Mean Streets

Rating:
Summary: Life On The Streets
Review: Mean Streets not only helped to put Martin Scorsese on the map as a filmmaker, but also marked the first time that he would work with actor Robert De Niro, paving the way for one of most successful film collaborations of all time. It's good to know that the film finally gets the special edition treatment on DVD.

New York's Little Italy is home to many interesting folks, each with their own story to tell. Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is working his way up the ranks of a local mob. Teresa (Amy Robinson) is his girlfriend that his family thinks is unsuitable because of her epilepsy. And Johnny Boy, is a small-time gambler in big-time debt to loan sharks. These three lives, as they intersect will change in ways none of them could have imagined.

Scorsese took some of his childhood experiences and he and co-screenwriter Mardik Martin put them into a facinating character study. Charlie may be a rising star in the local mob, but he has trouble reconciling the things he does with his strict Catholic upbringing. By contrast, Johnny Boy enjoys living on the edge, living as though the very next minute may be his last. (not so) Opposites of the same coin with Teresa acting as a force to balance both men. All three leads are in excellent form during the film. But as you might imagine, it's De Niro that proves himself to be a "Raging Bull" (sorry couldn't resist) of an actor. His performance is as good here as anthing else he has ever done. Scorsese, would of course, revisit much of same territory in Mean Streets that he does elsewhere in his filmography, but there's something to said for this first foray.

For the special edition, Mean Streets, gets a pristine looking digital transfer that leaps over the previous edition. The audio commentary from Scorsese is really a very good track. He clearly knows how to make them work. It's never boring and is almost worth the price of admission for that alone. The vintage featurette called "Back On The Block" is nice to see and offers a few more tidbits, but nothing big that wasn't covered on the audio commentary. The theatrical trailer closes out the disc's bonus material.

Mean Streets is worth a look and it makes a great addition to anyone's DVD collection. De Niro will blow you away.