Gangs of New York Page #12

Synopsis: Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a young Irish immigrant released from prison. He returns to the Five Points seeking revenge against his father's killer, William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), a powerful anti-immigrant gang leader. He knows that revenge can only be attained by infiltrating Cutting's inner circle. Amsterdam's journey becomes a fight for personal survival and to find a place for the Irish people in 1860's New York.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Production: Miramax Films
  Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 50 wins & 124 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.5
Metacritic:
72
Rotten Tomatoes:
74%
R
Year:
2002
167 min
$77,605,296
Website
937 Views


JACK:

Tammany makes the streets nanitary, I make 'am safe.

WOMAN CITIZEN:

(apprehensive)

Even against them?

A small distance behind the anti-plague cart, moving in rough formation,

come some of Shang's mob, heading aimlessly across the Square cruising for

action

JACK:

Against them especially. Let me demonstrate.

Jack takes out his GOLD WATCH AND CHAIN, which he HANGS carefully over a

nearby lamppost. Then, very casually, he leads the Citizens off.

JACK:

We'll be back for this at our leisure.

WOMAN CITIZEN:

You dare leave it here?

JACK:

Safe as a vault, lady. Since all knows it's mine.

The Gang draws abreast of the lamppost. No one makes a move to take the

watch until one of the YOUNGEST BOYS reaches out ... but

Shang knocks his hand away. Jack, at a distance, NODS approvingly.

SHANG:

You know that's Jack's.

BOY:

So what?

AMSTERDAM:

It should be hangin' off Jack's vest, then. Not here, like some war flag.

SHANG:

That watch is a small price for free run of the Points.

AMSTERDAM:

If it's free, how come we pay so much? Wo shouldn't pay for what's our due.

SHANG:

We don't tight when we don't have to. It's not warring that counts. It's

the living day to day.

ANSTERDAM:

(smiles)

Is that right? Did I hear that correct? John, did we hear that correct?

Eyes now on Johnny. Jenny looks at him with great interest.

JOHN:

(uneasy pause)

We heard the same.

AMSTERDAM:

So then.

He reaches for the watch.

CUT TO:

50 EXT. STREET AND PARADISE SQUARE NIGHT

Happy Jack stands at the lamppost, aghast. A WOMAN lowers her head and

retches. Jackls watch and chain are still in place.

But the watch has been SMASHED. And hanging from the chain is a BLACK CAT,

skinned and strangled.

CUT TO:

51 INT- HIDEOUT

Happy Jack stands with his Citizens. The room QUIETS as, one by one, the

mob notices him.

JACK:

You!

He GRABS the Young Boy who had reached for his watch on the lamppost and

starts to BEAT him.

JACK:

What'd you do to my watch, you dirty little bastard...

Jack breaks the Boy's hand with his nightstick. The Boy SCREAMS

and FAINTS. So does one of the Women in the group. Jack takes the Boy's

other hand.

JACK:

Hands won't be so quick in future.

SHANG:

That's enough sport this evening, Jack.

JOHNNY:

(stepping forward)

It wasn't him.

All turn to look at Johnny. Jack drops the Boy's hand.

JOHNNY:

I have word for you from who did it. You're to meet him at Sparrow's

Chinese Pagoda.

CUT TO:

52 INT. SPAPROW'S CHINESE PAGODA NIGHT

A low and lunatic place: a combination of an opium dream out of the

Arabian Nights and a panel from a Bosch triptych. FAN-TAN games played by

Orientals; WOMEN and CHILDREN of various colors suspended in cages from

the ceiling as MEN and WOMEN in a secondfloor GALLERY point at them and

JOKE. On the main floor, a long line waits for a shot at the barrel of

All-Sorts. Jack charges in the front door, looks around.

JACK:

All right, step out, you yellow...

All the NOISE subsides. Only the Fan-Tan game continues;

nothing is so interesting that these Orientals will stop gambling.

Now Amsterdam STEPS right in front of him. It's a grandstand play.

AMSTERDAM:

Hello, Happy Jack. I'm the one you're looking for.

JACK:

Then you're marked for dead.

Jack lunges ahead, swinging his NIGHT STICK. Amsterdam throws a chair

across his path. Jack stumbles, goes down, dropping his night stick.

Amsterdam grabs it, jumps on top of him, HITS him twice on the side of the

head. There is a CRACKING SOUND. The PATRONS of the Pagoda gather round.

CUT TO:

53 INT. SPARROW'S CHINESE PAGODA NIGHT

Later. Festive again. And no sign of Amsterdam.

Two PATRONS step away from the all-sorts barrel. Hanging from the spigot

like the cat from the watch chain is the BODY of Happy Jack Mulraney. The

belt has been removed from his trousers, tied like a NOOSE around his

throat, then looped over the spigot. His TEETH lie scattered on the floor

around him. His NIGHT STICK has been jammed down his throat.

CUT TO:

54 EXT. DOCKS/HIDEOUT NIGHT

Amsterdam holds the FANCY COAT from Jack's uniform over his arm.

Carefully, he DRAPES the coat over Jenny's shoulders. SHANG steps forward.

SHANG:

I gave no order for this.

Amsterdam says nothing at first, just holds his hand out: he's holding the

RED SILK SCKRF.

AMSTERDAM:

(very quietly)

Never mind giving orders. What were you giving this for?

SHANG:

I'm calling you out, Amsterdam.

AMSTERDAM:

I got this at the hanging. It was Charles McGloin's. Everybody here saw

you take it from Jenny. What was MCGloin doing with it? What'd you give it

to him for?

SHANG:

I didn't give it to him. Why would I give it to him?

AMSTERDAM:

I gaw you give it to him. Last week, behind the Old Brewery.

SHANG:

(to group)

He's gone flat. I got no reason to trade with the Native Americans.

AMSTERDAM:

What about stepping up in the world, as it were, and leaving the rest of

us behind. There's a reason. Making a separate arrangement for yourself

with the one Native so stupid and luckless that he got hung. That's you to

the ground, Shang.

SHANG:

(very edgy now; to group)

Who believes what he's saying? Can any of you believe what he's saying?

AMSTERDAM:

Bene. We'll see. Any of you that believes I did proper by Happy Jack

Mulraney tonight, stand beside me. Any of you that still likes Shang's way

with the cops, and Shang's way with the Natives, go to him.

(to Shang)

Or should we settle right now, you and me, and just see which of us is

left standing?

SHANG:

Let see where they stand.

Jenny rises, stands next to Amsterdam. Jimmy Spoils, Johnny, Sheeny Mike

are next. Now the other members of the mob move in clusters to all STAND

with Amsterdam.

AMSTERDAM:

What's your pleasure, Shang?

One of the YOUNG BOYS has a dead rat blackjack hanging from his belt.

Shang grabs it. He BITES the head oft the rat and spits it across at

Amsterdam. Amsterdam almost smiles at him. Shang sneers, drops the body of

the rat, and LEAVES.

AMSTERDAM:

This mob ever have a proper name?

JOHNNY:

We was called after Shang when we was named at all.

AMSTERDAM:

We're the Dead Rabbits from now. They were the best. They were history.

They were legend, and we'll live up to them.

CUT TO:

55 EXT. DOCKS/WATERFRONT NIGHT

Amsterdam sits on an empty pier, watching the ships in the river. There's

a SUDDEN RUSTLING NOISE as a NOOSE coils around his neck.

It's Jenny. She's slipped the SILK Amsterdam gave her close to his throat,

and she's TIGHTENING it. Amsterdam starts to resist. Then he sees how's

she's looking at him.

She uses the silk to bring his face closer to hers. She KISSES him.

AMSTERDAM:

What's this then?

JENNY:

Payment for the silk.

Then DROPS the silk from his throat and starts to touch him. Then his

hands are under her skirt. Then, under the cloudy moonlight, they start to

make love.

CUT TO:

56 EXT. DOCKS/WATERFRONT NIGHT

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Jay Cocks

John C. "Jay" Cocks, Jr. (born January 12, 1944) is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is a graduate of Kenyon College. He was a critic for Time, Newsweek, and Rolling Stone, among other magazines, before shifting to screenplay writing.[1] He is married to actress Verna Bloom. more…

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