Gangs of New York

This film earned 10 Oscar nominations, and it is no mystery why. In one of the best films of the year, Golden Globe-nominated director Martin Scorsese brilliantly conveys the emotional turmoil, political strife, democratic developments and Mafia origins of mid-19th-century America. While the focus of the historical fiction centers around a young boy determined to avenge the violent murder of his father slain during the infamous massacre at Five Points, Scorsese includes pertinent subplots of America’s reactions to moments in history such as Lincoln’s abolishment of slavery, draft riots and the corrupt Tammany Hall era. Daniel Day-Lewis’ chilling portrayal as Bill the Butcher, a Don Corleone of his time, and Cameron Diaz’s layered performance as the loveable but deceitful pickpocket earned each actor a Golden Globe nomination. If the Golden Globe Awards offered technical categories, the magnificent efforts of production designer Dante Ferretti, who magically recreated an authentic-looking New York City of 1846, and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, who added effective dramatic lighting and tinting to convey the dismal moods of the time, would raise the film’s nomination total to seven.