GANGS OF NEW YORK is the film Scorsese has been wanting to make since the 1970s and is the natural follow-on to his other films about New York gangland: MEAN STREETS and GOODFELLAS. Set in the period 1840 to 1863, it is the story of the gang members, outlaws, crooked cops and corrupt politicians that flourished in New York's underworld. The Dead Rabbits and the Native Americans are the two gangs at the heart of the film. Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio), the son of the Rabbits' murdered leader, vows vengeance on the man who killed him, Bill 'The Butcher' Poole (Daniel Day-Lewis). Production started in August 2000 on a specially constructed site in Italy that recreates mid 19th-century New York. The film is believed to have cost around $100 million to make, Miramax's most expensive ever. The media has been talking about the film for years, and it is already tipped for Oscar success. An extract was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002, to critical acclaim.