Mean Streets (Special Edition)

Mean Streets (Special Edition) Review

I am a big fan of gangster flicks (The Godfather Trilogy, Casino, etc.) and crime dramas (Heat, Collateral, etc.). It's not the violence that fascinates me, but the characters and their motives & personalities. So it's no surprise that I fell in love with Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets. It's quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite films. Made in 1973, this is a classic independent film that's full of violence, rage, love, friendship, and criminal business. The violence isn't very disturbing when compared to Goodfellas & Casino, but it's still well-done and it's still relevant to the plot. The characters are all interesting, even the minor ones. The shots of New York City are riveting and lovely to look at. But, of course, the best thing about this film is Robert De Niro as Johnny Boy. Even though everyone else gives brilliant performances (especially Harvey Keitel as Charlie), a majority of moviegoers seem to always remember De Niro the most in Mean Streets, and there's a very good reason. He really embodies the character of Johnny Boy, he's got the right looks, the right amount of rage, and the right amount of black humor. This really is his breakout role, and it's a wonder why he didn't receive an oscar (but it's great that he won for The Godfather Part II). I'd say that Mean Streets overall is one of Martin Scorsese's more compelling films, and it's rightfully a classic in the independent genre.

Grade: A- (because of a few occasions of awkward editing)

Mean Streets (Special Edition) Overview

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.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:by Martin Scorsese
Featurette:"Back on the Block"
Theatrical Trailer

Mean Streets (Special Edition) Specifications

After Martin Scorsese went to Hollywood in 1972 to direct the low-budget Boxcar Bertha for B-movie mogul Roger Corman, the young director showed the film to maverick director John Cassavetes and got an instant earful of urgent advice. "It's crap," said Cassavetes in no uncertain terms, "now go out and make something that comes from your heart." Scorsese took the advice and focused his energy on Mean Streets, a riveting contemporary film about low-life gangsters in New York's Little Italy that critic Pauline Kael would later call "a true original, and a triumph of personal filmmaking." Starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel in roles that announced their talent to the world, it set the stage for Scorsese's emergence as one of the greatest American filmmakers. Introducing themes and character types that Scorsese would return to in Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, Casino, and other films, the loosely structured story is drawn directly from Scorsese's background in the Italian neighborhoods of New York, and it seethes with the raw vitality of a filmmaker who has found his creative groove. As the irresponsible and reckless Johnny Boy, De Niro offers striking contrast to Keitel's Charlie, who struggles to reconcile gang life with Catholic guilt. More of an episodic portrait than a plot-driven crime story, Mean Streets remains one of Scorsese's most direct and fascinating films--a masterful calling card for a director whose greatness was clearly apparent from that point forward. --Jeff Shannon

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