Page 98 - All About History - Issue 19-14

HISTORY HOLLYWOOD

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Fact versus fi ction on the silver screen

What they got right
The overall atmosphere of the
movie and the persecution that
Irish immigrants faced upon
GANGS OF NEW YORK and gangs really did war among
moving to America is entirely true
themselves regularly. The names
of the Five Points gangs – Bowery
Boys, Dead Rabbits, Plug Uglies,
Short tails, Slaughter Houses,

Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron SwampAngels–arealsocorrect.
Diaz,DanielDay-Lewis Country of origin: USA Year made: 2002
Does this film butcher the realities of
life in the notorious New York slum?

WHATTHEYGOTWRONG…
One of the central characters One member of Amsterdam’s Throughout the movie Throughout the film The film’s final
01 in the movie, Bill ‘the 02 gang is a young black man, 03 various characters are 04 Amsterdam (DiCaprio) and 05 confrontation between the
Butcher’ Cutting, is depicted as but it is extremely unlikely they shown drinking out of pewter his father repeatedly recite a section Irish and the ‘natives’ occurs during
being alive and well in 1862. This would have allowed black people to mugs, and the bars are full of them. of the Prayer to St Michael. The first the Draft Riots, but in reality the
man did exist, but his name was join them. During the draft riots Irish However, people stopped drinking time Priest Vallon speaks the prayer showdown happened on 4-5 July
Bill Poole and he died in 1855 after immigrants attacked blacks, killing at from pewter cups in the 18th before the street battle is in 1846, 1857, not 1863. Still, it was between
being shot in a gambling saloon by least 119 and also targeting numerous century, so glass tumblers would but the prayer wasn’t written until the Bowery Boys (Natives) and the
a rival gangster, Lew Baker. black orphanages. have been far more accurate. 1886 by Pope Leo XIII. Dead Rabbits (Irish) as depicted.

© Alamy

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