Review of Mean Streets (1973) by Henry L — 13 Jun 2012
Like Steven Spielberg with Duel, you definitely could tell we had a great director on the horizon and Scorsese was developing a distinct and original style of filmmaking. Key word: developing. It wasn't quite there yet.
But you could tell that Scorsese was familiar with this environment the film portrayed and handled it well; the realism, the performances (especially De Niro's) and the fast paced dialogue are really what make the movie.
Even though the performances are great, some of the characters besides Johnny Boy really aren't that interesting. Harvey Keitel was good as Charlie, but Charlie wasn't really that interesting, and some of the scenes in the film, although highly naturalistic, were not always that interesting.
Cinematographically, the film succeeded well, giving the film a documentary feel that also made The French Connection succeed. If I was living in 1973, I couldn't have waited to see what else Scorsese was going to come out with next.
This review of Mean Streets (1973) was written by Henry L on 13 Jun 2012.
Mean Streets has generally received very positive reviews.
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