Discussion & Reflection

The Butcher’s Revenge and Amsterdam’s Mark: Scene Analysis

One of, if not, the most powerful scene in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York is the storyline’s climax at the Chinese theater during the 18-year anniversary of the fight at Paradise Square, and the sequence starting from Bill’s attempt to kill Jenny during the knife-throwing event and ending at the Butcher’s marking of Amsterdam. The tension comes to a rise as Johnny’s exposes Amsterdam to Bill, thus inciting the rage of the Butcher that manifests itself within the tense spectacle of his and Jenny’s knife-throwing act. The fast-paced jump cuts between Bill’s throwing of the knives and Jenny’s reaction to her near-death encounters escalate the gravity of the situation in a way that heightens the audience’s fear for Jenny’s life. The closely cropped shots of each character’s face and the dimly saturated hues that cover the setting further accentuate the darkness of the subject matter, highlighting the insidious nature of Bill. Furthermore, the rhythm of the strings in the background adds to the suspense of the entire sequence, testing the boundaries of Amsterdam and Jenny’s relationship as the latter’s life is held in the balance of the former’s greatest enemy.

The dialogue that comes from Bill serves as an ominous warning of what is to come later on in the sequence, as he taunts Jenny with death in front of an animalistic live audience. The knife-throwing act is clearly a routine that they both have performed before, but with the newfound knowledge that the Butcher has of Amsterdam’s true identity, the trick becomes one filled with lethal intent and venomous rage. In that moment, the audience as well as the characters are able to truly see how Bill earned the title of “the Butcher.” Witnessing the sadistic triumph from Bill, Amsterdam advances in his agenda to murder Bill in one of the most dramatic scenes in the movie. Scorsese uses the image of fire to both as the focal point of the shot as well as manipulate the lights and shadows cast on the characters to spotlight certain people, specifically Bill and Amsterdam. Fire, being a symbol of power and destruction, serves as prelude and catalyst to the battle that ensues with the two men. In a fast-paced sequence, the chaotic transition from Amsterdam throwing the knife to Bill countering with his own attack emphasizes the severity of each person’s actions and confirms the inevitable turn of events.

The culmination of Amsterdam and Bill’s struggle hits its peak when Bill gains the upper hand over Amsterdam, and proceeds to showcase both Amsterdam’s deceit and Bill’s dominance in front of a crowd of rowdy spectators. In this moment, the theater becomes an arena, where strangers are calling for a gruesome death by the notorious Butcher. The tracking shot of the butcher knife in the air and landing next to Amsterdam’s head parallels the Jenny sequence with the knife throwing, thus emphasizing Bill’s superiority over everyone in the room. Scorsese makes it known just how brutal the world that the story is set in is, and how power is only achieved through violence and through loyalty.

This scene in particular drew my attention because of the execution of the shots taken to create a tense buildup of anxiety and suspense to the ending shot of Bill marking Amsterdam with the hot poker. Even after all the beatings that he gives Amsterdam, Bill gets the last laugh by putting salt in the wound of the victim, branding him as his own and essentially making him an outcast from his society. It is this intensity that creates the most vivid imagery and metaphor within Scorsese’s film.

Peter Quinn

Lucia Lopez

 

Quinn makes a comparison between the slave trade and the Holocaust and the famine emigration early in the essay only to reject it later. Why?

In “In Search of Banished Children,” Peter Quinn discusses the hardships of Irish immigrants during and after the Famine and the effects on the succeeding generations of Irish-Americans. When he describes the volume of migration of Irish people into the United States, he uses an quote by a historian named Robert James Scally, in which he says that the amount of Irish immigrants bared “more resemblance to the slave trade or the boxcars of the Holocaust than to the routine crossings of a later age.” Soon after, Quinn dispels the idea that the Famine can be compared to the Holocaust or the slave trade, saying that these events should not be “confused or equated”.

One may wonder why he chooses to include this comparison, only to reject it later. When he first mentions the Holocaust and the slave trade, it is merely to describe the immense migration that occurred after the Famine. This event pushed out so many people that could not live in Ireland anymore that the numbers seemed to match up with those of events in which people were forced to move. The comparison, in these terms, serves to show how intense the effects of the Famine were on the Irish people. When he says that the events themselves cannot be equated, he gives many reasons for why this is so. When discussing the Holocaust, he says, “The Holocaust was a death sentence leveled against every Jewish man, woman, and child under German rule. No exceptions.” He makes sure to point out that although the Famine had horrible consequences, it was not an organized institution whose purpose was to exterminate a people as the Holocaust was. When discussing the slave trade, he mentions that the experiences of Irish immigrants are similar in that they provided the labor that built America. However, the Irish maintained most of their civil rights, and they were not stripped of their identities as the slaves or the Holocaust victims were. An interesting point he speaks about as well is that as generations passed, the children and grandchildren of the Famine generation gradually had less memories and stories of the struggles of older generations. Because of the impact the slave trade had on the history of not only America but the world, it is much harder to forget the atrocities that slaves and their successors faced.

 

When Bill Butchered Monk

Despite the overwhelming number of intense scenes to choose from the film Gangs of New York, I took particular interest in the fairly short scene between Bill the Butcher and Monk after his “victory” in the election for sheriff. This scene is one of many that depicts the irony in the savagery of the nativists who oppose the Irish immigrants reproached for their barbarism. Monk walks out of the barber shop dressed in traditional Irish colors, orange and green, and is prepared to allow Bill into the establishment to have a cordial discussion, but Bill will not stand for that. Dressed in a red coat, significant of his reputation for bloodshed, Bill ruthlessly murders Monk with a hatchet. The two characters are physically juxtaposed in that the lower class Irishman is on higher ground than the American native, and moreover on camera, Monk is consistently shot on the background of the barbershop, an establishment for the well groomed, while Bill’s background is of the common people. The classic two-shot is employed here; however, a conversation is not really taking place but two individual speeches—one of words the other of deadly blows.

Gangs of New York

Lucia Lopez

One scene that caught my attention was when Bill the Butcher, or William Cutting, is teaching Amsterdam how to kill, using a pig in place of a person. He tells Amsterdam that he loves butchering pigs, saying, “The nearest thing in nature to the flesh of a man is the flesh of a pig.” Before letting Amsterdam try for himself, he shows him where the correct places to strike are. He points out the liver, the kidneys, the heart, and the main artery. As he points out each part, he puts a hand on the same part on Amsterdam’s body.

The music in the background of this scene is very calm and there are people seen walking around nonchalantly, which contrasts with the brutal skills Bill is teaching Amsterdam. When Bill passes Amsterdam the knife, the people in the background are more interested in what is happening. The music gets slower and sadder, but it also gets louder. Amsterdam glances up and sees what seems to be a newspaper drawing from the day the natives fought the Dead Rabbits, a gang that consisted of Irish immigrants. The drawing depicts Bill standing over Amsterdam’s father’s dead body, surrounded by his fellow nativists. The headline reads, “Battle of the Five Points: Great Native Victory Over the Foreign Invader”.

From this scene, the film quickly transitions to a flashback. It is the scene in the very beginning of the movie, when Amsterdam’s father hands him a blade and Amsterdam wipes some of the blood off of it. This scene is kept very dark, which alludes to the sadness and darkness of this day and, now, memory. In the flashback, the father’s face is not shown, nor is he heard telling Amsterdam not to wipe the blood off of the blade. These small changes in the same scene serve to show that Amsterdam has learned much since he was a child, and possibly means to show that he does not need the guidance of his father. Although this may be the case, he still is very much interested in getting revenge, which is obvious by the way he stabs the pig.

After the flashback, the scene sharply cuts back to the present, where Amsterdam pauses to look and the knife and tighten his grip. He then stabs the pig in the areas that were told to him by Bill so violently that it’s as if he were picturing Bill in the pig’s place. Right at his first stab, the music becomes much quieter and each stab is accompanied by the sound of a large drum being hit. Bill praises him on his skill, and while Amsterdam doesn’t seem to be really listening to him, he takes a final stab at the pig’s stomach.

Before Bill taught Amsterdam where the correct places to stab a person to kill them were, he told him that stabbing someone in the stomach would only make them bleed to death; it wouldn’t kill them right away. The fact that he stabbed the pig in its fatal places and then proceeded to stab it in the stomach shows that he doesn’t want Bill to just die quickly; he wants him to suffer and possibly feel the same pain his father did as well as the pain Amsterdam felt after he died.

 

Vallon’s Death Scene

Priest Vallon’s death scene was not only essential to the plot of the movie, but it was also very telling about the Irish struggle for emancipation. After Bill stabs Vallon, a horn is blown and and everyone gathers to watch Vallon tell his son Amsterdam, “Don’t ever look away.” I interpreted these last words to mean that Amsterdam should never let injustice happen to his people, that should never look the other way as the Irish immigrants in the Five Points are mistreated. Aside from Amsterdam running to his father’s side, the only other reaction to Vallon’s death was Monk taking money that Vallon owed him from his pocket. His death of the Irishman did not receive any sympathy from anyone other than his son. What amused me is that little Amsterdam grabs the knife on his dead father’s chest and uses it to threaten the crowd around him as he escapes the scene. I was not expecting that at all from the innocent boy. Amsterdam’s actions show us that Vallon, leader of the Dead Rabbits, passed down his vengeance and anger to his son, as it was part of the Irish immigrant culture, I suppose. This reminded me of Peter Quinn’s conclusion about how memories are passed down from generation to generation and heritage is something you can never truly escape or leave behind. 
This scene was almost unbearably gory. Many of the people fighting had claw-like fingernails that you’d see in a werewolf movie. The brutality was notable and depicts the gang violence in 19th century New York to be unimaginably awful. I’m not sure whether Hollywood dramatized the violence to give viewers sympathy for the Irish characters, or the feuds were truly that gruesome. This scene gave me a vivid visual that brought life to the readings we have done in class.

Gangs of NY Journal

In the theater scene, about halfway into the movie, the protagonist Amsterdam Vallon sits with William Cutting to enjoy a play, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The scene begins with a man playing the role of President Abraham Lincoln raised in the air. Around him are clouds and angels which imply that the Five Points Mission want to portray the president as Godlike. As he speaks he opens out his arms so that it looks like he is on a cross like Jesus. In the audience Amsterdam appears amicable with Bill as they share a few smiles and a drink and a cigar.

As the play gets disrupted by the audience throwing tomatoes and vegetables of all sorts at the stage after a reference to the Emancipation Proclamation, both Bill and Amsterdam take part in throwing whatever food they had in their basket and exclaim, “Down with the Union,” to show their mutual distaste for Lincoln and his decree. In the chaos Amsterdam spots a man with a gun and aims it at Bill crying, “For the blood of the Irish.” The scene jumps from shots of the gun unveiling, Amsterdam jumping in front of Bill, and Bill getting shot straight in the chest. The cuts make it seem like Amsterdam purposefully jumped too early to avoid getting shot, but still wanted the appearance of attempting to save Bill. Although later in the film we realize that Amsterdam did come back to Five Points to avenge his father’s death, this seemingly heroic act shows that he himself wants to kill Bill. This also helps his plan to get close to Bill by enhancing his image, credibility, and loyalty.

After the wrestle for possession of the gun and a second shot got off, Amsterdam stared at the gun in disbelief, as if he could not comprehend what he had just done to a fellow Irishman.

When Bill tips his hat to Vallon to think him, Amsterdam hesitates before reciprocating the gesture and looks nervous and antsy. He pushes off the friendly hugs from those around him and storms off. He finds himself alone and proceeds to cry. He feels a strong guilt and sense of disloyalty to his Irish roots for getting one of his own killed.

This scene overall shows the internal struggle that Amsterdam undergoes while being so close to the man who killed his father. Amsterdam played up the perfect con by gaining Bill’s trust and moving up in the ranks.

Gangs of New York

I decided to begin my analysis with the scene were Amsterdam first emerges in public from his severe beating by Bill. The use of camera angle was very impactful. They made it so that the viewer was experiencing the moment along with the character from his point of view. All of the heads of the townspeople turning and staring at the camera had a great emotional impact. This scene is a turning point in the movie. There is a change in Amsterdam after this point. His determination to rise against the Nativists and avenge his father grows considerably. This is when his true character comes out. At first he made believe he was loyal to the nativists but after this point he does not try to hide anything. His facial expressions change and you can see the determination in his eyes. When he hangs the dead rabbit in the square he is letting his intentions be known. It is like a declaration of war. The intensity of the cinematography increases and the plot begins to move faster. Right up until the moment that Amsterdam and Bill face off you can see his determination. Even when bombs are flying all around them and people are fleeing Amsterdam holds his ground.

The contrast between the actual war and the war between the gangs is an ongoing theme throughout the movie. They are interconnected but also separate in some ways. The climax of the film happens right in the height of draft riots when the gangs decide to face off. This is when the two wars collide into one big mess. I also really appreciated the shots from above that give a birds-eye view of the city. I think that they create a good image of what was going on in the city at the time and its dynamic.

Irish Struggle in “Gangs of New York”

Scene approximately 1:12:00

In this scene, Bill Cutting refuses to help William Tweed get Irish immigrants to vote. Cutting, a powerful nativist, acknowledges his ties with Tammany Hall but refuses this act because he believes it will “befoul” his father’s legacy and the American name. Tweed says that by refusing to include the Irish, Cutting is “turning his back on the future,” to which Cutting replies that they have different ideas of what their future could hold. Uplifting patriotic music can be heard throughout Cutting’s dialogue, which is juxtaposed by the backward-minded thinking of his words. Amsterdam is silent throughout this encounter, though his facial expressions suggest he is unsettled by this conversation and what it implies for his sense of being – an Irish American working for a racist and corrupt man who looks down on his entire race. Cutting’s brutally honest words also remind Amsterdam of his real motive to avenge his father’s murder, who died upholding the Irish name.

As Amsterdam and Cutting walk away from Tweed, they pass by a line of young men enlisting in the Union Army. The camera slowly pans away from the two main characters and onto the point of view of a passerby on the street, where this line of immigrant men wait to join the war. The man at the table specifies that one paper represents their citizenship and the other paper represents their enlistment in the Union Army, sending them off by declaring, “Now go fight for your country!” These immigrants, most of them Irish presumably, are dressed in dirty clothes and carry their belongings in tied-up sacks. They are what nativists like Cutting look down upon, though their very action of enlisting contradicts what Cutting claims. These Irishmen are preparing to fight in the war, providing a massive service to their country and its people.

During this scene, the patriotic music played earlier on transitions into a rendition of “Paddy’s Lamentation.” The camera shifts from the enlistment line to soldiers dressed in uniform over the lyrics “But when we got to Yankee land/ They shoved a gun into our hands/ Saying Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln.” These lyrics precisely describe what is unfolding in this scene, and its sad, wistful melody represents the struggles of Irish immigrants. The camera then changes to a bird’s eye point of view, where soldiers can be seen loading into one ship as coffins are being unloaded in the ship right next to them. This scene unfolds during a bright sunny day on a busy port in New York: what should be a happy setting is juxtaposed by the sad reality of war, poverty, and racism. As the scene fades out, the lyrics “I wish I were at home in dear old Dublin” plays, and viewers are left sympathizing with the Irish Immigrant struggle and rooting for Amsterdam’s cause.

Building Relationships of the Dancing Scene

The dancing scene at the 1 hour minute was one that started unfolding Jenny’s and Amsterdam’s relationship, and creating tension in Johnny and Amsterdam’s relationship. The camera follows Amsterdam into the dance hall and as soon as he enters it, it immediately turns to Jenny letting us know these two characters are going to be the focus of the scene. When the camera turns again we see Johnny’s hopeful face and then the camera slides down to Amsterdam standing next to Johnny looking uncertain. Camera movement helps build up suspense when the men in line are supposed to look in the mirror as Jenny’s back is turned towards them. The camera shows us the men through the mirror as Jenny sees them and them flips to show us her reaction to who it is. It helps us see things from her point of view. When Jenny doesn’t pick Johnny we see from her facial expression as she giggles that she looks at him like she did the other men. However, when Amsterdam steps up she looks drawn to him left at a loss for words. It is the first sign that Johnny sees that Jenny prefers Amsterdam over him. He already is jealous that Amsterdam is getting closer with the butcher but Jenny is supposed to be his. As the camera follows him while Jenny’s and Amsterdam’s conversation is in the background, it shows that there will be significance to Jenny and Amsterdam’s relationship that ties back to Johnny.

In the dancing scene the conversation feels minimal and cordial between Jenny and Amsterdam. It reveals Amsterdam’s loyal character, he knows his friend Johnny loves Jenny and tries to respect it, he even asks her, “Why didn’t you pick Johnny.” Her response is the last piece of dialogue we hear in that scene and it is rather flirty which leads perfectly into the next scene in which the two characters are kissing. After her response the camera starts to slowly pan out but we don’t lose focus of the two dancing, and we even are able to see Amsterdam finally smile; a smile that looks genuine, something we haven’t seen at all during the movie. Clearly Jenny has a powerful effect on Amsterdam.

The music plays in the background for the entire scene. The only time the music stops is when Jenny is picking a partner and all is quiet except for when Johnny walks up and we hear his music box. We know there’s value to this box that links to the character because we always hear it and the camera always zooms into to it. Perhaps the reason why this music box is so important to him is because it is for Jenny? As the scene comes to an end the camera pans out to show the entire floor is just couples dancing the same steps. Some couples are holding a candle.  The candle is something we see often in the movie. It represents light, so maybe the couples are holding candles to be able to see each other. Later on these candles represent the families who want to riot against the draft. And the same candles are used to light the bodies that are dead due to the draft riots.

In terms of color scheme we see green to represent Ireland. Jenny is wearing a green dress in this scene which contrasts with her orange hair, a characteristic of the Irish people, also another color of the Irish flag. There are lanterns hanging on the ceiling and although all are white lights, there is one green light lantern. As the camera pans out we also see the American flag hanging on the wall. Slowly we hear the music and see the camera fade out and the start of a new scene begins.

Amsterdam’s Medallion- Lina Mohamed

Gangs of New York is a movie that tells the story of the Irish immigrants who moved to New York after the famine in Ireland. The movie’s main character, Amsterdam Vallon, returns to Five Points after many years to avenge his father’s death. This movie is mainly violent as it portrays the conflicts between the natives and the immigrants that moved to New York. The situation in this movie is mainly gloomy and this helps the viewer better understand the struggles and the brutality that the Irish and other immigrants faced while living in New York. Most of the scenes are rushed and dark so they portray cruelty and fear at the same time amongst the people living in the harsh conditions at Five Points.

The scene I am choosing to write about is one of the first well-lit scenes in the movie. It starts at 49:58 until 52:45. The overall setting of the movie is dark, gruesome and chaotic. This scene is Amsterdam’s second encounter with Jenny Everdeane, the beautiful pick-pocketer. Amsterdam had just returned to New York and people still had not figure out who he was. When Jenny bumped into Amsterdam and snatched his medallion, he ran after her to get it back. This scene was so different because it was the first intimate scene when we got to really know some of the main characters.

Jenny Everdeane was not willing to give Amsterdam his medallion back and held a knife to his throat to get him to back off but Amsterdam tested her because he felt her incompetence to hurt him. This scene was very well-lit so it was easy to clearly see the faces of the characters and carefully analyze the methods of the cinematographer. The camera keeps moving back and forth from Jenny to Amsterdam as they test how far the other will go to get what they want. This method also is different from other scenes.

This scene is also really quiet and there are no surrounding sounds so this makes it easy to hear every word and every breath. These aspects really add to the scene making it more intense and more aesthetically pleasing than the other scenes. This scene is also special because we get to see the true characters of both Jenny and Amsterdam. Jenny comes off as strong and quite violent but when she id not able to hurt Amsterdam, it shows otherwise. Also, Amsterdam had the chance to hurt Jenny after he managed to take the knife from her. However, he does not hurt her and even closes her shirt after he takes back what is his.

Amsterdam is pretty mysterious in the beginning of the movie when he returns to New York. This shows us what Amsterdam is really like; empathetic, honest, and noble. I feel that we get this because of the way the camera is moving and how close it is to the characters’ faces in this scene.