Mean Streets
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| Mean Streets | |
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| Directed by | Martin Scorsese |
| Produced by | Martin Scorsese Jonathan T. Taplin |
| Written by | Martin Scorsese Mardik Martin |
| Starring | Harvey Keitel Robert De Niro Amy Robinson David Proval Richard Romanus Cesare Danova |
| Cinematography | Kent L. Wakefield |
| Editing by | Sidney Levin |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | October 2, 1973 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Country | USA  |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$500,000 (est.) |
| IMDb profile | |
Mean Streets (1973) is an early Martin Scorsese film starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.
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[edit] Plot
Charlie (Keitel) is an Italian-American man who is trying to move up in the local mob and who is hampered by his feeling of responsibility towards his childish yet destructive friend Johnny Boy (De Niro). Charlie works for his uncle (who is the local mob boss), mostly collecting debts. He is also having a hidden affair with Johnny Boy's cousin, Teresa, who has epilepsy and is ostracized because of her condition - especially by Charlie's uncle. A major figure in the plot is the conflict between Charlie's devout Catholicism and his Mafia ambitions. As the film progresses, Johnny becomes increasingly self-destructive and disrespects his creditors more and more. Unable to feel redeemed by his actions in church, Charlie finds redemption through self-sacrifice on Johnny's behalf, long after it ceases to be reasonable or deserved.
[edit] Production
Aside from his student film project Who's That Knocking at My Door and Boxcar Bertha, a directing project given him by early independent maverick Roger Corman, this was Scorsese's first feature film of his own design. Director John Cassavetes told him after he completed Boxcar Bertha, to make films he wanted to make, about things he knew. Mean Streets was based on actual events Scorsese saw almost regularly while growing up in Little Italy.
The screenplay for the movie initially began as a continuation of the characters in Who's That Knocking. Scorsese changed the title from Season of the Witch to Mean Streets, a reference to Raymond Chandler's essay "The Simple Art of Murder," where he writes, "But down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid." Scorsese sent the script to Corman, who agreed to back the film if all the characters were black. Scorsese was anxious to make the film so he considered this option, but actress Verna Bloom arranged a meeting with potential financial backer, Jonathan Taplin, who was the road manager for the musical group, The Band. Taplin liked the script and was willing to raise the $300,000 budget that Scorsese wanted if Corman promised, in writing, to distribute the film.
According to Scorsese, the first draft of Mean Streets focused on the religious conflict within Charlie and how it affected his worldview. Along with fellow writer Mardik Martin, Scorsese wrote the whole script while driving around "Little Italy" in Martin's car. They would find a spot in the neighborhood to park and begin writing, all the while immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of what would eventually appear on-screen.
Once the financing was in place, Scorsese began to recruit his cast. De Niro had met the director in 1972 and liked what he had seen in Who's That Knocking. De Niro was impressed with how the film had so accurately captured life in "Little Italy" where he had also grown up. Scorsese offered the actor four different roles, but he could not decide which one he wanted to portray. After another actor dropped out of the project, Scorsese cast Keitel in the pivotal role of Charlie. Keitel was also responsible for convincing De Niro to play Johnny Boy.
[edit] Soundtrack
The movie features a memorable 60s soundtrack including two songs by The Rolling Stones but complemented, as in many of his subsequent films, by operatic arias and music from varying genre. De Niro won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as John "Johnny Boy" Civello. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
