Three years ago, Martin Scorsese, the New York director who has made street violence one of his signature traits, teamed up with Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of Miramax Films and something of a street fighter himself. The goal was to make a stylized epic film about gang warfare in pre-Civil War Manhattan with enough mass appeal to score at the box office. 

But the making of that movie, Gangs of New York, has turned into an epic of its own. Stars like Robert DeNiro and Willem Dafoe have come and gone. Costs have overshot the original budget by about 25 per cent to soar above $100 million. Weinstein has fought for a streamlined, more commercial version. All the while, Scorsese has tried to stick to his artistic guns as the two have battled over taste and length. 

With hopes of promoting the film next month at Cannes, Miramax executives are pushing to have the final editing completed in the next few weeks so the complex task of mixing sound with film can begin. But Scorsese is still not satisfied with the ending. He has been considering reshooting it, some people involved in the film say. The film was initially supposed to hit theatres last December, but now is expected to be released later this year. 

Scorsese has not had a box-office smash since Cape Fear, which earned $79 million domestically in 1991. Weinstein, a domineering personality who, by his own admission, is spurned in Hollywood despite championing eclectic hits like The English Patient and Goodwill Hunting, has come under financial pressure of his own. In January he shut Talk magazine and more recently he shed 75 Miramax employees and contract workers to trim costs. 

Conflicts arise any time a director's vision collides with pressures to make a commercial hit. But Saul Zantez, the producer who battled with Weinstein over money after working with him on the Academy Award - winning The English Patient, said it was especially true with such strong-willed personalities. 

''Marty is only interested in making the right picture,'' Mr. Zaentz said. ''He will make it no matter what he has to do. And he is strong enough to fight for what he believes in. Harvey's interest, on the other hand, is not the same as Marty's. It is about making money.''

The budget for ''Gangs'' has ballooned to more than $103 million from the original $83 million - some of which is being paid for by Mr. Scorsese and Mr. DiCaprio, who plays the lead character, according to two people involved in the film. At that price - high even by today's standards - it would be the most expensive movie in Miramax's 22-year history. Mr. Weinstein and Mr. Scorsese declined to be interviewed but released this statement: ''As the only two decision makers on 'Gangs of New York' we would be happy to discuss this film in the context of an art versus commerce article when the story is an informed one, which clearly hinges on the final film being screened.''