Martin Scorsese Likens America Today to ‘Gangs of New York’: People Like Bill the Butcher ‘Are Showing Up Again’
Francis Ford Coppola is not alone in worrying that America could “have an emperor in a few months.”
Martin Scorsese has now weighed in on the 2024 U.S. presidential election, while in Turin accepting the Stella della Mole award at the Italian city’s prestigious Museum of Cinema. And needless to say, he is concerned.
More from IndieWire
“When we filmed ‘Gangs of New York’ at Cinecittà, we depicted a violent, bloody 19th century America, with a brutal character — Bill the Butcher, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. People like him are showing up again. We don’t know what’s going to happen in a few weeks,” Scorsese said at a press conference at museum October 7. “Democracy could continue, or this experiment could end.”
William Poole, a.k.a. Bill the Butcher, was a real-life gang leader in mid-19th century New York City who advocated for violence against immigrants and advanced anti-Catholic views in the country. In the years leading up to the Civil War, the city was beginning to host ever more waves of Irish immigrants, whom xenophobes like Poole targeted. In the film “Gangs of New York,” Day-Lewis’s Bill the Butcher murdered an Irish priest played by Liam Neeson, setting off ever greater waves of violence.
“I never thought I’d live through a moment like this. It reminds me of Federico Fellini, who, while filming ‘Satyricon,’ said as he walked through Rome: ‘I feel like I’m back in ancient Roman times.’ Now I feel like we’re back in the world of ‘Gangs of New York,’ a film about violent clashes between immigrant ethnic groups fighting for control of New York and, metaphorically, America.”
Scorsese’s comments follow Coppola’s remarks about the November 5 election which he gave last month at the New York City premiere of “Megalopolis.”
“And people always said, ‘Why do you want to make a movie about America as Rome?,’” Coppola continued. “Um, today America is Rome. And we’re about to go through the same experience, for the same reasons, that Rome lost its republic and ended up with an emperor.”
The auteur added, “This movie is perhaps very prescient to do, a movie about America, because it’s going to happen in a few months.”
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
