3. New York, New York (Martin Scorsese)
It is a testament to Martin Scorsese's appeal that he is beloved equally by the pretentious and "arty" for his work on The Last Temptation of Christ, Taxi Driver, and his segment in New York Stories as well as frat bros and rappers for Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull (well, the pretentious arty kids like those ones too). He has the combination of encyclopedic film knowledge and innate talent that awes audiences and makes other filmmakers jealous. He isn't immune to criticism, some of his films have been called sexist and films like his remake of Cape Fear, Bringing Out the Dead, and Shutter Island haven't received the seemingly magnanimous praise reserved for the rest of his movies. But this list could have four or five movies on it from Scorsese, including the delirious After Hours, the wonderfully dark The King of Comedy, and his first film Who's That Knocking at My Door? But ultimately only one movie that Scorsese made flopped so extravagantly that he stashed himself away in a hotel snorting cocaine to dull the pain of his feeling that he was done in the motion picture business, and that film is New York, New York. Although it was a critical and commercial flop, the movie is an under-appreciated masterpiece. Taking a significant stylistic left turn from the grittiness of Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, New York, New York is a musical starring Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro as a husband and wife duo. The film may primarily be known now for the title song (later covered by Frank Sinatra and still sung at the end of every New York Yankee game), but the beautiful sets and the show-stopping musical numbers highlight Scorsese's visual acumen. Whether it's the grime of the streets or the glamor of Broadway, Scorsese knows what to shoot and where to shoot it. It is only natural that a filmmaker that uses pop songs to such a beautiful effect (be it "Gimme Shelter" or Doo-wop) would know how a musical's songs impact a movie, and Liza Minnelli and Robert De Niro make a couple with a surprising amount of chemistry. De Niro's saxophonist and band leader is a bully, a guy whose determination to not take no for an answer can range from charming to appalling. Unlike Killer's Kiss and The Last Laugh, New York x2's ending is perhaps the strongest scene, a bittersweet ending to a wonderful and romantic ode to the musical.