Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro have spent the past five decades exploring the fractured psyche of damaged men together — De Niro in front of the camera, Scorsese behind it. Their collaborations stretch all the way back to 1973, when Mean Streets exploded in theaters like the cherry bomb De Niro’s character, Johnny Boy, drops in a mailbox during its opening moments. And 52 years later, this small-scale gangster drama remains one of their best collaborations. Rough around the edges as it may be, Mean Streets pointed the way towards the various themes Scorsese and De Niro would probe throughout their careers, from the insecurity of violent men to the crippling effects of Catholic guilt.
‘Mean Streets’ Was Scorsese’s First Foray Into Gangster Movies
Set in New York’s Little Italy, Mean Streets centers on Charlie (Harvey Keitel), a wannabe mobster who feels himself pulled in several different directions. He’s constantly taking responsibility for his best friend, Johnny Boy (De Niro), a court jester who spends money carelessly and refuses to pay back his debts; he’s secretly having an affair with Johnny’s cousin, Teresa (Amy Robinson), who everyone in the neighborhood calls “sick in the head” because she has epilepsy; and he’s trying to please his Uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova), a Mafia bigwig who disapproves of his relationships with both Johnny Boy and Teresa. Charlie and Johnny Boy spend their nights at their friend Tony’s (David Proval) bar, where loan shark Michael (Richard Romanus) keeps pressuring Charlie to get Johnny Boy to pay back his ever-increasing debt. Yet the reckless and volatile Johnny Boy insults Michael to the point that he has to flee town with Charlie and Teresa, leading to a blood-soaked finale.
Mean Streets was a major step up for Scorsese, who at that point had only directed the underground coming-of-age drama Who’s That Knocking at My Door (also starring Keitel) and the Roger Corman exploitation flick Boxcar Bertha. Like Who’s That Knocking, it was deeply personal to him, a cinematic ode to the mean streets that raised him, and that he escaped to become a major filmmaker. The film wears its influences on its sleeve, from Federico Fellini‘s I Vitelloni to John Cassavetes’ Shadows, yet it’s unmistakably Scorsese’s, because it’s about the people he grew up with and the hell they have condemned themselves to. Although it’s characterized as a gangster film, Mean Streets is really about the lowest-rung members on the organized crime ladder, who wish they could be the elegant mobsters of The Godfather. As was the case with Goodfellas, The Departed, and The Irishman, Scorsese portrays gangsters as working stiffs who “earn a living” by stealing, cheating, and killing.
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There are many hallmarks of Scorsese’s later work present in Mean Streets, particularly his attention to the details of mob life. There’s also the overriding Catholic guilt, as Charlie repeatedly holds his finger over a flame to test the fires of Hell. There’s the struggle of men to relate to women, as Charlie keeps his relationship with Teresa a secret out of shame. And there’s the exploration of male relationships, as Charlie’s love and admiration for Johnny Boy leads to his destruction. There’s also the various filmmaking techniques that would become Scorsese trademarks, from his use of pop music to his improvisational dialogue to his ever-moving camera.
‘Mean Streets’ Created One of the Great Actor-Director Pairings
From the moment De Niro appears as Johnny Boy, it’s clear a star was born. Having honed his talent in independent movies directed by Scorsese’s friend, Brian De Palma, De Niro delves into the part with all the hunger of a performer eager to prove his worth, just as Johnny Boy is eager to prove his. Johnny Boy is equal parts amusing and frightening, delighting us with his antics while simultaneously making us fearful of when he might turn violent. It’s like a feature-length version of the “Funny how?” scene from GoodFellas, and presages the unpredictable bursts of violence that would animate Scorsese’s work.
It’s little wonder De Niro became Scorsese’s favorite leading man, as he was able to act as an avatar for so much of what excited and scared him. Whether it was Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy, or Max Cady in Cape Fear, De Niro has never shied away from probing the darkest corners of humanity, and Scorsese has never been afraid of taking that journey with him. They hit the ground running with Mean Streets, and never looked back.
Mean Streets
- Release Date
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October 14, 1973
- Runtime
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112 Minutes
Mean Streets is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
