Mixing Art
and
a
Brutal History
Brutal History
conditions
that existed in the Five Points over a century ago. The
area is defined by the intersection of Mulberry, Cross,
Orange, Anthony and Little Water Streets. This was the
Sixth Ward and became notorious for its crime-ridden streets,
colorful gangs, prostitutes, petty thieves and gamblers.
There was all manner of vice, debauchery and corruption.
Even the police and fire brigades were part of this
lawless environment not to mention the politicians.
We are
introduced to a dark and dangerous underworld, brutal,
unforgiving, and fearsome. With meticulous detail we are
pulled into the story right into the gutter alongside the thugs
and lowlives. Although the plot is laboriously long and
predictable, Scorsese and his excellent crew manage to keep our
interest with remarkable realism and crisp dialogue.
These deplorable conditions that existed in those long
gone years,
festooned with shady characters, lends itself well to a visually beautiful work by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. His techniques of sweaty, filthy close ups with an occasional sweeping wide-angle shot adds to the sense of how the city and its people appeared in those turbulent days. It gives us an idea of the grand scope of this savage, epic tale.
The squalid
slum known as Five Points in Lower Manhattan is the setting for
Martin Scorsese’s bold, epic spectacle of “Gangs of
New York.” The entire cityscape of mid-nineteenth
century New York City was recreated at Rome’s famed
Cincecitta studio complex. With a budget of over $100
million, the movie was shot the old fashioned way – in
Hollywood’s grand style – with a cast of thousands.
Real people and sets were used. There was very
little use of computer imaging. To his credit, production
designer Dante Ferretti built the realistic sets and captured
the miserable living
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