Every Martin Scorsese Film Ranked Worst To Best

Martin Scorsese first had the idea for Gangs of New York after reading Herbert Asbury's book of the same name back in the 1970s, but it wouldn't be until the turn of the new millennium that he had the chance to pull it off.

An epic in every sense of the word, Gangs of New York is set in the mid-19th century and follows a young Irish-Catholic orphan (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he works to kill the man (Daniel Day-Lewis) who murdered his father.

Both DiCaprio and co-star Cameron Diaz feel woefully miscast in their respective roles even after all these years, though Day-Lewis gives another chameleonic performance as the villainous Bill the Butcher. The themes of religious conflict and revenge are also well-handled, and the magnificent set pieces cannot be praised enough.

Gangs of New York is not as strong as future Scorsese-DiCaprio collaborations, but is nonetheless a fascinating historical drama characterised by its daring (though not fully realised) ambition.