Having seen his father killed in a major gang fight in New York, young Amsterdam Vallon is spirited away for his own safety. Some years later, he returns to the scene of his father's death, the notorious Five Points district in New York. It's 1863 and lower Manhattan is run by gangs, the most powerful of which is the Natives, headed by Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. He believes that America should belong to native-born Americans and opposes the waves of immigrants, mostly Irish, entering the city. It's also the time of the Civil War and forced conscription leads to the worst riots in US history. Amid the violence and corruption, young Vallon tries to establish himself in the area and also seek revenge over his father's death.

When the film was first conceived in 1978, Martin Scorsese originally planned to cast the UK punk band, The Clash. When the project was shelved he eventually gave them a cameo in _King of Comedy, The (1983)_ as a band called Street Scum.

Bill:
You see this knife? I'm gonna teach you to speak English with this fucking knife!

Continuity: When Amsterdam meets Johnny for the first time after coming back, they walk along the street and stop. As they talk, Amsterdam's satchel repeatedly moves from over his shoulder to under his arm and back between shots.

Composed by Howard Shore
Produced by Hal Willner
Recorded and mixed by Eric Liljestrand
Additional mixing by Tom Lazarus
Additional recording and mixing by Geoff Foster
Orchestrations by Jeff Atmajian
Conducted by Andy Brown
Solo counter tenor by Will Towers
Solo boy soprano by James Kanagasooriam