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Mean Streets

Play trailer Poster for Mean Streets R 1973 1h 52m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 78 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
A slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. A small-time hood gets in over his head with a vicious loan shark. In an attempt to free himself from the dangers of his debt, he gets help from a friend who is also involved in criminal activities.
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Mean Streets

Mean Streets

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Critics Consensus

Mean Streets is a powerful tale of urban sin and guilt that marks Scorsese's arrival as an important cinematic voice and features electrifying performances from Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.

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Critics Reviews

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Colin Bennett The Age (Australia) 09/24/2024
Despite vivid playing by Robert De Niro as the wildest and most self-destructive of them, relationships are not developed very far. Violence finally swamps them -- a brutal slaying which tries to elevate banal characters to some kind of heroic status. Go to Full Review
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) 02/01/2024
Freeze frames, casual violence and conversation are there in service of a story about two apprentice hoodlums... Go to Full Review
Kristin M. Jones Wall Street Journal 12/05/2023
For all its raw, exhilarating energy, it’s a film that can always break your heart. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 29
3.5/4
It was this picture that allowed Martin Scorsese to position himself as one of the most notable of the exciting new directors making their mark on Hollywood during the explosive ’70s. Go to Full Review
Wael Khairy The Cinephile Fix Mar 10
Mean Streets opens a window to the indoor activities of gangsters. Scorsese uses pool halls, restaurants, bars, and clubs as the backdrop and as with most of his films, the external environment has an internal effect on our protagonist. Go to Full Review
Katie Hogan FILMHOUNDS Magazine 01/22/2024
3/5
The violence is frequent and inconsistent, just like the plot direction, but there are decent performances within the film. Scorsese had a decent start to his career, this being his third film, and he only continued to develop his work for the better. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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rex w 2d I first saw "Mean Streets" way back in 1973. I was 17 years old. I loved it. It was Martin Scorsese on training wheel. You can see vividly the director he would become. The same can also be said for Robert DeNiro. His self-destructive personality is never fully explained, but he is the film's most interesting character, even though he plays a supporting role. See more Ron P Nov 30 Essential Scorsese. I love this film. Goddard's Breathless feel, but NYC in the early 70's. It's punk. The movie is quick and chaotic. The characters are wild fledging gangsters. Scorsese is developing his style, and longtime acting group. It's beautiful to witness his emerging genius. If you love film as an art form, or love Scorsese's later (and more mature) films, you will love this movie! See more Jack F @MovieFan111 Nov 17 Definitely not my favorite. I found it uneven. I think it should be 16 or 17+ on CSM, not 18+. See more Maksim S Nov 2 The Pulp Fiction of the ’70s, Mean Streets is Martin Scorsese at his rawest, a gritty portrait of small-time hustlers navigating the brutal, everyday realities of New York’s criminal underworld. Unlike Goodfellas, which luxuriates in the glamour and myth of mob life, this film revels in intimacy, tension, and the moral ambiguity of life on the margins. Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro deliver magnetic performances, their characters caught between loyalty, ambition, and survival. Every alley, bar, and backroom feels lived-in, the violence understated but always looming, and the stakes feel immediate and authentic. If Pulp Fiction gave us stylish, pop-culture-infused crime, Mean Streets shows us the raw, unvarnished edge of crime — smaller in scope, but infinitely more visceral and morally complex. A foundational piece of Scorsese’s oeuvre, gritty, compelling, and unforgettable. See more Rami A Aug 15 Aside from his use of POV shots, Scorsese is a very character-driven storyteller, filmmaker, and director. Something about the characters makes this picture fascinating. In fact, it doesn't feel like you're watching a movie; It feels like you're watching something you'd see on the street. You don’t watch Mean Streets for the story. You watch it because Scorsese makes these people so real, you feel like you could run into them on your block. See more Apr 10 Nice historical piece showing the origins of the director's style. Scenes and dialogue sometime feel random and unimportant (like: what did I just watch and why?). An interesting first stepping stone in the dark world of American thugs living in the 70s. See more Read all reviews
Mean Streets

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Movie Info

Synopsis A slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. A small-time hood gets in over his head with a vicious loan shark. In an attempt to free himself from the dangers of his debt, he gets help from a friend who is also involved in criminal activities.
Director
Martin Scorsese
Producer
Jonathan T. Taplin
Screenwriter
Martin Scorsese, Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Taplin - Perry - Scorsese Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1973, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$32.6K
Runtime
1h 52m
Sound Mix
Mono
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