Mean Streets Movie Review 1973

A grimy slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. Charlie (Keitel), the nephew of mob boss Giovanni (Danova), struggles to keep his crazy friend Johnny Boy (De Niro) out of serious trouble. A riveting, free-form feature film, marking the formal debut by Scorsese (five years earlier he had completed a student film, "Who's That Knocking At My Door?"). Unorthodox camera movement and gritty performances by De Niro and Keitel, with underlying Catholic guilt providing the moral conflict. Excellent early '60s soundtrack.

Distribution

Warner Home Video, Inc., 5775 Linder Canyon Rd., Westlake Village, CA 91362, URL: http://whv.warnerbros.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 112 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Crime Drama, Organized Crime, Coming of Age, Killer Sea Critters, New York, New York, Director/Star Teams: Scorsese & De Niro, Director/Star Teams: Scorsese & Keitel, Aunts & Uncles, Nieces & Nephews, Screen Teams: De Niro & Keitel, 4 Bones

Screenplay

Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin

Cast

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

Cinematography

Kent Wakeford

Director

Martin Scorsese

Producer

Jonathan Taplin, Warner Bros.

Awards

Natl. Film Reg. 1997;; Natl. Soc. Film Critics 1973: Support. Actor (De Niro).