Movies Like Gangs of New York For More Period Dramas

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Movies Like Gangs of New York For More Period Dramas
Movies Like Gangs of New York For More Period Dramas

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Haven’t had enough of gruff gangsters engaging in political corruption and senseless violence? Need more spellbinding performances to match the greatness of Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio? How about some period pieces that explore the turbulence of early America? These are 9 movies similar to Gangs of New York to help you fill the void after that U2 song rolls over the end credits.

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Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Sergio Leone is, of course, a master of westerns but this gangster film set in Prohibition-era New York is no less enthralling than watching Clint Eastwood scowl in the American frontier. Robert DeNiro, James Woods, Joe Pesci, Elizabeth McGovern, and a young Jennifer Connelly make up a stellar cast of ruffians struggling to survive on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Once Upon A Time in America takes place roughly 70 years after the events of Gangs of New York. In some ways, everything has changed, but in other ways, nothing has changed. It’s still a sprawling, messy, melting pot of a city in which immigrants abound, the police are corrupt, crime is out of control, and everyone seems to have a scheme to get rich quick. If Gangs of New York shows us how New York began, Once Upon A Time in America shows us where the city is headed.

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The Age of Innocence (1993)

In early New York, violence and despair were not confined to only the poverty-stricken denizens of the Five Points. In Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence, we see how the upper classes (probably some of the same people whose mansions were the target of the riots depicted in Gangs of New York), are also battling each other in their own prejudiced, sectarian ways. Daniel Day-Lewis stars alongside Winona Ryder and Michelle Pfeiffer as a wealthy man who seemingly has everything he wants, except when he wants to run away with a divorced woman whom polite society will not accept. The violence in this film is much less graphic but no less intense. The rigid beliefs of early New York high society simply won’t allow for any deviation from established norms. Taken together with Gangs of New York, The Age of Innocence offers us a portrait of early New York, with all its opportunities and tragic shortcomings.


There Will Be Blood (2007)

Another blistering, spellbinding performance from Daniel Day-Lewis makes There Will Be Blood a perfect companion to Gangs of New York. Day-Lewis’ character Daniel Plainview has a seething hatred for nearly everyone around him, an eccentric accent, and a propensity to resolve conflict with violence that makes him seem perhaps like a not-so-distant cousin to Bill the Butcher. Also imbued in this film are the themes of young America struggling to come into its own. The hunt for oil inspired fierce competition, corruption, and unbridled greed in the early days of the American West. Despite how awful and exploitative he can be, there is still something mesmerizing about Plainview, much like Bill the Butcher. We hate to watch what he does but cannot look away. As with Bill, Plainview’s trajectory as a character says a lot about America and the forces that shaped it.


The Godfather Part II (1974)

The Ellis Island scenes in The Godfather Part II are probably the most memorable depictions of immigration on film. All at once, we are inspired by the New World while also feeling repulsed by it. It presents tremendous opportunity for those reaching its shores but it’s also a chaotic and dangerous frontier, even in its biggest cities. Like Gangs of New York, The Godfather Part II is about an immigrant coming to America and finding that lawlessness can yield mighty profits while also incurring devastating losses. There’s also a common theme of political corruption, as elected officials are seen to be in the pockets of gangsters.

The Untouchables (1987)

Much like a sheriff in a Western, Kevin Costner’s Elliot Ness must bring order to chaos in Prohibition-era Chicago, rooting out corruption in his own ranks and battling evil without succumbing to evil himself. Brian de Palma’s direction in this film is every bit as enthralling as Scorsese or Leone or Coppola. The Untouchables allows us to see the other side of criminality in early America and emphasizes how difficult it really was to bring the Butchers and Corleones of the world to heel.


Road to Perdition (2002)

Road to Perdition is, like Gangs of New York, an organized crime revenge story with a persistent theme of the father-son relationship. Set during the Great Depression, the story finds Tom Hanks playing a stoic mobster trying to save his son while avenging his family. Road to Perdition is a bit quieter and slower-paced than Gangs of New York but offers poignant commentary on the common themes of fatherhood, revenge, and the futility of endless violence.

Public Enemies (2009)

This underrated film directed by Michael Mann features Johnny Depp as iconic outlaw and bank robber John Dillinger, who is being hunted by an FBI agent (Christian Bale). Mann is a maestro of shootouts and heist sequences and his talents are on full display here. Much like Gangs of New York, Public Enemies examines the mythology of criminals and how those myths shape our understanding of American history.


Lawless (2012)

Another underrated film, Lawless tells the story of a family of bootleggers in Virginia struggling to stay in business (and alive). The performances from Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Jason Clarke, and Jessica Chastain are terrific across the board. While Gangs of New York and other films on this list mostly explore legendary cities and territories, Lawless gives us a closer look at the impact of crime syndicates on rural America, where the press is less likely to cover and thus mythologize illegal exploits. Although perhaps less infamous, the tales of moonshine-producing bootleggers remain a fascinating part of America’s history and help to highlight the many unintended consequences of prohibition.

Tombstone (1993)

Legendary Western figures Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and Doc Holliday (Val Kilmer) take center stage in Tombstone as they seek to destroy a murderous gang. Although set in Arizona, Tombstone occurs roughly around the same time period as Gangs of New York and, when viewed in tandem, helps give a more complete portrait of early America’s struggles to keep criminality at bay.

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