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.

Full Review | Sep 24, 2024

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

Full Review | Feb 1, 2024

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 22, 2024

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

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 29, 2023

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

Full Review | Dec 5, 2023

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.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 20, 2023

From the rock ’n’ roll needle drops that send the narrative into another gear to the street-level story that feels pulled from the guts, "Mean Streets" put forward a bold new template for cinematic storytelling.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Nov 16, 2023

Harvey Keitel is clearly Scorsese’s protagonist -- as well as his on-screen surrogate. But as good as he is, the movie gets stolen by De Niro’s wild and crazy Johnny Boy.

Full Review | Original Score: A | Oct 10, 2023

“Means Streets” is a film that’s proud of the fact that its edges are rough, and one can’t help but respect the confidence.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 22, 2023

Mean Streets is a true original of our period, a triumph of personal filmmaking.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2023

There isn’t much of a story, instead resorting to the lens simply loitering around the minimal enterprises of an Italian hood and his connections.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Aug 9, 2023

Even with the stumbles, it's an exercise in style as Scorsese demonstrates his early technical prowess to narrate, with pulse and discretion, what happens on the dangerous streets of New York City's Little Italy. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 18, 2023

[It] remains arguably Martin Scorcese’s greatest film.

Full Review | Jan 3, 2023

There is much to admire about Mean Streets, a film that admirably reflects the adjective in its title and that shows a fine talent in director Martin Scorsese.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2022

For all the violence of the streets, this is less a crime film than a character piece, a love letter to the streets of New York's Little Italy and the young men rattling around like tough guys and fantasizing about becoming the real thing.

Full Review | Mar 19, 2022

In Caravaggio and Scorsese's art, the silent actions of male and female characters speak louder than words. We dont need to hear Holofernes scream to understand what Judith has taken.

Full Review | Feb 18, 2022

Mean Streets has its flaws, mainly in certain moments of inconsistency, but it also exhibits extraordinary daring; it surely ranks as the most original American film of the year.

Full Review | Oct 8, 2021

It's far from being my favorite Scorsese film, but it marks the beginning of several aspects of his cinema that would change the world of movies forever. De Niro is explosive. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 30, 2021

Mean Streets is the movie that set [Scorsese] on course as one of cinema's great tellers of crime stories.

Full Review | Aug 11, 2021

...benefits substantially from its stylish visuals and engrossing performances...

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 27, 2021