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 |
| Narrated by | Martin Scorsese |
| Starring | Harvey Keitel Robert De Niro David Proval Amy Robinson 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, Italian |
| Budget | US$500,000 (est.) |
| IMDb profile | |
Mean Streets (1973) is an early Martin Scorsese film starring Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel. De Niro won the National Society of Film Critics award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as John "Johnny Boy" Civello.
In 1997, Mean Streets was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
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[edit] Plot
Charlie (Keitel) is an Italian-American man who is trying to move up in the local mafia and who is hampered by his feeling of responsibility towards his childish and destructive friend Johnny Boy (De Niro). Charlie works for his uncle Giovanni (who is the local mafia caporegime), 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, and sounds 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 at My Door. De Niro was impressed with how the film had so accurately captured life in Little Italy, De Niro had grown up in a similar area, Hell's Kitchen. 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 Harvey Keitel in the pivotal role of Charlie. Keitel was also responsible for convincing De Niro to play Johnny Boy.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Both David Carradine and his brother Robert Carradine appear in this film as Drunk and Drunks Killer.
- Robert De Niro claimed he used big pauses between his lines while in close up, so none of his lines can be cut from the film.
- Martin Scorsese appears uncredited as "Jimmy Shorts", the gunman who shoots Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.
- All exterior shots of the film were shot in New York City. All interior shots were shot on soundstages in Los Angeles.
