USA today - March 8, 2002
'Gangs' roars into 1860s New York
By Jeannie Williams
"It is a violent film," says Jim Broadbent, who is Oscar-nominated for his Iris role. "Lynchings,
fistfights, knives, not so much guns."
He is, of course, talking about Gangs of New York, the Martin Scorsese epic opening in July.
Broadbent plays a politician whose name has come to symbolize corruption: William "Boss" Tweed.
Based on a 1927 book, the movie tells of gangs terrorizing the slums of Lower Manhattan in the
1860s. Irish and Scottish immigrants clashed with English, Dutch and German-Americans who had been
here "a fraction longer," as Broadbent says, and saw the newcomers as threats. Tweed's rise is a
subplot. "He was getting the gangs on his side to build his empire," Broadbent says.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a gang leader with whom Tweed negotiates, and Broadbent says the
heartthrob, 27, "has a charisma. He's very serious, hardworking. He's not a boy any more."
The sets, built in Rome's giant Cinecitta studios, are "epic," Broadbent says. "New York, the
docks, the boats in the docks. The whole re-creation is hugely impressive. It will blow people's
minds."
Thanks to Austi and Pax !
***