Mean Streets

United States

1973

112 Min

Color

1.85:1

English

Currently 4.0/5 Stars.
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SCR Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin

CAST Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus, Cesare Danova, Victor Argo, George Memmoli, David Carradine, Robert Carradine

SOUND Donald F. Johnson

Cannes (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs), New York, Berlinale (Retrospective)

Synopsis

Harvey Keitel plays Charlie, working his way up the ranks of a local mob. Amy Robinson is Teresa, the girlfriend his family deems unsuitable because of her epilepsy. And in the starmaking role that won Best Supporting Actor Awards from the New York and National Society of FIlm Critics, De Niro is Johnny Boy, a small-time gambler in big-time debt to loan sharks. This is a story Martin Scorsese lived, a semi-biographical tale of the first-generation sons and daughters of New York’s Little Italy. –Warner Bros.

Director

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese was born in New York City and soon developed a passion for cinema and a particular admiration for neo-realist cinema which inspired him and influenced his view or portrayal of his Sicilian heritage. After graduating from NYU Film School in 1966 and making a number of shorts, he shot his first feature-length film Who’s That Knocking at My Door (1968) with fellow student, actor Harvey Keitel, and editor Thelma Schoonmaker both of whom were to become long-term collaborators. Mean Streets followed in 1973 and provided the benchmarks for the ‘Scorsese style’. After Scorsese directed Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, the trio was reunited for the dark journey of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver. After New York, New York Scorsese released Raging Bull. The acclaimed biography of middleweight fighter Jake LaMotta was followed by exploration of fans as pariah in The King of Comedy, dark-comic dreams in After Hours and pool sharks in The Color of Money. Scorsese outraged some religious… read more

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Tiago Vitória

12Feb12

In this movie you see the Scorsese's talent. All the close-up cuts, the ensemble between fight scenes and music, the way he moves the camera between people and actions occurring at the same time, it's all their. However, the story did not catch me at all. Hate Keitel and De Niro roles, the story is always stuck and the film has a poor ending. 70's background? Didn't work for me.

WhatsUpWill

26Jan12

There are a lot of things I like about this movie (the themes, DeNiro, Keitel), a lot of things I hate (the lighting, the sound, Amy Robinson, the over use of music), and a lot of things that I am indifferent to (the story, the rest of the ensemble, the direction). To sum it up, the film suggests greatly of Scorsese's talent here and there, but doesn't quite come together. Still not that bad though.