Mean Streets (Special Edition) [1973]

See Larger Image	List Price: £17.99 Our Price: £3.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Starring: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel Directed By: Martin Scorsese Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 5050582243437 Format: PAL Label: Universal Pictures UK Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Universal Pictures UK Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2005-04-18 Running Time: 103 Studio: Universal Pictures UK Theatrical Release Date: 1973
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Editorial Reviews: 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 neighbourhoods 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
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Low budget movie Comment: This is a low budget classic from Scorsese made in 1973. There is certainly an impressive sense of time and place in this film, and it came as a shock to me to learn that most of it was filmed in Los Angeles. I suppose it is not too much to say that this movie presaged the rock video, in that there is a seemingly constant stream of doo-wap and Italian music on the soundtrack that is inextricably woven with the on-screen action. Like a low-budget, urban Sergio Leone, Scorsese choreographs the music and the action into something like an opera. There is an intense energy that flows through its frames and occasionally overflows in outbursts of violence that erupt and subside with their own unique rhythm. Even across all these decades, it is clear why film critics at the time (especially New York ones) got excited. 8/10. Customer Rating: Summary: Not for me! Comment: First things first i am a huge Scorsese fan, however this film left me feeling very cold and unfulfilled. The cast is superb and the storyline could have been interesting, however what i found most surprising is that i simply did not care. The characters are disfunctional but this does not endear you to them, in fact it irritated me. I have watched this 3 times and whilst many Mean Streets purists will no doubt say i have to watch this many times to appreciate it, i honestly cannot ever see another occassion when i will by choice ever watch this!! There are very few films i have really not enjoyed but this is certainly one of them. The Departed, Goodfellas, Aviator etc etc are all more watchable than this! Customer Rating: Summary: A little taste of near perfection Comment: I can understand why some people would dislike mean streets due to it's lack of plot and structure should they have watched the movie only once. It is, however, the same as passing comment on good music after only listening to it once. Impossible to judge, in my opinion. Scorsese plays heavily on his childhood in content, introducing the audience to his world through the eyes of four local hoods. There is none of the morals of it's contemporary mafia based film, The Godfather... and none of the thrills and wealth portrayed later by Scorsese in 'Goodfellas'. It is a real world where gun crime is unusual and shocking and violence is sporadic and adrenalin fueled. The cogs that keep the film moving forward are that of Charlie's questionable faith and his desire to prove himself by helping Johnny Boy free himself from a mountain of debt he has built up with Michael, a small time shark. The centre point for the scenario is a bar owned by Tony, and the four players weave in and out of each others lives with tensions getting more serious and a downfall becoming more inevitable as the film progresses. Mean Streets is also improvisational comedy at it's best in parts. The relationship between Charlie and Johnny Boy (and the sheer talent of the two leads) allow much unscripted conversation to flow and it leaves you grinning widely, if not full out laughing. I believe that taste is accountable for most things, and quality comes to a slightly lesser extent. To me, this film has something that I cannot put my finger on that makes it shine brightly. As mentioned before, it demands multiple viewings, but give it a chance... and watch it on the big screen if you're lucky enough to have it shown locally, and you might well discover a film that takes pride of place as your favourite, just as I did. Customer Rating: Summary: Forget it's Scorsese; it's rubbish Comment: I am a big fan of Goodfellas, and some of his other films are OK at best. But this is so terrible I couldn't bring myself to finish watching this amateurish piece. It is "raw" alright. If "raw" means "not very good", then it is. Avoid! Customer Rating: Summary: "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets." Comment: Orson Welles said that a director's first film was always his best because he would put more into it and hadn't got into bad habits like developing a style yet. Mean Streets may not be Scorsese's first film, but it otherwise bears out Welles' words. Set in New York's Little Italy, Harvey Keitel plays Michael, who exists on the fringes of crime and whose dreams of managing a restaurant his money-lending uncle is about to take over are threatened by his affair with his epileptic cousin (Amy Robinson) and his terminally unreliable childhood friend Johnny Boy's pressing debts. As with Goodfellas, it is plot-lite and style heavy, but where in the latter the style dominated, here it has a rough-cut and ready-dubbed feel that energises the film and accurately reflects the precarious state of the characters, be it financial, mental or moral. All the trademarks are here - the tracking shots down bars, the sudden explosions of violence, a popular music soundtrack that exists as much within the film as over it, the concern with incompatibility of religion with everyday life - but here they are fresh and integral to the film rather than carefully stage-managed. If De Niro's unstable Johnny Boy now looks a bit too much like barnstorming with many of the tricks he has since pretty much worn out through over-use, Keitel's diplomatic lead and the astonishingly natural performances from the supporting cast are the real glue that holds the film together and convince us we are eavesdropping on real lives. Filled with astonishing moments Mean Streets remains one of the few key American films of the early Seventies that still grabs your undivided attention with none of its original power diluted by time and imitation. More Reviews