Opening

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—— Alyce Kills May 24

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Coming Soon

—— After Earth May 31
—— Now You See Me May 31
100% The Kings of Summer May 31
89% The East May 31

Mean Streets (1973)

tomatometer

98

Average Rating: 8.9/10
Reviews Counted: 50
Fresh: 49 | Rotten: 1

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.

100

Average Rating: 8.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 0

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.

audience

82

liked it
Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 51,336

My Rating

Movie Info

"You don't make up for your sins in church; you do it in the streets; you do it at home. The rest is bulls--t, and you know it." Returning to the autobiographical milieu of his 1968 debut Who's That Knocking at My Door? for his third feature, Martin Scorsese examined the daily struggles of a wannabe hood to keep his morals straight on the streets of Little Italy. Driven equally by his wish to become a respectable gangster like his uncle (Cesare Danova) and his desire to live his life like St.

R,

Drama, Classics

Martin Scorsese

Aug 17, 2004

Warner Bros.

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Cast

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All Critics (50) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (2) | DVD (25)

The acting and editing have such an original, tumultuous force that the picture is completely gripping.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Scorsese is exceptionally good at guiding his largely unknown cast to near-flawless recreations of types. Outstanding in this regard is De Niro.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety
Variety
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One of the best American films of the decade.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out
Time Out
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No matter how bleak the milieu, no matter how heartbreaking the narrative, some films are so thoroughly, beautifully realized they have a kind of tonic effect that has no relation to the subject matter.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times
New York Times
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Its greatness lies in its leanness, with nary a word, a move, a gesture that's nonessential.

February 14, 2001 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

In countless ways, right down to the detail of modern TV crime shows, Mean Streets is one of the source points of modern movies.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This marriage of indelible imagery with electric, seemingly incongruous pop songs wouldn't be bettered until, well, the next time Scorsese decided to do it.

April 16, 2013 Full Review Source: Quickflix
Quickflix

Scorsese exalts cinema as the mediator of reality, memory and reverie, the demonic art that enthralls the church boy

March 3, 2013 Full Review Source: CinePassion
CinePassion

Features an attention-grabbing performance by Robert De Niro, but I maintain that Harvey Keitel's excellent central performance has always been critically undervalued.

August 8, 2012 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | Comment (1)
Creative Loafing

Sometimes a classic film gets a grand reception on home video, and sometimes it has to sneak out by the fire escape; Warner's meager platter for Mean Streets is a bit more like the latter, but it gets a pass for a decent HD transfer.

July 19, 2012 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine

Authentic in feel and immensely personal in subject matter, Mean Streets marked the arrival of one Martin Scorsese and his unique brand of urban filmmaking.

March 9, 2011 Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews
Matt's Movie Reviews

showcases Scorsese's artistic strengths and weaknesses as they stood at the outset of his career

August 20, 2010 Full Review Source: Cinema Writer
Cinema Writer

"Mean Streets" is more than a rambunctious time capsule of Italian American experience, it is groundbreaking film that announces the career of a truly original voice in world cinema.

May 9, 2010 Full Review Source: Daily Radar
Daily Radar

Passionate, energetic, stylistically inventive and personally driven, it is the first mature, full blooded "Martin Scorsese Film."

June 20, 2009 Full Review Source: Turner Classic Movies Online
Turner Classic Movies Online

Martin Scorsese's first great American crime story

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile
Urban Cinefile

Terrific. Top shelf talent at the top of their game, working immediately before they would change Hollywood.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine
Empire Magazine

"Mean Streets" is more than a rambunctious time capsule of Italian American experience, it is groundbreaking film that announces the career of a truly original voice in world cinema.

June 14, 2008 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com
ColeSmithey.com

[I] commend it without reservation.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Observer [UK]
Observer [UK]

The movie's blazing energy is still astounding; the vérité street-scenes are terrific and Scorsese's pioneering use of popular music is genuinely thrilling.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK]
Guardian [UK]

A tight, intense masterpiece from Scorsese, writing collaborator Mardik Martin and the iconic stars.

March 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4
Film4

Exploring male camaraderie and street violence in a humorous, spontaneous, and nonjudgmental way, Mean Streets (Scorsese's third film) is arguably the most influential film of the 1970s.

February 21, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com
EmanuelLevy.Com

A modern masterpiece where the setting is the star, even among a cast that is highlighted by Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.

August 8, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Views

The film feels authentic, the characters are true, the situation hopeless

June 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Cinemania

Audience Reviews for Mean Streets

For one of Scorcese's first, its one of his finest. The acting was great and the cinematography was raw. There is a certain feel that most Scorcese dramas have where the mood is never uplifting and the ending is uncertain. This is one of those Scorcese films.
October 20, 2012
paul o.
paul oh

Super Reviewer

Scorsese shows us early in his career that he is someone you can count on. Exellent begin of a awesome future. Very solid movie. A lot of very good performances. But Harvey Keitel is just wonderful.
November 29, 2011
TheGame90
Martin Sahlin

Super Reviewer

    1. Johnny Boy: I fuck you right where you breath, because I don't give two shits about you or nobody else.
    – Submitted by Adam O (4 months ago)
    1. Giovanni: Honorable men go with honorable men.
    – Submitted by Floyd H (8 months ago)
    1. Johnny Boy: I fuck you right where you breath...
    – Submitted by Floyd H (8 months ago)
    1. Charlie: I guess you could safely say that things haven't gone so well tonight. But I'm tryin' Lord, I'm tryin'.
    – Submitted by Kia M (8 months ago)
    1. Charlie: [voice-over] The pain in hell has two sides: the kind you can touch with your hand, the kind you can feel in your heart; your soul, the spiritual side. And ya know, the worst of the two is the spiritual.
    – Submitted by Kia M (8 months ago)
    1. Charlie: Lord, I'm not worthy to eat your flesh, not worthy to drink your blood.
    – Submitted by Kia M (8 months ago)

Discussion Forum

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Foreign Titles

  • Mean Streets - Hexenkessel (DE)
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