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

A very young Robert Carradine played an assassin who shot a man several times to death in a bar. The victim was played by David Carradine, Robert's older brother.

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Goofs

When Charlie is in the back seat of Michael's car (after the bar shooting scene), his audio is slightly off.

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Quotes

Johnny Boy: Hey, why don't you lower the jukebox, I can't hear nothin'.
Joey 'Clams' Scala: Hey, the girls like the music loud.
Johnny Boy: Girls. You call those skanks girls?
Joey 'Clams' Scala: [to Charlie] Hey, what's a matter with this kid, huh?
Johnny Boy: Hey, there ain't nothin' wrong with me my friend, I'm feelin' fine.
Charlie: Keep your mouth shut.
Johnny Boy: You tell me that in front of this asshole?
Joey 'Clams' Scala: Alright, alright, we're not gonna pay. We're not paying.
Jimmy: But why? Joey, we just said we were gonna have a drink.
Joey 'Clams' Scala: [Joey interupts] We're not payin', because this guy, this guy's a ...
[...]

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Alternate Versions

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

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Connections

Referenced in Beavis and Butt-Head: Plate Frisbee (1993)

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Soundtracks

Ship of Love
By The Nutmegs
Courtesy of HERALD Records

User Reviews

Robert deNiro makes one heckuva entrance here.

How can you endlessly watch a total screw-up borrow from the mob, annoy the only friend he has, and basically wreck his life without wanting to run away from it all? When the screw-up is played by young Robert DeNiro you are fascinated, you don't want to turn away. MEAN STREETS was not the debut of both Martin Scorcese or his stars Harvey Kietel and Robert deNiro. They struggled in the field for some time. This is the film that told the world, new head-honchos have arrived on the screen! MEAN STREETS tells of low-rent street hoods in Little Italy. Harvey Kietel plays the one hood whose a voice of reason, who doesn't mess up all the time, who is smart enough to avoid trouble. When DeNiro's Johnny Boy is first seen here, he is playing infantile tricks, and is telling his friend how he can't go in half the stores around him because he owes everybody money. Martin Scorcese uses a gritty documentary-shooting style to unfold his movie. It remains probably the best film of 1973 (But 1973 was not one of the best years for movies.)