[Burkeman1]

"Gangs of New York"- while accurately portraying the violence, chaos, and Bossism of early New York was criminal in it's portrayal of the "Natives". The Irish were the ones who started the anti draft riots and did the killing of New Yorker Blacks. It was not "Bill the Butcher" and his protestant Natives (who were most likely Lincoln supporters in real life)- as shown in the movie. It was a cheap attempt to get American Irish to identify themselves as "minorities" as well.

[buwaya]

I though leaving out the very significant race-riot aspects of the historical incident was both surprising and a disappointment. It would have made for a much more complex movie, one worth discussing.