Audience Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Binding: DVD
EAN: 5050582243437
Format: PAL, Special Edition
Label: Universal Pictures UK
Languages: EnglishOriginal Language
Manufacturer: Universal Pictures UK
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Universal Pictures UK
Region Code: 2
Release Date: April 18, 2005
Running Time: 103 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures UK
Theatrical Release Date: 1973

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
After Martin Scorsese went to Hollywood in 1972 to direct the low-budget Boxcar Bertha for B-movie mogul Roger Corman, the young director showed the film to maverick director John Cassavetes and got an instant earful of urgent advice. "It's crap," said Cassavetes in no uncertain terms, "now go out and make something that comes from your heart." Scorsese took the advice and focused his energy on Mean Streets, a riveting contemporary film about low-life gangsters in New York's Little Italy that critic Pauline Kael would later call "a true original, and a triumph of personal filmmaking." Starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel in roles that announced their talent to the world, it set the stage for Scorsese's emergence as one of the greatest American filmmakers. Introducing themes and character types that Scorsese would return to in Taxi Driver, GoodFellas, Casino, and other films, the loosely structured story is drawn directly from Scorsese's background in the Italian neighbourhoods of New York, and it seethes with the raw vitality of a filmmaker who has found his creative groove. As the irresponsible and reckless Johnny Boy, De Niro offers striking contrast to Keitel's Charlie, who struggles to reconcile gang life with Catholic guilt. More of an episodic portrait than a plot-driven crime story, Mean Streets remains one of Scorsese's most direct and fascinating films--a masterful calling card for a director whose greatness was clearly apparent from that point forward. --Jeff Shannon




Rating: - Low budget movie
This is a low budget classic from Scorsese made in 1973. There is certainly an impressive sense of time and place in this film, and it came as a shock to me to learn that most of it was filmed in Los Angeles. I suppose it is not too much to say that this movie presaged the rock video, in that there is a seemingly constant stream of doo-wap and Italian music on the soundtrack that is inextricably woven with the on-screen action. Like a low-budget, urban Sergio Leone, Scorsese choreographs the music ... Read More

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Rating: - Not for me!
First things first i am a huge Scorsese fan, however this film left me feeling very cold and unfulfilled. The cast is superb and the storyline could have been interesting, however what i found most surprising is that i simply did not care. The characters are disfunctional but this does not endear you to them, in fact it irritated me. I have watched this 3 times and whilst many Mean Streets purists will no doubt say i have to watch this many times to appreciate it, i honestly cannot ever see another ... Read More

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Rating: - A little taste of near perfection
I can understand why some people would dislike mean streets due to it's lack of plot and structure should they have watched the movie only once. It is, however, the same as passing comment on good music after only listening to it once. Impossible to judge, in my opinion.

Scorsese plays heavily on his childhood in content, introducing the audience to his world through the eyes of four local hoods. There is none of the morals of it's contemporary mafia based film, The Godfather... and none ... Read More

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Rating: - Forget it's Scorsese; it's rubbish
I am a big fan of Goodfellas, and some of his other films are OK at best. But this is so terrible I couldn't bring myself to finish watching this amateurish piece.

It is "raw" alright. If "raw" means "not very good", then it is.

Avoid!

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Rating: - "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets."
Orson Welles said that a director's first film was always his best because he would put more into it and hadn't got into bad habits like developing a style yet. Mean Streets may not be Scorsese's first film, but it otherwise bears out Welles' words. Set in New York's Little Italy, Harvey Keitel plays Michael, who exists on the fringes of crime and whose dreams of managing a restaurant his money-lending uncle is about to take over are threatened by his affair with his epileptic cousin (Amy Robinson) and ... Read More

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