Martin Scorsese's movie editor explained why there is a mistake in Wolf of Wall Street that even he knows about

Most viewers would probably consider The Wolf of Wall Street to be a cinematic masterpiece thanks to it's impressive production value.

Fans knew that the 2013 movie was in great hands with Martin Scorsese at the helm, so a lot of people were surprised to find out that a few mistakes made it into the final cut of the film.

But what came as even more of a shock was the fact that the legendary director, 82, knew all about the errors.

Scorsese is known for being something of a perfectionist, so people couldn't believe he'd let numerous blunders slip through the net.

Thankfully, you won't face a sleepless night pondering why he did this, though - as his longtime film editor has explained the reasoning for it.

Thelma Schoonmaker, 84, has been by Scorsese's side for nearly six decades and the pair have collaborated on some iconic projects together.

She was his right hand throughout the production of Goodfellas, Casino, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Killers of the Flower Moon, to name a few.

Schoonmaker revealed that you can find mistakes in most of these titles too, because of her and Scorsese's style choices.

The Academy Award-winning editor explained that she likes to rip up the rulebook when it comes to splicing scenes together.

Scorsese and Schoonmaker are longtime collaborators (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Although a lot of directors reckon that continuity is the be all and end all in their movies, Schoonmaker reckons that the actors' performances should 'always' be the priority.

For example, in The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort's (Leonardo DiCaprio) best pal Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill) is seen knocking a drink off of the wall while partying with the lads.

However, in the next shot, the glass he just sent flying has reappeared once again.

In a later scene, FBI agent Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) is seen heading onto the stockbroker's sprawling yacht, and he is positioned on the left-hand side of the screen.

But seconds later, he and Belfort have swapped places.

These inconsistencies are so small that most people barely pick up on them, however, some eagle eyed viewers have been able to spot these continuity errors.

In one scene in The Wolf of Wall Street, Jonah Hill is seen knocking a glass off (Paramount Pictures)

But Schoonmaker isn't too fussed, as she lives by the ideology that an actor's execution of a scene should come before a discrepancy in minor background details.

She is previously reported as saying that if 'the choice comes between a beautiful, clean line and a laugh, we would always go for the laugh'.

And in 2014, Schoonmaker discussed her and Scorsese's 'purposeful' mistakes, which often emerge as a result of allowing actors to improvise, during an interview with the Huffington Post.

Referring to her work on The Wolf of Wall Street, the movie buff said: "The lack of continuity in a movie like this really doesn't matter.

"It does matter in a movie like Age of Innocence. There, it's very important. Not here.

"We don't worry about continuity because when we're doing so many improvs, it's better to get the laugh. It's better to get the great lines, even if they're in the wrong part of the room."

But in the next shot, the glass has reappeared (Paramount Pictures)

Schoonmaker continued: "If you look at the great classic films that influenced Marty so much, there are continuity errors all over the place. But who cares?

"It's ridiculous. People can now stop and say, 'Oh, wait, there's an error here!' Who cares?"

Schoonmaker then shared an anecdote which pretty much proves her point about continuity errors.

She added: "I remember at the Oscars in 1991, Dances with Wolves won that year, and we were nominated for Goodfellas.

"One of my peers said to me, 'Why'd you make that bad jump cut?' I said, 'Which one? We had about 20 in the film!'"

And it still earned a nomination and went on to become one of the most iconic films of all time.

Schoonmaker and Scorsese are clearly onto something here.