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Gangs of New York is a 2002 American historical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Jay Cocks, Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan, based on Herbert Asbury’s 1927 book The Gangs of New York. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and Cameron Diaz.  

The film is set in 1863, when a long-running Catholic-Protestant feud erupts into violence, just as an Irish immigrant group is protesting against the threat of conscription during the Civil War. Scorsese spent twenty years developing the project until Miramax Films acquired it in 1999.   

Gangs of New York was completed by 2001 but its release was delayed due to the September 11 attacks. The film was theatrically released in the United States on December 20, 2002, and grossed over $193 million worldwide. It was met with generally positive reviews and Day-Lewis’s performance was highly acclaimed. It received ten nominations at the 75th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Scorsese and Best Actor for Day-Lewis.