Army Recruiter
[swearing in Irish immigrants as citizens at the harbor]
That document makes you a citizen, and this one makes you a private in the Union army. Now get out there and serve your country.
Bill the Butcher
Daniel Day-Lewis · 39 quotes
Amsterdam Vallon
Leonardo DiCaprio · 21 quotes
Boss Tweed
Jim Broadbent · 11 quotes
McGloin
Gary Lewis · 8 quotes
Priest Vallon
Liam Neeson · 6 quotes
Jenny
Cameron Diaz · 3 quotes
Walter 'Monk' McGinn
Brendan Gleeson · 3 quotes
Most scenes together: Bill the Butcher & Amsterdam Vallon (8), Bill the Butcher & Boss Tweed (5), Bill the Butcher & Priest Vallon (3)
Gangs of New York quotes
Page 1 of 5[about Bill]
When I was twelve years old, my mother was dead, and I was livin' in a doorway. He took me in. Took care of me, in his way. After they cut out the baby... well, he doesn't fancy girls that's scarred up. But you might as well know in your own mind that he never laid a hand on me until I asked him to.
Don't never look away.
The blood stays on the blade.
I've got forty-four notches on my club. Do you know what they're for? They're to remind me what I owe God when I die. My father was killed in battle, too. In Ireland, in the streets, fighting those who would take as their privilege what could only be got and held by the decimation of a race. That war is a thousand years old and more. We never expected it to follow us here. It didn't. It was waiting for us when we landed. Your father tried to carve out a corner of this land for his tribe. That was him, that was his dead rabbits. I often wondered... if he had lived a bit longer, would he have wanted a bit more?
Well that was bloody Shakespearian. Do you know who Shakespeare was, boyo? The fella who wrote the King James Bible.
Challenge.
Challenge Accepted.
Is there anyone in the five points you haven't ****?
Yes! You!
[after foiling Amsterdam's attempt to kill him]
I want you all to meet the son of Priest Vallon. I took him under my wing and see how I'm repaid. He saved my life one day so he could kill me the next like a sneak thief, instead of fighting like a man. A base defiler, unworthy of a noble name. [pulls the knife out of Amsterdam's chest]
Oh, God! Jesus!
[Bill hits him in the face. Amsterdam falls to the floor and McGloin begins to search him for hidden weapons]
That'll do, McGloin. Spread him out.
[Amsterdam is spread out on a table. Bill climbs on it with cleaver in his hand]
This is fresh meat! You know what I mean? [drives a cleaver into the table] We need to tenderize this meat a bit. Alright, lets kiss goodnight to that pretty face of yours!
[Bill leans down and actually tries to kiss Amsterdam, who spits in his face. In response, Bill screams furiously and headbutts Amsterdam several times]
No!
[stands up and grabs the cleaver]
What'll it be then? Rib or chop? Loin or shank? [throws the cleaver up in the air; the cleaver is shown going up, and then falling, in slow motion, and eventually hits the table right next to Amsterdam's head]
Crowd
The liver! The spleen! The kidney! The lung! The liver! The tongue! The heart! The heart!
The heart? This boy has no heart.
Crowd
Then kill him!
He ain't earned a death! He ain't earned a death at my hands! He'll walk amongst you marked with shame. A freak! Worthy of Barnum's museum of wonders. God's only man, spared by the Butcher. [grabs a red-hot knife and burns a mark on Amsterdam's cheek]
[smirking]
Is this it, Priest? The Pope's new army? A few crusty bitches and a handful of rag-tags?
Now, now, Bill. You swore this was a battle between warriors, not a bunch of Miss Nancies. So warriors is what I brought.
[Vallon's Dead Rabbits are joined by a coalition of other gangs; the O'Connell Guard, the Plug Uglies, the Shirt Tails, the Chichesters, and the Forty Thieves; each gang's leader walks in front of their groups to identify them as they arrive.] O'Connell Guard leader: The O'Connell Guard!
Plug Ugly leader
The Plug Uglies!
Shirt Tail leader
The Shirt Tails!
Chichester leader The Chichesters!
Forty Thieves leader The Forty Thieves!
[after all the other gangs are gathered]
Well, what do you think of us now, Bill? Together with the other five gangs, my new army matches the number with yours. What say you, brother?
[smiling]
Uh-huh. Well, I guess we're even now. So, let's get started, then. [to his fellow natives] Bené? [two Natives remove Bill's overcoat and top hat; Bill and the other Natives then arm themselves as the leader gives his pre-battle speech] On my challenge, by the ancient laws of combat, we are met at this chosen ground to settle for good and all who holds sway over the Five Points: us Natives, born right-wise to this fine land, or the foreign hordes defiling it.
Natives
Yeah!!!
By the ancient laws of combat, I accept the challenge of the so-called "Natives". You plague our people at every turn. But from this day out, you shall plague us no more, for let it be known that the hand that tries to strike us from this land shall be swiftly cut down!
Dead Rabbits and other gangs
YEAH!!!
Then may the Christian Lord guide my hand against your Roman popery!
[Priest unsheathes his sword]
Prepare to receive the true Lord!
[With a final cheer, the Natives and the other gangs charge at each other.]
At my challenge, by the ancient laws of combat, we are met at this chosen ground, to settle for good and all who holds sway over the five points: us natives, born rightwise to this fine land, or the foreign hordes defiling it.
Crowd
Yeah.
By the ancient laws of combat, I accept the challenge of the so called "natives." They plague our people at every turn, but from this day out, they shall plague us no more. For let it be known, that the hand that tries to strike us from this land shall be swiftly cut down.
Crowd
YEAH.
How old are you, Amsterdam?
I'm not sure, sir. I never did quite figure it.
I'm forty-seven. Forty-seven years old. You know how come I stayed alive this long? Fear. A spectacle of fearsome acts. A man steals from me, I cut off his hands. If he offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises up against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike. Raise it up high so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear.
I killed the last honorable man, 15 years ago. Since then it's... You seen his portrait downstairs?
Mm-hmm.
'S your mouth all glued-up with cunny juice? I asked you a question!
Is this it, Priest, the Pope's new army, a few crusty bitches and a hand full of rag tags?
Now, now, Bill, you swore this was a battle between warriors, not a bunch of Miss Nancies, so warriors is what I brought.
No, I don't never sleep too much. I have to sleep with one eye open, and I only got one eye, right? How old are you, Amsterdam?
I'm not sure, sir. I never did quite figure it.
I'm forty-seven. Forty-seven years old. You know how come I stayed alive this long? Fear. A spectacle of fearsome acts. A man steals from me, I cut off his hands. If he offends me, I cut out his tongue. He rises up against me, I cut off his head, stick it on a pike. Raise it up high so all on the streets can see. That's what preserves the order of things. Fear. That one tonight, who was he? A nobody. A coward. What an ignominious end that would have been. I killed the last honorable man fifteen years ago. Since then, it's... You seen his portrait downstairs?
Mm-hmm.
Is your mouth all glued up with cunny juice? I asked you a question.
[smiles]
Oh, you got a murderous rage in you, and I like it. It's life, boiling up inside of you. It's good. The Priest and me, we lived by the same principles. It was only faith divided us. He gave me this, you know. That was the finest beating I ever took. My face was pulp, my guts was pierced, and my ribs was all mashed up. And when he came to finish me, I couldn't look him in the eye. He spared me because he wanted me to live in shame. This was a great man. A great man. So I cut out the eye that looked away. Sent it to him wrapped in blue paper. I would have cut 'em both out if I could have fought him blind. Then I rose back up again with a full heart and buried him in his own blood.
He was the only man I ever killed worth remembering. I never had a son. Civilization is crumbling. [places a hand on Amsterdam's head] God bless you.