Last night I decided to watch Gangs of New York on Channel 4, since I had never got round to seeing it before, but it was a really big mistake on two counts.

The reason it was a mistake was that its a long film and it started late, so it meant not going to bed until 1am even though I really, really wanted to get to bed earlier. The knock-on effect of this was in oversleeping this morning. You know how shopkeepers think that pricing something at £1.99 will fool people into thinking something costs nearer one pound than two? Thats how it worked with the clock this morning. Knowing that I should get up at 6 I looked at the clock, saw it was 5:55 and only registered the first 5. Doh!

The other reason watching Gangs of New York was a mistake was that the picture was terrible. Not the film: the picture. Right at the start it looked a bit grainy, but as soon as there was any fast movement it was really blocky. I am used to seeing that effect on the minority sports channel in the pub, but not on one of the main channels, who you would expect to have more bandwidth.

Whenever there was a close-up of someone’s face there was a really strange effect, as if the surface of their skin was moving around. It really detracted from the film.

This is because we do not pick up terrestrial TV any more. As it is all available on Sky I never bothered connecting an aerial or tuning in the TV set. Is this how everyhting will be when analogue is turned off in a few years? Its about time someone remembered that the bandwidth is not infinite and every time another niche gameshow or shopping channel is added it possibly slices a bit of capacity from all the others.

I really should have watched the film on DVD. Mind you I was not as impressed by it all as I should have been. Everyone raved about it when it came out, but beyond the wonderful, psychotic Bill the Butcher character I didn’t think it was that special. Undeniably epic, but not special.

One thing I must check on IMDB though – was that really John Sessions dressed as Abe Lincoln hanging above the stage in the theatre scene when Bill the Butcher was shot?