Camerawork in the pool table fight scene= gold.

It took me a disgustingly long time to get around to watching the film that sparked one of cinema’s greatest actor/director partnerships. Robert De Niro’s unique performance in an unexpected role is arguably his best under Scorsese. From its lucid narrative, overt colour palette and jump cuts, Mean Streets has the raw feel of a director yet to find his feet and establish his personal style – and for this reason it doesn’t quite match the grandeur of Taxi Driver, Raging Bull or Goodfellas – but it is one hell of a film.

If you want to see the film that not only put Martin Scorsese on the map but pushed Robert De Niro closer into stardom (after seeing this, Francis Coppola wanted De Niro in The Godfather), this is a must see. An early masterpiece from a guy who grew into a master filmmaker.

Nothing like watching a 70's movie about Italians in NY while Eatin speghetti on a Sunday

Raw, intense, engaging - one of the greatest movies of all time.

Camerawork in the pool table fight scene= gold.

Each and every time I watch Mean Streets, it inches closer and closer to becoming my favorite of Scorsese's films. All of his gangster movies, and most of his movies in general, are about capturing a certain zeitgeist and Mean Streets does so better than any of his later works. Great soundtrack, tremendous performances, and some stellar camerawork.

A rough-around-the-edges example of early Martin Scorcese. It isn't Goodfellas but it points that way, with De Niro and Keitel proving to be cinematic dynamite when together.

People need to make more movies with this much red in them.

Definitely not a masterpiece in my eyes, but the style and the main actors (and David Carradine as the drunk in the bar) were great. Other than some great performances, there wasn't a lot for me here. I guess I was waiting for more to happen and not much came. It was just Keitel and De Niro being good pals, then yelling and slapping each other around, and then making up and getting drunk and fighting people in a bar, and then doing it three or four more times, with some Catholic imagery throughout. I didn't really like how the music was used in the film either, there wasn't much breathing-room between the songs, it was just back-to-back 60s hits and there didn't seem to be much relevance or consideration put into it.

Robert De Niro gives yet another incredible performance under the directorial helm of Scorsese. As one of his earlier films and his first starring De Niro, Mean Streets feels very raw but that's probably what's so great about it at the same time. It's a film that undeniably put them both on the map, and after seeing their later films together you can really see how far they've come, so it's great to see the earlier days of them working together.

The music and camera work are fantastic, and Scorsese also balances the humour with the much darker side of this crime drama well. It wasn't as easy to invest in any of the characters as with his other films, though, but it's a great effort all around and a film that has to be appreciated for being the start of a great partnership alone.

A raw force of energy, this remains Scorsese's deepest examination of the psychology behind organized crime.