This visually stunning historical epic received 10 Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Director for Martin Scorcese. Led by Leonardo Di Caprio and Cameron Diaz, the cast gives a vivid performance that energetically evokes a fascinating time and place that has never before been the subject of film. Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio), a young Irish-American immigrant, is released from prison after fifteen years, and returns to the Five Points bent on revenge against William Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis), a.k.a. Bill the Butcher, the powerful anti-immigrant gang leader who killed his father. Amsterdam knows the first step toward accomplishing his mission is to infiltrate Bill's inner circle. However, he finds this increasingly difficult after meeting Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz), an enigmatic pickpocket whose fierce independence and undeniable beauty fascinate him. Yet Jenny has a past too, which unexpectedly complicates his plan. Amsterdam's journey becomes a fight for both personal survival and to find a place for his people. The struggle reaches a fevered crescendo during the 1863 Civil War Draft Riots -- the most explosive episode of urban unrest the American nation had yet seen. Copyright 2002 Miramax Film Corp. All Rights Reserved. Distributed Exclusively in Canada by Motion Picture Distribution LP. All Rights Reserved. THE GANGS OF NEW YORK, written by journalist Herbert Ashbury, was first published in 1928 and was reprinted in 2001.