|
|
Mean Streets
on DVD (1973)
|
|
| Starring: |
Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval, Richard Romanus, Cesare Danova, Jeanne Bell |
| Director: |
Martin Scorsese |
| Studio: |
UNIVERSAL PICTURES UK |
| Run time: |
103 mins |
| Certificate: |
 |
| User collections: |
Best Mob Films Of All Time, The Good Stuff, Best Movies I've Seen Since November 2006, Judas' British, American and Asian Thug Most Wanted, Brilliant films, Cut the crap/don't believe the hype - the real best films., The films I like are better than the films you like, CRIME DOES PAY!, Just Good Films, Exceptional Films |
| Genres: |
Drama |
| Languages: |
English |
| Released: |
01/01/2001
|
Brief synopsis of Mean Streets
Martin Scorsese's electrifying drama tells the story of Charlie (Harvey Keitel), a charming 27-year-old who is supported by his devoutly Catholic mother. He spends his days wandering the streets of New York City and nights hanging out drinking with his good friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), a loose cannon who can't seem to crawl out of debt. Charlie's extreme affability makes him the middle man between his mob-tied uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova) and various clients, as well as between Johnny Boy and Michael (Richard Romanus), a bookie who has become fed up with Johnny Boy's constant dodging. As the city's San Gennaro Festival takes over the streets of Little Italy, Michael seeks revenge on Johnny Boy once and for all.
MEAN STREETS is a perfect example of Scorsese's distinct vision, which has grown to become one of the most mimicked in the history of modern cinema. Using a nostalgic pop music soundtrack to introduce almost every scene, employing long one-takes and handheld cameras to add even greater tension to the proceedings, and coaxing brutally realistic performances out of his actors (most notably De Niro and Keitel), the director proves with MEAN STREETS that while others may try to imitate, there is only one original.
|
Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
After a low-budget apprenticeship served under B-movie king Roger Corman, Mean Streets was director Martin Scorsese's breakthrough film. Drawing on his upbringing in New York's Little Italy, the semi-autobiographical story concerns two friends — Charlie (Harvey Keitel), the older of the two and a debt-collector for the Mob, and tearaway hoodlum Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), who's in hock to loan sharks and a drain on Charlie's patience and reputation. Opening with a home movie-style, 8mm montage set to the Ronettes' Be My Baby, this explicitly European-influenced film establishes Scorsese's masterful use of music, mixing a 1960s pop soundtrack with grubby pool-hall violence. Mean Streets hinges on the power of its lead performances; Keitel exhibits simmering anguish as he struggles to reconcile his religion and lifestyle while dating the epileptic Teresa (Amy Robinson) against his boss's wishes, while the freewheeling De Niro is full of edgy humour, life and barely concealed danger. The result is a keystone of 1970s American cinema.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Relentlessly sordid melodrama with a good eye for realistic detail. The first film in which Scorsese announced himself as a major talent and discovered the subject matter that has served him so well.
Time Out
The definitive New York movie, and one of the few to successfully integrate rock music into the structure of film:...
Read more on www.timeout.com
See all 3 Critics Reviews »
Members Reviews
Reviews Voted Most Helpful
Most Recent Reviews
|
|
