Synopsis
You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets...
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
1973 Directed by Martin Scorsese
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
Robert De Niro Harvey Keitel David Proval Amy Robinson Richard Romanus Cesare Danova Victor Argo George Memmoli Lenny Scaletta Jeannie Bell Murray Moston David Carradine Robert Carradine Lois Walden Harry Northup Dino Seragusa D'Mitch Davis Peter Fain Juli Andelman Robert Wilder Ken Sinclair Jaime Alba Ken Konstantin Nicki "Ack" Aquilino B. Mitchell Reed Martin Scorsese Catherine Scorsese
Ulice nędzy, Hexenkessel, Mizerné ulice, 비열한 거리, Pis Küçələr, Arka Sokaklar, Mean Streets - Domenica in chiesa, lunedì all'inferno, Os Cavaleiros do Asfalto, Злые улицы, Malas calles, 穷街陋巷, Gaden Uden Nåde, Špinavé ulice, Aljas utcák, רחובות זועמים, Caminhos Perigosos, ミーン・ストリート, Жестоки улици, Bjaurios gatvės, Calles Peligrosas, Sudenpesä, Crimele din Mica Italie, Κακόφημοι Δρόμοι, Злі вулиці, Dödspolarna, มาเฟียดงระห่ำ
i'm gonna be calling all them dumb bitches who don't like scorsese's films a mook from now on
96/100
This was my first Scorsese joint, and for many years after that knockout viewing on Late-Night TV, it was my personal favorite film of his. It has a reckless, dangerous, and innocent energy that dances through every image, but the eventual tragedy is birthed from the discovery of harsh realities.
It was, and still is, an incredibly sensual work. Every location, from dive bars to pool halls, is lit with the same evocative sense of boyish clumsiness and the furious snap of touchy emotion. Fights and arguments explode without warning or tension. All of a sudden, everyone is punching and kicking, screaming with youthful rage.
By the end, the film is so overwhelming in its singular feistiness that it seems like the world surrounding its characters will collapse. Too bad the only recognition they receive is the sight of drawn curtains in the dead of night.
Happy birthday Marty.
96
(35mm)
"Honorable men go with honorable men."
You've never seen the color red until you've seen Mean Streets on celluloid.
How does Martin Scorsese direct a scene? Beyond the soundtracks, the masculinity, the classic film references, the Catholicism, the violence, the misogyny, and all the what-not critics like to talk about when they don't talk about a movie, what does Scorsese do when he frames a shot?
Charlie sits down after dancing with the stripper, and Michael sits down next to him. Scorsese has an obvious set up between the actors and the camera—they're both staring out toward the camera, Michael sitting slightly in front so he can look back. The scene basically cuts between three shots, one larger exterior shot of both men, and single medium close-ups of each individual. As the two men talk, the shot-reverse shot doesn't…
Something funny happened to me while watching this film tonight, for the first time and on 35mm. Perhaps it’s a little naive of me and shows how young I am as a film viewer still, but anyway.
During the scene when Charlie (Keitel) and Johnny Boy (De Niro) are walking outside early in the morning and getting into a playful fight with bin lids, I thought once again of how the French New Wave influence is all over this film, from the fast cuts to the light existential crisis at its center. As Truffaut and Godard had understood a few years prior, that lively editing is a direct result of and a vehicle for the expression of this existentialism: life…
Watched it again because I love it. Two things jumped out this time:
1: For how often Scorsese uses violence he really goes out of his way not to romanticize it. This movie especially captures what a fight really truly feels like: sometimes two but usually just one guy who’s a fucking lunatic just going apeshit and basically everybody else is trying to get away from each other.
2: DeNiro looks like he’s in Oasis lol
"I guess you could safely say that things haven't gone so well tonight, but I'm tryin' lord, I'm tryin'."
Sin and punishment. As feverish and anguished a depiction of one's own childhood friendships & city block as has ever been put to film. Keep an eye on this young Marty guy, he's got the juice.