Gangs of New York...based on truth?

 

  Going through some movies I like, one of them is "Gangs of New York" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis. 

    But is it based on truth? Well, there is such a thing called Historical Fiction and this one of those movies based on the past New York of the 1840's.

 Dead Rabbits was a termed used in the movie that would refer to a criminal street gang from the 1830s to the 1850s in New York. They were named after the rabbits that were killed and placed on their skewers. They had the nickname of "Mulberry Street boys" and some characters in the movie are based on real people.

 Many of them were actual pick pocketers that would steal from rich and give to one man to survive another day. Characters like: Boss Tweed (played by Jim Brodabent) was based a real politician. Daniel Day Lewis' character Bill the Butcher was based on a real person named WIlliam Poole who was ruthless and bloodthirsty as he was in the movie.

  In the movie, there is a place called the Five Points. In the movie, it was where the fights would begin and end. Where the Dead Rabbits and the Citizens of New York would fight to the death. In reality, today it is Civic Center to Chinatown. But back in the 1840's, it was something different. 

 The riots in the movie were real based in those days. Even though, the movie they used other effects to signify death, in reality, it was bloodier than anyone ever thought. The Roach Guards were considered a violent Irish Gang, and it all began when the Bowery Boys headquarters were destroyed beyond recognition. 

 Sometimes, reality and fiction cam be only a mirror image of themselves. Daniel Day Lewis' character, Bill the Butcher, was considered the head of the Bowery Boys. Violent, would get his way, and kill if anyone tries to stop him.

Back in the 1840's, William Poole was leader of the Washington Street Gang. He soon would be leader of the Bowery Boys who would fight the dead rabbits to the death. Leo's Character, where he plays a young boy who lost his father to Bill the Butcher, was just a figment of a creative writer's imagination. 

 Amsterdam was not based on a real person, but Leo portrayed him as people believed to be a real person. That what Historical fiction does. Play with your mind to believe what is real, and what is not. His character comes back to form the Dead Rabbits and seek revenge on Bill the Butcher who killed his father Priest Vallion 

 In reality, the Dead Rabbits, The Five Points, Bill the Butcher...all truth. But there were other gangs as well. The Gopher Gang, which was considered an Irish American gang that would grow to control most of Manhattan back in the 1840's. young boys were also demonstrating by robbing who would end up passed out or dead on the streets.

 In the movie, they don't show too much of the history, but if you listen to what Leo says when he narrates, it is as if you were a history book of New York in the bast 1830's to 1850's. This movie, directed by Martin Scorsese, what New York was like before all the buildings were put in place.

  In the end of the movie, Leo's character defeats Bill the Butcher. In reality, William Poole was killed by a gunshot wound, not a stab wound. He explains in his final words that this war was meant to be fought so they would be forgotten in the years to come. New York is now New York because of those wars.

 Much of this movie was based on reality. Especially during the fighting scenes between the Dead Rabbits, the Bowery Boys and the Forty Thieves. Near the end of the movie, the battle between Good and Evil take place as well. At the end, good wins (I think) And it's true what Leo said at the end...that no one would remember them after they were gone.

   All I know about this movie is...it is based on truth, in other words...Historical Fiction with great actors.

     The characters they portrayed were either real or fictional, but the battles that they fought...were 100% real. And with the music in the end, it is true. They were the hands...that built America.