Mean Streets

Play trailer

Mean Streets

R

Released Jan 1, 1973

1h 52m

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

77 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.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

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.

Read Critics Reviews

Colin Bennett

The Age (Australia)

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.

Sep 24, 2024

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Freeze frames, casual violence and conversation are there in service of a story about two apprentice hoodlums...

Feb 1, 2024

Full Review

Kristin M. Jones

Wall Street Journal

For all its raw, exhilarating energy, it’s a film that can always break your heart.

Dec 5, 2023

Full Review

Katie Hogan

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

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.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 22, 2024

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Martin Scorsese made two feature films before this one but Mean Streets would really be the one that placed him on the map.

Rated: 4.5/5

Dec 29, 2023

Full Review

Jeff Beck

The Blu Spot

The film comes up a little short when it comes to its screenplay, which doesn't provide quite enough development for these storylines or characters, ultimately making this early work of the master filmmaker one of his more forgettable efforts.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 20, 2023

Full Review

Read all reviews

Eye C

Well, if Seinfeld is the TV show about nothing, then Mean Streets is the movie about nothing. A group of Italian-American "kids" have a great time at the bar, the movies, at the parties and in the streets of New York, and there's always the bad seed, the good for nothing, here with the face of Robert De Niro, who puts the others and especially the Catholic Charlie, with the face of Harvey Keitel, and that's that, seeing the misadventures of these individuals until the words The End come out. Of the first works of director Martin Scorsese, and it shows, the performances are not the best, I think those who do it best are the main ones, but what is terrible is the editing and the extras, but hey, it's the third one, so it's understood.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

Full Review

Dallas H

There is something unique and special about Scorsese's early films. I like this film, Mean Streets. The casual delivery of the dialogue and interactions between the characters feel real, tangible, and natural.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/25

Full Review

Scorsese's Taint 2

4.5. Excellent film but at no point did the streets show any emotion. Should've recast the sidewalk especially.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/01/24

Full Review

ed m

Good, not great. Unlikable characters. Flat dialogue. Not Scorsce's best.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/02/24

Full Review

Jack G

Definitely the worst of what I've seen from Scorsese. The score was nice, aside from the perennial inundation of Italian music. The characters were not likeable. A bunch of annoying, obnoxious, Italian New Yorkers. I can give credit to the acting but that's all. This film really only receives the praise it does because it's got Scorsese's name to it. It has that early 70's NYC realism to it which is its strength, along with the cinematography, and score.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/20/24

Full Review

Charles K

The movie lacked a story. 20 minutes in, I was still searching for a point. Halfway through, I was still searching for a point. When it ended, all I thought was "what just happened and why did it take two hours". The style was good, the picture was good, and I did like the characters. The story just didn't go anywhere which was a shame. I didn't exactly expect a masterpiece, but I expected a decent movie all around and I guess I somewhat got that.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/12/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Martin Scorsese

Director

Robert De Niro

Johnny Boy Cervello

Harvey Keitel

Charlie

Richard Romanus

Michael

Amy Robinson

Teresa

David Proval

Tony

Superfly

93%

70%

Superfly

Watchlist

Boxcar Bertha

54%

33%

Boxcar Bertha

Watchlist

Black Caesar

64%

63%

Black Caesar

Watchlist

Death Wish

66%

69%

Death Wish

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Death Wish

Busting

17%

53%

Busting

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Know Your Critic: Christina Newland, Film Critic for The i Newspaper

10 Movie Classics the Oscars Ignored

Milla Jovovich’s Five Favorite Films

View more photos

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

Most Popular at Home Now