glass-eye-tapping) tour de force with rich dialogue and a large serving of gratuitous violence. So far so Scorsese, you might say!
Written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian & Kenneth Lonergan, the star-studded cast is complemented by Leonardo DiCaprio’s plucky Amsterdam Valance and Cameron Diaz’s crafty pickpocket Jenny. Filling out the ranks further are comically inept John C. Reilly as Happy Jack and Jim Broadbent’s corrupt kingpin of Tammany Hall Boss Tweed. However, we found that it was Brendan Gleeson’s mercenary/barber/sheriff for hire Walter ’Monk’ McGinn who eclipsed all but Day-Lewis. After all, it was he who reminded us using the old Irish proverb that “An té nach bhfuil láidir ní foláir dó a bheith glic”. (He who is not strong better be clever!)
Wise words indeed for anyone wishing to survive and thrive in the feverish cesspit of vice, poverty and corruption that was New York’s 19th century Five Points. Loosely based on Herbert Asbury’s 1927 book of the same name, Scorsese conjures up a grimy, riotous Civil-War-era lower Manhattan. He vividly reveals its underbelly of crime-ridden slums, gambling dens and sectarian gang rivalry, all concentrated into a few stifling streets. These were bitterly fought over by supremacist nativist protestant gangs, such as the Bowery Boys, who were determined to crush the challenge laid down by the largely Irish catholic Dead Rabbits who had flooded into New York escaping destitution across the ocean.
Sounds compelling, but did any of this actually happen? Accompany us as we lift the lid on the real history behind the film. Who was the real Bill ‘The Butcher’ William Poole and the gangs which dominated the period? What exactly was the corrupt political machine of Tammany Hall where ‘the appearance of law must be upheld, especially while it’s being broken’? Along the way we will dive into many of the other factors which forged this melting pot of modern America from the New York Draft Riots, religious/race tensions and even rival police forces and fire brigades!
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