Review of Mean Streets (1973) by Kevin J — 15 Apr 2016

43 years after its release, Mean Streets manages to still somehow feel entirely unique and original. Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro are fantastic in this incredibly gritty and realistic look at New York City in the early 1970s.

Featuring Scorsese trademarks all over the place, the storytelling here is vintage Scorsese and that alone sets it apart from other films in the crime genre. The religious debate here and attempts at wholesomeness of the protagonist while also being dragged through the mud by those around him is a truly engrossing struggle that one must figure resembles Scorsese's own turmoil.

The film is incredibly gritty and clearly highly influential in the crime genre, as well as film as a whole. For this, it is nearly impossible to overlook Mean Streets even if I prefer some of his other works, especially those released in the immediate aftermath of this one.

That said, it is a fantastic piece of film that feels brand new even though it has been four decades since it first hit cinemas.