20 Movies That Are Flawed Masterpieces

14. Gangs Of New York (2002)

Gangs of New York is all over the place. Though that effect was somewhat intentional, it does mean that the picture feels consistently chaotic; rough around the edges. It's a mess, and yet - despite it shortcomings - one can't help but feel it is a frustrated masterpiece. Which makes sense, given it was chopped in half by Harvey Weinstein from its original length of 3 plus hours to a mere 168 minutes (Scorsese was very unhappy with that).

Daniel Day-Lewis gives the film its fire, as the mob leader battling it out in the Big Apple in 1846, where machetes and knives were a man's best friend. Leonardo DiCaprio, Scorsese's 21st century Robert De Niro, seems oddly out of place here - as does Cameron Diaz, who feels uncertain of her own casting. But Day-Lewis is the reason that the film comes alive; his "Bill the Butcher" Cutting ranks as of the great screen performances. There is as a Scorsese masterpiece here, just trying to break free. There are flaws (in casting, in pacing and in execution), but in the end they make the movie what it is.