Mean Streets (1973)

A small-time hood aspires to work his way up the ranks of a local mob.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Martin Scorsese (screenplay), Mardik Martin (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Johnny Boy
Harvey Keitel	...	Charlie
David Proval	...	Tony
Amy Robinson	...	Teresa
Richard Romanus	...	Michael
Cesare Danova	...	Giovanni
Victor Argo	...	Mario
George Memmoli	...	Joey
Lenny Scaletta	...	Jimmy
Jeannie Bell	...	Diane
Murray Moston	...	Oscar (as Murray Mosten)
David Carradine	...	Drunk
Robert Carradine	...	Boy With Gun
Lois Walden	...	Jewish Girl
Harry Northup	...	Soldier

Storyline

The future is set for Tony and Michael - owning a neighbourhood bar and making deals in the mean streets of New York city's Little Italy. For Charlie, the future is less clearly defined. A small-time hood, he works for his uncle, making collections and reclaiming bad debts. He's probably too nice to succeed. In love with a woman his uncle disapproves of (because of her epilepsy) and a friend of her cousin, Johnny Boy, a near psychotic whose trouble-making threatens them all - he can't reconcile opposing values. A failed attempt to escape (to Brooklyn) moves them all a step closer to a bitter, almost preordained future.

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Plot Keywords:

italian american | epilepsy | bar | catholic guilt | new york | 

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Taglines:

You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

14 October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Season of the Witch

Filming Locations:

Bowery & Bleecker St, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$32,645, 15 March 1998, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$3,132,645

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Taplin - Perry - Scorsese Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie and The Godfather: Part II (1974) feature scenes of Robert De Niro running over the rooftops of Little Italy during the annual Feast of San Gennaro festival.

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Goofs

As Teresa is getting out of bed when she is with Charlie, in one shot the blanket covering her is pulled off nearly completely, yet in the next shot it covers her again, before being pulled off once again.

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Quotes

Tony DeVienazo: You want me to say it? You gotta be like me.

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Alternate Versions

NBC edited 10 minutes from this film for its 1977 network television premiere.

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Connections

References X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963)

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Soundtracks

Scapricciatiello
By Renato Carosone
Courtesy of E.M.I. Records

User Reviews

Beautiful dark atmosphere, but overall disappointing

Martin Scorsese has made some brilliant movies in his life, but unfortunately this isn't one of them. I can't really call it bad, because the direction and the cinematography just drip with pure talent, but I have some major problems with the plot. Mainly, where the hell is it? The story doesn't just move at a slow pace, it appears to go in incredibly tiring loops. It starts of with Johnny Boy (a solid Robert DeNiro) owing a whole bunch of crooks money, which is a pretty riveting starting point. What does he do about it? What do the crooks do about it? Nothing, and that goes on for two hours. The whole movie appears to be Harvey Keitel endlessly saying he has to pay his debts, to which he refuses, to which he asks it again half an hour later, to which he like, makes up an excuse and goes to the movies, and all of it feels so redundant. The movie finally gets to the point in the end, but that doesn't really save it. It shows the sadness of the bad neighbourhoods in New York wonderfully, but that's really all I can say about it.