martin scorsese direct a savage and brutal masterpiece . a young boy ( leonardo dicaprio ) witness the killing of his father the priest vallon ( liam neeson ) . amsterdam vallon ( dicaprio ) return from a fifteen year or so stay in reform school to the five point area of nyc seek revenge against bill the butcher ( daniel day lewis ) and his father killer . bill be a racist bully and believe he be the king of new york and or at least his own little corner of the world . amsterdam get in the good grace of the butcher only to plot his demise . along the way the young vallon meet a pocket pick whore jenny ( cameron diaz ) and reluctantly fall in love . the tribe of the city be summon for the mother of all knock down drag out duel with the butcher and amsterdam intent on slay the other . the scene of 1840s and 1860s new york city be awesome . great photography and camera work . the most dramatic scene be of the blood cover and body clutter snow at the film begin . this of course seem tame compare to the carnage that bring this epic to a close . day lewis be command in his role of the butcher and one the most egotistical and racist savage character unable to escape your memory . dicaprio seem an awkward choice for his role and at time seem unlikely to achieve his character accomplishment . diaz be down right fetching and i still believe she could tempt a dead man . also in the cast be jim broadbent and brendan gleeson and david hemmings and joseph p. reidy and henry thomas and john c. reilly . sometimes a little bit too wordy and slow and but still this almost three hour film be strong enough to hold your interest and imagination . in spite of the nay sayers i believe scorcese be a master among his peer . and be irish be no requirement for feel some pride or sorrow .