Scorsese clip tantalises Cannes

The crowds greet Scorsese at Cannes, flanked by 'Gangs' stars Cameron Diaz and Leonardo DiCaprio

CANNES, France -- Director Martin Scorsese has stunned a star-studded audience at the Cannes film festival with a powerful preview of his latest epic, "Gangs of New York."

The picture's stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz, had earlier jetted into the French Riviera resort for the one-time screening and were greeted by a sea of screaming teenage fans as they made their way up the famous Cannes red carpet, Reuters news agency reported.

DiCaprio led a standing ovation for Scorsese at the 20-minute preview, before the director of classic movies such as "Taxi Driver" introduced what he has called his "biggest-ever undertaking."

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"This movie has been in my mind and in my heart since I was 10 years old and growing up in downtown New York," the 60-year-old director told a packed audience which included Sharon Stone and Juliette Binoche.

"Ultimately this film asks the question 'What is America and what does it mean to be an American?"' he said, after launching the evening with a retrospective on his Hollywood hero, the late Billy Wilder.

Set in downtown New York in 1846-1863, "Gangs of New York" tells the story of a young immigrant Irishman (DiCaprio) who sets out to avenge his father's murder.

With Daniel Day-Lewis playing a gangland boss, Cameron Diaz as a seductive pickpocket and Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent also featuring, it boasts an all-star cast. The budget is reported to have run to almost $100 million.

"Gangs" was scheduled to be screened in cinemas last December, but the painstaking filming, shot mostly at Cinecitta studios in Rome, ran into delays and there have been rumours of a falling out between Scorsese and Miramax studio boss Harvey Weinstein.

Both have been quick to scotch that talk and the movie is now set for release on Christmas Day -- a key pre-Oscars slot which commentators say is an indication of the huge backing Miramax is giving to what it hopes will be a blockbuster.

Miramax's decision to put on the extended preview of the film follows the success of the stunt with "Lord of the Rings."

A tantalizing 20-minute clip of Frodo, Bilbo and the search for the ring generated massive media acclaim and the movie went on to be one of the highest-grossing of all time.

Scorsese said he was nervous about showing just 20 minutes of a film expected to last two hours and 40 minutes when it goes on general release. But he beamed with joy as he received a second standing ovation after the screening.

And if the numbers from "Lord of the Rings" are anything to go by -- it recouped more than half its $110 million budget the first weekend it opened in the States -- the winning screening could reap huge benefits for Scorsese and "Gangs."