Rating: 
Summary: Definitive
Review: Personally, this is better then both Taxi Driver and Goodfellas, while it is a little weaker then Raging Bull. Nevertheless, it is a masterfully done movie, with true strokes of genius hidden in every word of the dialogue. Keitel is perfect as the man seeking redemption and penitence, while De Niro is equally brilliant as the punk kid, that Keitel loves so much. Scorsese has done a fabulous movie, and its mark on the audience is proved with similiar movies like Snatch. This is one of Scorsese, Keitel and De Niro's first movies, and it has defined the sort of atmosphere the master director caught in his other movies. This is truly awesome stuff, and heartfully recommended. Not an epic ganster movie like the Godfather, but rousing nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious when drunk
Review: This had to be one of the worst films I have ever seen. Just because it had big names, didn't make it good. I do have to say however that when hammered, this film is one of the funniest I have ever seen. I mean, it takes a pair to check your pants at a coat check. I only recommend this film to the heavily innebriated.
Rating:
Summary: "Who 's a Mook?"
Review: "Who's a mook?" You are, if you have never seen _Mean Streets._ This is where it all started for our boys Marty ,Bobby and Harvey. In addition this film contains some of the best use of Rock and Rollmusic ever to come out of Hollywood The only drawback of these_Mean Street_ is you might walk around talking like a guy from the neighborhood for a few days after viewing it . " Heey " Whaat's wrong with that?"
Rating:
Summary: One Mean Movie
Review: Mean Streets is the movie that broke out the careers of director Martin Scorcese and Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro. The film set the mold for the directorial style that Mr. Scorcese would follow the rest of his career; including the goodfella plotline and heavy doses of doo wop music, early 60's rock & r&b. The story centers around Charlie, who is a low level mobster. He doesn't have alot of rank and privilege, but the guys in the neighborhood always seem to come to them with their problems. Charlie is quite religious and despite his shady career, he is a nice guy. He keeps his relationship with his epileptic girlfriend Theresa a secret and he is constantly putting out fires started by her cousin and his best friend Johnny-Boy. Johnny is a loose cannon who in debt big time to a local loan shark. The movie ends in a rush of gunfire and crashing cars. Mr. Scorcese does a magnificent job of conveying the day-to-day life of guys in Little Italy. The film has a definite personal touch and you can image that these were the guys he knew from his neighborhood. Mr. Keitel is Charlie and he does a great job of portraying him as a man with all the weight of the world on his shoulders. Even though Mr. Keitel has the lead role and is in just about every scene, the real star of the film is Mr. DeNiro as Johnny-Boy. He explodes off the screen with a fiery, over the top performance. The movie showed that he would be an actor to be reckoned with and Mr. Scorcese would be a directorial force.
Rating:
Summary: The breakthrough
Review: Scorsese once said that all his movies are about sin and redemption, but none is more than this one. "You don't make up for your sins in the church. You do it in the streets!". This is somehow the message of almost all of his movies. Keitel plays Charlie, who is keen to do the right thing by God and by himself. He keeps asking for a sign which is delivered to him in the shape of Johnny Boy ( Bobby de Niro ), a loser, an irresponsible gambler that believes that the people that surround him owe him a living. He is going to be the cross that Charlie will have to bear. Even the neighbourhood godfather has washed his hands of him. He keeps telling Charlie, his nephew, to cut the ties with this loser, but Charlie is torn between the loyalty to his friend and fealty to his family. But Johnny Boy manages to make life even more difficult by refusing to pay off a local loan shark and then rebuffing Charlie's attempts to mediate. Charlie and his girlfriend Teresa decide to smuggle Johnny out of the neighbourhood, but they're pursued by the loan shark's gunmen who hand out a vicious lesson in the final bloody confrontation. Both de Niro and Keitel give absolutely electrifying performances, especially de Niro who is simply explosive right on the first appearance in the movie when he drops a bomb into a mailbox and than runs away exhilarated by what he has just done. This is an important movie in the cinema history: it brought a new filming technique, a young director who'd later establish himself as one of the greatest of the last thirty years, and it was the first milestone in young de Niro's career ( "Bang the drum slowly" was not much known at the time and is yet less known nowadays ): the man was a firework waiting to go off! And what maybe matters the most - the movie has laid the groundwork for the most important creative relationship between an actor and a director in the history of the cinema. Scorsese had found his artistical twin, the actor who most mirrored and complemented his own sensibilities. On the other hand de Niro had found a director whose sense of commitement and intensity of purpose matched his own. "Mean streets" begun a string of films that would virtually define the benchmark against which the american cinema would be judged for the next decades!
Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Scorcese film foreshaddows an illustrious career
Review: First off, I should say that this film is most enjoyable to watch. You really get a sense of what NY streets are all about. There is no intricate story here, however,the charactor development is exceptional. The viewer gets to know Tony (David Provol), Harvey Keitel and Deniro's (Johnny Boy)charactors. There is an underlying message of loyalty and friendship in the midst of a daily life struggle to make a buck. Scamming some teenagers out of $20.00 seems to be a highlight to a full day of running numbers and collecting on debts. There is a simplicity in this lifestyle that illustrates the precise mind set that these charactors have. There are shots in this film that certainly layed the groundwork for Goodfellas and Taxi Driver. Scorcese went on to make Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore just to escape a stereotype image of making hard core films. Thank someone for Scorcese's urge to get back to what he does best. If Mean Streets was a training ground for making films that would become many peoples top 10 fav's than it must be a film making blueprint that should not go under rated. By the way, I did notice some distortion in some of the audio tracks; like Be my Baby the film opener. Otherwise, the transfer is excellent; better than you would expect. In the scene where Keitel and Amy Robinson are walking down the hall way, there is some film dropout that is noticeable. Scorcese went to great lengths to remaster this film and re-released in theaters two years ago for a limited run. As DVD viewers we get to benefit from those efforts. This is a DVD worth owning, no question about it.
Rating:
Summary: Mean Streets-American cinema at its best
Review: Mean Streets is notable because it marks the first collaboration between director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro but it's worth watching for many reasons.There is no comparable movie that- on an obvious shoestring budget- conveys such power, intensity and vision to its audience. This movie dazzles with its technical virtuosity and its incredible heart. This movie is REAL, in that it conveys the director's singular vision with such clarity and passion that you find yourself being sucked into this grimy world of hoodlums and hangers-on from the very first scene. Mean Streets keeps you on the edge: the violence hits you with the impact of a closed fist and the gritty dialogue bounces through your mind long after the credits have rolled. On a side note, the use of music in this movie is the best I've ever seen or heard. It doesn't seem added-on or give you the impression of music video in the middle of the movie. It's central to the film and its adds power to the images and grace to the characters. If the sound of 'Be my baby' floating over the opening credits doesn't grip you, nothing will. Mean Streets is a movie of exceptional intenisty and impact. It may not be Scorsese's best but it is one of his seminal works and the closest he has come to making an 'auteur' film. It's a must for any fan of great movie-making
Rating:
Summary: A Classic of Modern Cinema
Review: This is the real deal. Scorsese, De Niro, Keitel, all young and hungry. There is no pretension in this movie, but it still sparkles with amazing ideas, from the soundtrack to the twisted vision of the camera, all on a shoestring budget. Few movies approach this one - it is hard to think of a false step, wrong line, or weak performance. A great choice for a DVD purchase, too, as it holds up well to repeat viewings.
Rating:
Summary: Rough realism and very human characters
Review: This 1973 film was written and directed by Martin Scorsese and has received much praise through the years. Starring Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro, the story is based on the Little Italy of Scorsese's boyhood. I understand that Scorsese once studied for the priesthood and elements of his Catholic faith and the state of sin are a constant theme against the backdrop of petty gangsters, loan sharks and forbidden relationships. Keitel plays Charlie, who works for his loan-shark uncle. DeNiro plays Johhny Boy, a small-time and half-crazy gambler. Like other Scorsese films, the dialog is often improvised, thereby giving the film a rough realism. Scorsese techniques include slow motion, scenes inside the bar bathed in red and a hand-held camera to get special choppy effects. He also uses the soundtracks of popular songs as background to brawls. The acting is excellent. I felt the pulse of New York even though I understand that most of it was shot in Los Angeles. And the humanity of the characters all show through. The weakness of the movie though was its story. Even though it loosely followed the characters to the inevitable conclusion of violence, there were no real surprises. It was basically a character study and a picture of New York in the fifties. After my initial impression of how well this was done, I yearned for a good plot, something that would pull me into the action and make me wonder what was coming next. That didn't happen. I don't think this film stood the test of time well because I can't help comparing it to later films by Scorsese with more action. Don't pass it by though; it's well worth a look for historical perspective. Just understand it is an early work.
Rating:
Summary: The name says it all.
Review: Many people have said this before, but this film is ultra-realistic. There isn't any good guy to root for because all the characters are bad people. And once you get into movie you realize anything can happen. Not everybody will like this movie either, it's the low-level crime view of New York. It would also be wise not to watch this with children present, it's very mature, language and... otherwise.
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