Man, looking back at the 2003 Academy Awards feels like stepping into a different universe. You’ve got the Kodak Theatre—newly minted at the time—packed with stars, and right at the center of the storm was Martin Scorsese’s gritty, blood-soaked epic. It felt like his year. Everybody was saying it. But when the night finally wrapped up, the Gangs of New York awards tally at the Oscars was a big, fat zero.
It was brutal.
Ten nominations. Zero wins. Honestly, it’s still one of the most legendary shutouts in Hollywood history. If you were there, or even just watching on TV, you could feel the air leave the room every time a different name was called. Scorsese, the man who practically built modern American cinema, had to sit there and watch Chicago—a flashy musical—sweep the floor. It wasn't just a loss; it was a vibe shift that people are still debating in film circles over twenty years later.
The Night Everything Went Wrong
The 75th Academy Awards were supposed to be a coronation. Gangs of New York came in with ten nominations, trailing only Chicago (which had 13). It had the pedigree. It had Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and a terrifyingly good Daniel Day-Lewis.
But then the categories started rolling by.
Best Film Editing? Lost to Chicago. Best Costume Design? Chicago again. Best Art Direction? You guessed it—Chicago. It started to feel like a recurring nightmare for the Miramax team. By the time they reached the "Big Three" categories—Actor, Director, and Picture—the momentum was gone. Adrien Brody pulled off a massive upset for The Pianist, taking the Best Actor trophy that most people thought was basically already on Daniel Day-Lewis’s mantel.
Then came the Best Director category. Scorsese was the sentimental favorite. He’d been snubbed for Raging Bull. He’d been snubbed for Goodfellas. Surely, the Academy wouldn't let him walk away empty-handed again?
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They did. Roman Polanski won for The Pianist. The room gave a standing ovation, but the look on Scorsese's face was a mix of "here we go again" and genuine shock.
Wait, Did It Actually Win Anything?
It’s easy to get caught up in the Oscar heartbreak and forget that the film actually did pretty well elsewhere. It wasn't a total wash. You’ve got to look at the Gangs of New York awards list across the whole season to see the real picture.
- The Golden Globes: Scorsese actually won Best Director here. It’s one of the few times the Globes and the Oscars went in completely different directions for the top prize. U2 also snagged a win for Best Original Song with "The Hands That Built America."
- BAFTAs: Daniel Day-Lewis took home the Best Actor trophy in London. The British Academy saw what the American Academy missed: Bill the Butcher was a once-in-a-generation performance.
- SAG Awards: Day-Lewis won here too. When your peers—the actual actors—say you were the best of the year, it usually means something.
- Critics' Groups: The New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association both handed Day-Lewis their top acting honors.
Basically, the film was a critical darling that hit a brick wall when it reached the actual Academy voters.
The Harvey Weinstein Effect and the "Wise" Controversy
You can't talk about the Gangs of New York awards run without talking about the behind-the-scenes drama. This was a Miramax film, which meant Harvey Weinstein was behind the wheel. And in 2003, his "Oscar campaigning" was at its most aggressive—and most controversial.
One of the biggest blunders was a fake-out involving legendary director Robert Wise. Miramax ran ads featuring an "opinion piece" by Wise (the guy who directed West Side Story and The Sound of Music) basically saying Scorsese deserved the Oscar.
The problem? Wise didn't actually write it.
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A publicist for the film later admitted to ghostwriting the piece. The Academy was furious. Voters felt like they were being bullied and manipulated. There’s a very real theory that this specific stunt cost Scorsese the Oscar. It soured the milk. Voters who were on the fence about the movie's extreme violence or its sprawling, messy narrative suddenly had a reason to vote for literally anything else.
Why Daniel Day-Lewis Didn't Win the Big One
The "Bill the Butcher" snub is the one that still stings for most fans. To this day, people quote that movie. "I'm a New Yorker!" "I don't give a damn about your grievances!" It’s iconic.
So why did Adrien Brody win?
A few things happened. First, The Pianist was peaking at exactly the right time. Second, Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance was... a lot. It was big, theatrical, and incredibly violent. Some older Academy voters found it "too much." Adrien Brody, on the other hand, played a quiet, suffering artist in a Holocaust drama—classic Oscar bait.
Also, don't underestimate the "Split Vote" theory. Between Nicolas Cage in Adaptation and Jack Nicholson in About Schmidt, the "vets" might have cannibalized each other's support, leaving a lane open for the newcomer.
Looking Back: Does the Loss Even Matter?
Honestly? Probably not.
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If you look at the movies that won that night, Chicago is a fun movie, but is it a masterpiece? The Pianist is great, sure. But Gangs of New York has this weird, enduring legacy. It’s a messy, flawed, over-ambitious dream of a movie.
Scorsese spent twenty years trying to get it made. He built a literal city in Rome's Cinecittà studios. He fought with the studio over the runtime. He pushed his actors to the brink.
The lack of Gangs of New York awards from the Academy doesn't change the fact that Dante Ferretti’s production design is still the gold standard for period pieces. It doesn't change the fact that Michael Ballhaus’s cinematography is breathtaking.
What You Should Do If You Want to "Award" It Yourself
If you're a film buff or just curious about why this movie caused such a stir, don't just look at the Wikipedia list of losses. Do a little homework to see why it remains a "cult" epic:
- Watch the "The Hands That Built America" performance: It’s a reminder of the scale Miramax was aiming for.
- Compare the Bill the Butcher performance to Day-Lewis's later work: You can see the seeds of There Will Be Blood in the way he handles the character of Bill.
- Read the Robert Wise ad controversy: It’s a fascinating look at how Hollywood politics can ruin a movie’s chances.
The Gangs of New York awards story isn't a story about winning; it's a story about how a masterpiece can be too big, too loud, and too mean for the people in charge of the trophies. And sometimes, being a "loser" at the Oscars is the best way to ensure people are still talking about you twenty years later.