7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Set in New York City, 1840-1863, a young man named Amsterdam seeks vengeance against Bill 'The Butcher' Poole, the man who killed his father. Though he secures the help of pickpocket Jenny Everdeane, the task at hand may be more dangerous than Amsterdam ever imagined when he realizes that his father was murdered as a result of gang warfare between the powerful Manhattan Irish and Italian gangs. Amid the crooked cops and corrupt politicians of the Tammany Hall era, political enforcer Bill Poole stands out as only one scoundrel in the crime-plagued Five Points section of lower Manhattan in the early 1860s.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, John C. ReillyCrime | 100% |
Drama | 83% |
Period | 70% |
History | 45% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Occasionally, a title that has been out for some time will enter my review queue unexpectedly, often due to things like either re-releases and / or sale prices and the like, and I'm assuming maybe both of those are at play with regard to this recent (re-)release of Gangs of New York, which looks to me to simply be a repackaging of the Gangs of New York release from several years ago, down to some decidedly old school verbiage about loading times due to "newfangled" Blu-ray technology and some seriously out of date "coming attraction" trailers (anyone remember Surrogates ?). That said, there are some arguably very slight differences in presentation on this release which I'll speak to in the technical comments, below.
Gangs of New York is presented on Blu-ray (this time) courtesy of Paramount Pictures and Miramax with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. I refer you again to Ken's excellent Gangs of New York Blu-ray review for his thoughts on that presentation, since this one looks very similar, though perhaps not identical. This release looked just slightly darker to my eyes, though only barely. Compare screenshot 1 in Ken's review with screenshot 1 in this review, for an idea of the admittedly very minor differences, which are also evident in perhaps lesser amounts when comparing screenshot 5 in Ken's review with screenshot 6 in this review. That said, Ken gave that release a 4.5, while I'm scoring this a 4.0, which may understandably make some wonder "what gives?" My old mantra of "different reviewers, different opinions" factors in, of course, but it's been over a decade since that particular remaster was done, and I'm frankly wondering if a re-do might improve things even more.
Gangs of New York features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that was to my ears identical to the track on the disc Ken reviewed. Ken's Gangs of New York Blu-ray review is once again recommended, and about the only thing I'd add in response is those quiet moments Ken mentions perhaps only tend to point out how wide the expressive dynamic range on this track is.
I'm repeating Ken's original list of supplements below, though I'm adding the resolution and actual timings for each of them when relevant. This release also comes with a digital copy.
The disc Ken reviewed is currently going for over $20, so if the slight brightness difference on this disc doesn't bother you (and it's my considered opinion it shouldn't), this bargain priced disc should be a no brainer for those who love the film and never picked it up in any of its now many previous releases. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package well done (if in standard def). Recommended.
2002
Remastered
2002
Remastered
2002
Remastered
2002
2013
1974
2008
35th Anniversary Edition
1987
2002
1972
1993
2007
2009
1998
2005
Director's Cut
1993
2016
2007
2010
2012
2014
2012
Extended Director's Cut
1984
1995