Director: Martin Scorsese
Writers: Martin Scorsese, Madrik Martin
Starring: Harvey Keitel, Robert De Niro, Amy Robinson, Richard Romanus, David Proval
Year: 1973
Duration: 112 mins
BBFC Certification: 15
It is probably fair to say that Martin Scorsese has never been as revered a filmmaker as he is right now. For an artist in his 80s, more than fifty years into his career, that is quite an impressive feat, helped no doubt by the string of latter day gems that pepper his filmography. From 2013’s darkly hilarious The Wolf of Wall Street and the somber (and severely underrated) brilliance of 2016’s Silence and 2019’s The Irishman, all the way to what sounds like his latter day masterpiece in 2023’s Killers of the Flower Moon, there is no doubt that Scorsese is firing on all cylinders with a passion and skill that filmmakers half his age would kill for.
It therefore seems weirdly appropriate, in this glorious Indian summer of his career, that we should look back at where it all started. Step in Second Sight, who this month are releasing 1973’s Mean Streets. This isn’t Scorsese’s first feature film (that credit goes to 1967’s Who’s That Knocking At my Door) but this is the first film that feels like a Scorsese picture. Both Who’s That Knocking At my Door (and 1972’s Boxcar Bertha) saw Scorsese waiting in the wings. Mean Streets, with it’s focus on New York, crime, faith and guilt, all captured by virtuoso camerawork and scored by a blinding rock soundtrack, is the moment when Scorsese stepped out onto the stage and announced himself. Everyone turned to look and no one has really been able to look away since.
Mean Streets, with its focus on the lower ranking members of organised crime, can easily be seen as an early precursor to Goodfella’s. Yet deep down, Mean Streets is ultimately a film about friendship, detailing the relationships between a group of young men in early 70s New York – and above all, focusing on the strained but loving connection between Harvey Keitel’s conflicted Charlie and Robert De Niro’s wild, unpredictable Johnny Boy.
The film is less overtly plot driven than Scorsese’s later work. In fact, it wouldn’t be wildly off the mark to call it one of the most loose and observational films of his career, where the influence of mentors such as John Cassavetes (particularly 1959’s Shadows) can be most strongly felt. This is not to suggest that Mean Streets offers a meandering or unfocused journey – far from it. The film feels electric from the first frame to the last, where we see a young Scorsese, full to the brim with talent, almost creating a new cinematic language in his eagerness to prove himself. Just watch the moment when Johnny Boy is first introduced, filmed entering a bar in slow motion, scored to the scorching riff from the Stones’ Jumpin’ Jack Flash. Contemporary pop music being used in lieu of a traditional score was still relatively new at the time (1969’s Easy Rider was one of the first to do so) but no one had quite done it like this before, using pop music to create an iconic moment whose power practically reverberated off the screen. Scorsese is still one of the undisputed masters of using popular music to score his films, with perhaps only Danny Boyle and Quentin Tarantino sharing his nuanced grasp of choosing the right song for the right moment to help create cinematic gold.
Yet Mean Streets wasn’t just the launch pad for Scorsese. The film helped to kickstart the career of both Harvey Keitel and a then little known actor called Robert DeNiro. Both excel. Most of the plaudits are typically directed towards DeNiro’s tempestuous Johnny Boy, yet it is Keitel who proves to be the film’s anchor and emotional core. Steadfast and loyal, yet plagued with guilt and doubt, it is a grounded, powerfully emotional performance that deserves far more praise that it usually receives. The same can easily be said for Amy Robinson, who plays Charlie’s girlfriend Teresa and Richard Romanus, the rather hapless crook who is chasing Johnny Boy for money.
Which leads us, of course, onto DeNiro himself. If Mean Streets proved to be the launch for Scorsese’s cinematic career, then it turned out to be even more beneficial for DeNiro, who quickly saw himself catapulted into the stratosphere (his next role, for example, was an Oscar winning turn as a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II). It isn’t hard to see why. His portrayal of Johnny Boy, both a violent loose cannon and a vulnerable, idiotic kid, both repels and draws us in in equal measure; De Niro’s burning charisma allows him to dominate the screen from the second he arrives, matching Scorsese’s ambition and talent behind the camera swing for swing and punch for punch. In this regard, Mean Streets also proved to be the start of something else – one of the most fruitful director/actor partnerships in cinematic history.
More than fifty years after it was first released, Scorsese’s unflinching homage to the neighbourhood and friends of his youth still feels fresh and vital. Far more than a simple a crime film, with its focus on scoring girls, getting into fights, drinking and just hanging about (all scored, of course, to some very good music) it often feels like Scorsese’s very dark take on a teen flick. Mean Streets may not see Scorsese at his most polished or brilliant, yet it does capture him at his most raw and personal; brutal, gritty and stark, the film is an essential addition to his filmography and deserves to be remembered for much more than just the film that helped to launch both his and DeNiro’s career.
Scorsese recently quoted Akira Kurosawa, relating the moment when the legendary Japanese director said, at 83 years old, ‘I’m only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it’s too late.’ Apparently Scorsese, now in his 80s himself, feels the same way. While he may feel that it has taken him up to his eighties to discover what cinema could be, for the rest of us mere mortals, one watch of Second Sight’s stunning new release of Mean Streets makes it clear that he knew about some of those possibilities all way back in 1973.
Film:
Mean Streets is being newly released by Second Sight on 4K UHD and Blu Ray on the 15th January. The film is presented in a new 4K restoration (with Dolby Vision HDR on the 4K) which has been supervised and approved by both Scorsese and his long time editor and collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker. This restoration has been shared by both Second Sight here in the UK and Criterion in the US, where each label has created their own, separate 4K special editions of the film. Lets get the controversy out of the way first. When the Criterion was released late last year, it attracted some negative comments from some corners of the internet regarding the film’s colour timing – with the general consensus being that the new grade was a bit of a dud. Let me reassure you that this couldn’t be further from the case. The new 4K restoration of Mean Streets looks incredible. Clarity and detail are wonderful, while the film’s inky blacks and deep reds are brilliantly bold and rich. The real winner here are the numerous scenes set in Charlie and Johnny Boy’s local bar. Filmed predominantly with swathes of red light, these scenes could quite easily have ended up a murky mess, yet on this new 4K disc they shine. The encode might end up being the real winner here, handling these challenging scenes with aplomb, with not a hint of crushing or pixelisation to be seen. The film only comes with a restored, original mono track, but this shines and punches just as much as the picture, with clear dialogue and the thumping music track handled equally well. While I may not be incredibly familiar with Mean Streets’ original cinematic look, there is still no doubt that this new 4K restoration simply looks and sounds magnificent – its rich, organic and filmic look is a triumph, pure and simple.
A meaty collection of extras are included on the disc:
- New audio commentary by Demetrios Matheou (author of BFI Films Classics Mean Street) and David Thompson (Co-Editor of Scorsese on Scorsese)
- Scene specific audio commentary with Martin Scorsese and Actor Amy Robinson
- Keep Moving Forward: a new interview with Producer Jonathan T Taplin
- Saints and Sinners: Dr Catherine Wheatley on Mean Streets
- 2011 Film at Lincoln Center screening introduction, interview and Q&A with Martin Scorsese
- Mardik: Baghdad to Hollywood feature-length documentary
- Archive featurette: Back on the Block
- Archive featurette: Home Movies
- Trailer
The first commentary, from two Scorsese experts, offers a detailed deep dive into the film’s background, production and influences. Engaging and full of valuable information and analysis, this is definitely worth a listen for those who are interested in how Mean Streets fits into Scorsese’s filmography. The second commentary is from Scorsese himself, along with actor Any Robinson. This is a scene specific commentary that runs for one hour and 15 minutes. Again, it is full of background information from Scorsese about his early career and his influences, alongside reminiscences about the people who helped him at this early stage in his career. Scorsese dominates the lion’s share of the commentary, but Robinson also fills in background details about her early career as well, along with her thoughts on the film. Overall, both commentaries are engaging and essential listens.
Second Sight also provide a new interview with the film’s executive producer, Jonathan T Taplin. Taplin covers a wide range of topics, including the film’s early background and production, how he tried to sell the movie, Pauline Kael’s influence and the film’s reception in Europe (among many others). Taplin is an engaging speaker, which makes this rather lengthy interview a pleasure to watch.
There are two further substantial extras on the disc. The first is a 47 minute interview and Q&A with Scorsese from a screening of Mean Streets in 2011. After a brief 6 minute introduction, Scorsese answers about 20 minutes of questions from the host, discussing shooting in L.A. as well as the music used in the film, before taking a few questions from the audience. As ever when given the opportunity to listen to Scorsese talk, this is definitely worth checking out. Also included is a feature length, 70 minute documentary on the Armenian writer and producer Mardik Martin, a key early collaborator of Scorsese, who not only contributed to Mean Streets but to New York New York and Raging Bull.
The disc is rounded out with a 12 minute video essay from Dr Catherine Wheatley, which examines religion’s influence on Mean Streets, Back on the Block (a short, six minute film from the early 70s, that serves as an EPK – it contains fascinating footage of a young Scorsese walking around with his childhood friends) a collection of Scorsese’s home movies and a trailer.
If you plump for the limited edition, Second Sight also include a 178 page book filled with new essays and 8 art cards, all housed in a rigid slipcase box (I didn’t get to see or read any of these for this review, however).
Disc/Extras:
Overall, this is another superlative release from Second Sight, who have decided to kick of 2024 with style. Boasting a beautiful picture and brimming over with interesting and engaging extras, Mean Streets already feels like a release of the year…and January has barely begun!!
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