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7.8
/10
5,888 Ratings

Mean Streets

Trailer
Directed by Martin Scorsese
United States, 1973
Crime, Drama

Synopsis

Charlie is in a dilemma: he aspires to be a big shot in New York’s Little Italy mafia, but he also wants to be purged of his sins. He seeks penance in the attempted salvation of his friend, the troublemaker Johnny Boy. But this risks to complicate his relationship with his mafioso uncle Giovanni.

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Mean Streets Directed by Martin Scorsese
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Awards & Festivals

Cannes Film Festival

1974 | Directors' Fortnight

Berlin International Film Festival

2004

Locarno International Film Festival

1974

The New York Film Festival

1973

2012

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Cast & Crew

Articles from the Notebook

Movie Poster of the Week: “The American Dreamer” and Jay Shaw’s Top Ten American Posters

One of our favorite contemporary poster designers picks his ten favorite American posters.
Adrian Curry
3

Movie Poster of the Week: “Scorsese Collects” at MoMA

A sneak peak at Martin Scorsese’s poster collection at the Museum of Modern Art.
Adrian Curry

The Best of “Movie Poster of the Day,” Part 9

Fan favorites from the past three months of Tumblr posts.
Adrian Curry

Movie Poster of the Week: “Shutter Island”

The stark and gorgeous Japanese poster for Martin Scorsese’s long-awaited Shutter Island eschews the one thing that has dominated the…
Adrian Curry
4

Critics reviews

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The intoxicating style is Scorsese’s own, rooted in a desire to transmit his feelings about each moment in the most visceral way possible. The rhythms of the rock and pop songs on the soundtrack feel like racing heartbeats, and each camera movement suggests the director whipping his head around to take in what’s going on.
December 16, 2016
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Martin Scorsese’s intrusive insistence on his abstract, metaphysical theme—the possibility of modern sainthood—marks this 1973 film, his first to attract critical notice, as still somewhat immature, yet the acting and editing have such an original, tumultuous force that the picture is completely gripping.
January 01, 1980
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Mean Streets is a terrific example of intricate, tough filmmaking. Like Renoir’s M. Lange gem, Scorsese’s whip-like style moves his ensemble with incredible vivacity… The poignant street film is a once-in-a-lifetime work: his own neighborhood, talented actors before they’ve scored and all the same age (nothing to lose), it’s an intensely autobiographical work.
September 23, 1975

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