Passes the Bechdel test
Gangs of New York
2002. Directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Jay Cocks and Steven Zaillian and Kenneth Lonergan.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
3 / 3
Passes
-
Yes
1. At least two women
15 women characters. 2 of them speak. -
Yes
2. Who talk to each other
In 1 scene out of 122. -
Yes
3. About something besides a man
In that scene, our script parser found no man named. See the scene.
Second opinion
Disagree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
In the god-forsaken district of early-1860s Lower Manhattan known as the Five Points, the vicious Nativist, Bill "The Butcher" Cutting, is the supreme overlord of an area riddled with crime, prostitution, theft and murder, as the American Civil War still rages on. Sixteen whole years after the brutal murder of his father from Bill's blood-stained hands, an orphaned Irish-American, Amsterdam Vallon, returns to this melting pot of corruption to avenge his untimely death; however, a lot has changed since then. Who can remember the once-innocent boy and now a young man bent on revenge, who works his way up to the hierarchy of Five Points? Will Amsterdam ever taste the dangerous but sweet fruit of retribution?
- Released
- 20 Dec 2002
- Genres
- Crime, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 7.5 / 10
- Metascore
- 72 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 10 Oscars. 50 wins & 135 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Amsterdam 271 lines, man
- Jenny 120 lines, woman
- Bill The Butcher 118 lines, man
- Johnny 108 lines, man
- Boss Tweed 80 lines, man
- Shang 39 lines, man
- Killoran 32 lines, man
- Tweed 30 lines, man
- Vallon 30 lines, man
- Monk Eastman 26 lines, man
Full cast, 124 people
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon
- Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill 'The Butcher' Cutting
- Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane
- Jim Broadbent as Boss Tweed
- John C. Reilly as Happy Jack
- Henry Thomas as Johnny Sirocco
- Liam Neeson as 'Priest' Vallon
- Brendan Gleeson as Walter 'Monk' McGinn
- Gary Lewis as McGloin
- Stephen Graham as Shang
- Eddie Marsan as Killoran
- Alec McCowen as Reverend Raleigh
- David Hemmings as Mr. Schermerhorn
- Lawrence Gilliard Jr. as Jimmy Spoils
- Cara Seymour as Hell-Cat Maggie
- Roger Ashton-Griffiths as P.T. Barnum
- Peter-Hugo Daly as One-Armed Priest
- Cian McCormack as Young Amsterdam
- Andrew Gallagher as Young Johnny
- Philip Kirk as O'Connell Guard Leader
- Rab Affleck as Plug Uglies Leader
- Bill Barclay as Shirt Tails Leader
- Nick Bartlett as Chichesters Leader
- Robert Goodman as Forty Thieves Leader
- Tim Pigott-Smith as Calvinist Minister
- Liam Carney as Bill The Butcher's Gang #1
- Gary McCormack as Bill The Butcher's Gang #2
- David McBlain as Bill The Butcher's Gang #3
- Dick Holland as True Blue American Speaker
- Katherine Wallach as Jenny's Girl
- Carmen Hanlon as Jenny's Girl
- Ilaria D'Elia as Jenny's Girl
- Laurie Ventry as Resident Woman
- Ford Kiernan as Black Joke Chief
- Alec McMahon as Resident Man
- Nevan Finegan as Dead Rabbit Gang Member
- Dominique Vandenberg as Dead Rabbit Gang Member
- Stuart Yung Sai-kit as Chinese at Sparrow's Pagoda
- Basil Chung as Elderly Chinese at Pagoda
- Finbar Furey as Satan's Circus Singer
- Sean Gilder as Rat Pit Game Master
- Richard Graham as Card Player (Harvey)
- Richard Strange as Undertaker
- Douglas Plasse as Medical Student
- R. Bruce Steinheimer as Army Recruiter
- David Bamber as Passenger on Omnibus
- Barbara Bouchet as Mrs. Schermerhorn
- Michael Byrne as Horace Greeley
- Lucy Davenport as Miss Schermerhorn
- Maura O'Connell as Street Singer
- Alex Howden as Assistant Hangman
- James Ramsay as Condemned Man (Arthur)
- Iain McColl as Condemned Man (Seamus)
- Louie Brownsell as Legless Soldier
- Gennaro Condemi as She-He
- Kieran Hurley as Recruiter
- John Sessions as Harry Watkins / Lincoln
- Michael Billingsley as Uncle Tom
- Steven Blake as Mr. Shelby
- Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Mr. Legree
- Alexia Murray as Topsy
- Flaminia Fegarotti as Miss Eliza
- Bronco McLoughlin as Assassin
- Channing C. Holmes as Tap Dancer
- Eliane Chappuis as Chinese Whore
- Roberta Quaresima as Whore #1
- Marta Pilato as Whore #2
- Jian Su as Chinese Acrobat
- Man Cao as Chinese General
- Kathy Shao-Lin Lee as Chinese Dancer
- Alexander Deng as Chinese Boy Singer
- Peter Berling as Knife Act Caller
- Patrick Gordon as Surgeon
- Brendan White as Archbishop
- Brendan Dempsey as Provost Marshal Registrar
- Taddeo Harbutt as Unruly Man
- Nazzareno Natale as Don Whiskerandos
- Colin Hill as Nativist Candidate
- Robert Linge as One-Armed Veteran
- Richard Syms as Drunken Repeater
- Christian Burgess as The Mayor
- Gerry Robert Byrne as Draft Official
- David J. Nicholls as O'Connell Guard Leader
- Tim Faraday as Plug Uglies Leader
- Sean McGinley as Forty Thieves Leader
- John Anthony Murphy as Kerryonians Leader
- Terry O'Neill as Chichesters Leader
- Vincent Pickering as American Guard Leader
- Nick Miles as Atlantic Guard Leader
- Ian Pirie as Slaughter Housers Leader
- John McGlynn as Bowery Boys Leader
- Larry Kaplan as Bloodied Bureaucrat
- Leo Burmester as Telegraph Operator #1 (voice)
- Justin Brennan as Telegraph Operator #2 (voice)
- Brian Mallon as Telegraph Operator #3 (voice)
- Joseph P. Reidy as Police Chief
- Joel Strachan as Telegraph Operator
- Bill Murdoch as Robber on Dock
- Angela Pleasence as Woman Accomplice
- Iain Agnew as General Wool
- Michael Hausman as Gunboat Captain
- Bob Colletti as Soldier in Mist
- Martin Scorsese as Wealthy Homeowner (uncredited)
- Trevor Cooper as Man in Tweed's Office (uncredited)
- Massimo Vanni as Bar Bouncer (uncredited)
- Salvatore Billa as Native (uncredited)
- Marcello Fonte as Citizen (uncredited)
- Vincenzo Tanassi as Fireman (uncredited)
- Paolo Lorimer as Tammany Man (uncredited)
- Michele Bevilacqua as Middle Class Man (uncredited)
- Franco Venditti as Coach (uncredited)
- Katy Monique Cuomo as Tweed's Whore (uncredited)
- Pietro Torrisi as Priest's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Corrado Scalia as Rapist (uncredited)
- Loretta Rossi Stuart as Dead Rabbit Gang Member (uncredited)
- Mauro Cremonini as Internee (uncredited)
- Ottaviano Dell'Acqua as Bill the Butcher's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Arnaldo Dell'Acqua as Bill the Butcher's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Alberto Dell'Acqua as Bill the Butcher's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Franco Daddi as Bill the Butcher's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Virgilio Ponti as Bill the Butcher's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Clemente Ukmar as Priest's Gang Member (uncredited)
- Patrizio Pelizzi as Italian Emigrant (uncredited)
- Raffaella Ponzo as Johnny's Girlfriend
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 8% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 122
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 to 6 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 to 9 | 1 | 52 |
| 10 to 12 | 4 | 23 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 20 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 18 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 9 |
| 22 to 24 | 9 | 1 |
| 25 to 27 | 2 | 36 |
| 28 to 30 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 to 33 | 0 | 17 |
| 34 to 36 | 1 | 46 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 15 |
| 40 to 42 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 to 45 | 7 | 26 |
| 46 to 48 | 8 | 11 |
| 49 to 51 | 0 | 22 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 18 |
| 55 to 57 | 17 | 27 |
| 58 to 60 | 0 | 7 |
| 61 to 63 | 0 | 43 |
| 64 to 66 | 11 | 95 |
| 67 to 69 | 6 | 39 |
| 70 to 72 | 0 | 24 |
| 73 to 75 | 0 | 35 |
| 76 to 78 | 14 | 21 |
| 79 to 81 | 18 | 16 |
| 82 to 84 | 9 | 17 |
| 85 to 87 | 10 | 23 |
| 88 to 90 | 5 | 37 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 23 |
| 94 to 96 | 2 | 21 |
| 97 to 99 | 8 | 11 |
| 100 to 102 | 4 | 3 |
| 103 to 105 | 3 | 12 |
| 106 to 108 | 2 | 42 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 14 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 3 |
| 115 to 117 | 1 | 14 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 22 |
| 121 to 122 | 0 | 13 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: the passing scene
The scene our parser counted as passing, word for word.
MOB WOMAN: And put a candle in the window to show you're one with us! Every light is a flame against the draft! JENNY: What is it?
Exhibit B: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.
142 lines from women, 888 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who's in it
15 women and 78 men in the cast. 2 women and 30 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit D: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 63 of 1,122.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 91 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 11% of the words (1,555), men 89% (12,512). Women have 14% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit E: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
2
Two men
83
Exhibit F: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 18% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Martin Scorsese (man)
- Written by
- Steven Zaillian (man), Kenneth Lonergan (man), Jay Cocks (man)
- Story by
- Jay Cocks (man)
- Produced by
- Alberto Grimaldi (man), Harvey Weinstein (man)
- Shot by
- Michael Ballhaus (man)
- Edited by
- Thelma Schoonmaker (woman)
- Music by
- Howard Shore (man)
- Production design by
- Dante Ferretti (man)
- Costumes by
- Sandy Powell (woman)
- Cast by
- Ellen Lewis (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
2 women, 16 men, 4 not listed
-
Production
2 women, 12 men, 3 not listed
-
Sound
2 women, 9 men, 2 not listed
-
Art
2 women, 7 men
-
Camera
1 women, 5 men
-
Writing
0 women, 4 men
-
Directing
1 women, 2 men
-
Costume & Make-Up
1 women, 0 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit G: how old the stars were
Women: 30 on average. Men: 40 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Cameron Diaz 30
Men
Leonardo DiCaprio 28, Stephen Graham 29, Henry Thomas 31, John C. Reilly 37, Gary Lewis 44, Daniel Day-Lewis 45, Brendan Gleeson 47, Liam Neeson 50, Jim Broadbent 53
Exhibit H: the money
It made 1.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $100 million
- Box office
- $194 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 122 scenes and 1,122 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
