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Mean Streets

Mean Streets

List Price: $19.97
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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Slow....
Review: This movie had some great performances by Harvey Keital and Robert DeNiro. I really like the Scorcese combinations with DeNiro but this one just doesn't cut it. This Scorcese film seemed like a practice session of directing until he got into his more later works. In this movie DeNiro plays a wild young man who is trying to still find acceptance and trust in his older and much wiser collegue and caretaker(Keital), but this movie should not be in any mob movie collector unless you just want it cuz everyone else says so. This movie doesn't really hold up in today's movies. I mean i really appreciate other movies made during this era...like Deer Hunter, Taxi Driver,Chinatown, etc......Those movies should all be in any collector's collection. This movie is slow and the only thing that gives it a glimmer of interest....is the acting done by DeNiro and Keital......Buy this movie if you want to finish your DeNiro collection.....but that should be the only reason you buy it for.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: For watchin' movies, watch this one!
Review: This film was made and released inot theatre even when I did not exsist on this earth. Time passed and seen parts and clips of this film on television when I was a kid and I remembered my cousin in Italy had a poster of the film in his bedroom and he always told me if I ever seen or heard of it but I was dumb and ignorant at the time and said no. Anyways , more time came by and I really got into movies but with the DVD and all, I wanted to rent it first, then see if it was worth buying. I have a copy now and I still watch it late nights and it's a film that should be in any film buyer's collection for it's great acting and story of the mean streets of New York City

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stylish!
Review: I like this movie because of the innocence seen in the characters as they live out the thug life in of course... the mean streets. Of course they have done things that there mommas would have made them eat a pound of soap but in this movie it shows how some thugs want to get out of some ruts and clear some of the mess they made. It has a good ending too. A must have for anyone collecting DVD's and wants to check this one out.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: NOT THE GREATEST FILM.
Review: It's worth having to see a young deniro and Keitell. This was the beginning for Deniro-Scorcese team. They would do bigger and better things in later years. This film was probably cheaply budgeted. It jumps during scenes and can be hard to follow at times. Scorcese betters his directing by the time taxi driver is released. This film does influence other films to be later released. (sopranos, Good fellas).

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Scorsese
Review: A small story about small people, yet totally unforgettable. Harvey Keitel as a small-time hood trying to do the right thing; Robert DeNiro as a punk kid. If you're a 'Sopranos' fan, you'll see a lot of inspiration for David Chase in this movie. Was Chase tipping his hat to Scorcese in naming Tony Soprano's father Johnny-Boy? I think he was.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Vintage Scorsese
Review: This is pretty much the movie that started it all for Scorsese: guys named DeNiro and Keitel, a pop music soundtrack, graphic violence, and the omnipotent Catholic guilt complex. This film is simple, but also beautiful, poignant, and almost surreal. I highly recommend it to fans of Scorsese's later films. It's a true gem that might've gone unnoticed by fans of Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, etc.

I must admit that the first time I watched Mean streets, I wasn't particularly fond of it, but the second time, I really saw it for what it is. Just give it a chance.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Awesome.
Review: Harvey Keitel is the coolest. Even in this gangster flick,
he is such a level-headed, composed, sensitive, and believable
character, much like all of his other films. What I admire about
him is that even now, as an accomplished actor, he still
challenges himself to pursue indy films, rather than sell-out,
like some of his contemporaries. Anyway, with that being said,
this film is such a nostalgic trip back in time. The musical
score is fabulously interwoven, and gives this film even more
punch. The film is a joy to watch. Robert De Niro, although
playing a minor part, is excellent. A MUST SEE for any film lover!!
Harvey Keitel-- you are the BEST!!!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Anyone who loves Scorsese would appreciate this
Review: "Mean Streets" is essentially a small character study that is taken from a very short period of the characters' lives during the San Gennaro feast and ends rather abruptly. It is also loosely based on Scorsese's own up-bringing in "Little Italy" during the 60's.

Harvey Keitel (Charlie) is a kind-hearted, small time hustler who defends, is attracted to, and protects people around him that are viewed as unsavory or weak links amongst the more powerful and successful loan sharks and Italian bar owners and restauranteers. In particular his uncle who wants to hand over a debt ridden, upscale restaurant to Charlie.

Robert Deniro (Johnny Boy) is a small time punk who never pays his debts, has problems with everything and everyone, and continually commits adolescent pranks with reckless abandon.

Charlie views him as family and tries hopelessly to keep him out of trouble, namely with a fledgling loan shark who wants to be taken seriously and has a history of buying bad product foolishly on the black market.

Amy Robinson (Teresa) is an epileptic that is looked down upon by Charlie's rich Italian uncle, and Charlie is resistant to her pleas of commitment as a result. Charlie clearly cares for her and enjoys her company, but draws a line of subconsciously motivated indifference whenever things get to hot for them.

Charlie's penchant for balancing his religious ideals with the street life and caring for those viewed as troublesome or less fortunate is a tragic flaw of his that ultimately ends in tragedy and misfortune.

Scorsese's appealing and stylish directorial abilities are first evidenced in this film and as a result make it a kind of closet classic, since it has receieved little noteriety for the last 20 years.

It's not quite as graphic and violent as his latter films, and the acting at times sans the jobs of the main characters, can be silly and unbelieveable (ecspecially the fight scenes). But I found myself drawn in to the story as the character's revealed themselves and Deniro's brilliant acting really make it stand out.

It's not without flaws, a bit rough around the edges, and probably should've been longer and maybe contained more of a pointed statement of some sort, as "Goodfellas" and "The Last Temptation Of Christ" did, for instance. But giving this director some slack for his first film is easy. He's a brilliant director and writer and just owning this first work by him is a must for big fans of his.

It's a great DVD for the price ... . The DVD itself is of poor quality in the audio department and the lack of any extras at all is a shame. The DVD visual quality is just fine for it's age though.

But like all Scorsese films the soundtrack is superb and does a great job of immersing one into the sounds of the time the film takes place.

Certainly not my favorite Scorsese movie, but if you like his films, then you'll certainly at least enjoy this one as well, ecspecially for the meager price and rather short running time (112 minutes).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Wow! This movie [stinks]!
Review: I just recently sit down to watch what I figured would be an original, 70's masterpiece. I mean, Keitel, De Niro, Scorsese, how could it be anything but good,...right? Wrong. This movie has great acting by Keitel & De Niro, however the plot is absurd! Let me break it down for ya:

Charlie (Keitel) runs errands for his uncle, Giovanni (the local mob boss). Charlie's main buddies are Michael, the goodhearted loanshark (played by Richard Romanus) and Johnny Boy (De Niro), a petty & delinquint loser, who happens to owe Michael quite a bit of money. Early on in the movie, Charlie is visiting a guy named Oscar, at his restaurant, to "collect" for his uncle. Oscar tells Charlie that he can't make the payments to his uncle because his business partner has skipped outta town. Oscar knows that he has no choice but to turn the restaurant over to Charlie's uncle, Giovanni. Giovanni, in turn, is planning to give the restaurant to Charlie, for his excellent work. His only requests to Charlie is to stop hanging around with Johnny Boy, and to keep an eye on Johnny Boy's cousin, Theresa, (who happens to live right next to Charlie). Giovanni further states to Charlie, to not get involved with Theresa because she is a "freak",(a "freak" because she has epilepsy). We find out from uncle Giovanni that Johnny Boy & Theresa are from another 'family' that had past ties with Charlie's family. Well, what do you know, Charlie is already 'secretly' dating Theresa. Meanwhile, Michael keeps hustling Charlie about Johnny Boy's debts. Charlie keeps assuring Michael that he'll talk to Johnny Boy. And everytime he talks to Johnny Boy, it goes in one ear, and out the other.

You got 2 hours to kill?

Quilt a blanket!
Re-arange that old collection of Oktoberfest bier steins!
Whatever you do, skip this 2 hour YAWN-A-THON!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Scorsese, the Master
Review: What can be said about a filmaker who has basically won the accolades of everyone (sans the Oscar, which is soon to come with the release of Gangs of New York), including fans and critics alike. This little "slice of Italian pie" from the early 70s is perhaps one of the greatest films in cinema history. Scorsese is at his best here--authentic and insightful, and his direction of his very talented actors is fabulous. DeNiro's and Keitel's talents for improvisation within semi-structured scenes are unmatched. Mean Streets is raw, dark, powerful, poetic, and just downright..."street." It is the primer for much-loved films and TV series (Pope of Greenwich Village, Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, etc.) and it just sparkles with raw, uninhibited, and well-directed talent. This is a must-see, must-own piece of cinema for the film lover.


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