Mean Streets

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Mean Streets

R

Released Jan 1, 1973

1h 52m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

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77 Reviews

84%

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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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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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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

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

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

Feb 1, 2024

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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ed m

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

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/02/24

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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

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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

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Alexsander F

Para um filme de estreia é um bom filme, com bastante camera na mão e ideia na cabeça, mas é um filme bem fora da caixinha, recomendo só a quem é fã do Scorcese mesmo a vê-lo.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

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Luca D

Visually and audibly pleasing at best. The story has lots of dead ends and really is not interesting at all. Fun to watch but just a bunch of characters yelling, fighting, and not really developing. Would not recommend watching if you think it's going to be a masterpiece. It's more of a entry into the playing field for Scorsese. Clearly not a very developed story. More just a showcase of style. Besides that the acting and cinematography is really good. Just lacks a story which had me irked the whole time watching.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/10/23

Full Review

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Martin Scorsese

Director

Robert De Niro

Johnny Boy Cervello

Harvey Keitel

Charlie

Richard Romanus

Michael

Amy Robinson

Teresa

David Proval

Tony

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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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