Mean Streets | Rotten Tomatoes (original) (raw)
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Critics Consensus
Mean Streets is a powerful tale of urban sin and guilt that marks Scorsese's arrival as an important cinematic voice and features electrifying performances from Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.
Colin Bennett The Age (Australia) Despite vivid playing by Robert De Niro as the wildest and most self-destructive of them, relationships are not developed very far. Violence finally swamps them -- a brutal slaying which tries to elevate banal characters to some kind of heroic status. Sep 24, 2024 Full Review Kevin Maher Times (UK) Freeze frames, casual violence and conversation are there in service of a story about two apprentice hoodlums... Feb 1, 2024 Full Review Kristin M. Jones Wall Street Journal For all its raw, exhilarating energy, it’s a film that can always break your heart. Dec 5, 2023 Full Review Katie Hogan FILMHOUNDS Magazine The violence is frequent and inconsistent, just like the plot direction, but there are decent performances within the film. Scorsese had a decent start to his career, this being his third film, and he only continued to develop his work for the better. Rated: 3/5 Jan 22, 2024 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Martin Scorsese made two feature films before this one but Mean Streets would really be the one that placed him on the map. Rated: 4.5/5 Dec 29, 2023 Full Review Jeff Beck The Blu Spot The film comes up a little short when it comes to its screenplay, which doesn't provide quite enough development for these storylines or characters, ultimately making this early work of the master filmmaker one of his more forgettable efforts. Rated: 3/5 Nov 20, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews
Scorsese's Taint 2 4.5. Excellent film but at no point did the streets show any emotion. Should've recast the sidewalk especially. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/01/24 Full Review ed m Good, not great. Unlikable characters. Flat dialogue. Not Scorsce's best. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/02/24 Full Review Jack G Definitely the worst of what I've seen from Scorsese. The score was nice, aside from the perennial inundation of Italian music. The characters were not likeable. A bunch of annoying, obnoxious, Italian New Yorkers. I can give credit to the acting but that's all. This film really only receives the praise it does because it's got Scorsese's name to it. It has that early 70's NYC realism to it which is its strength, along with the cinematography, and score. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/20/24 Full Review Charles K The movie lacked a story. 20 minutes in, I was still searching for a point. Halfway through, I was still searching for a point. When it ended, all I thought was "what just happened and why did it take two hours". The style was good, the picture was good, and I did like the characters. The story just didn't go anywhere which was a shame. I didn't exactly expect a masterpiece, but I expected a decent movie all around and I guess I somewhat got that. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/12/24 Full Review Alexsander F Para um filme de estreia é um bom filme, com bastante camera na mão e ideia na cabeça, mas é um filme bem fora da caixinha, recomendo só a quem é fã do Scorcese mesmo a vê-lo. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/24 Full Review Luca D Visually and audibly pleasing at best. The story has lots of dead ends and really is not interesting at all. Fun to watch but just a bunch of characters yelling, fighting, and not really developing. Would not recommend watching if you think it's going to be a masterpiece. It's more of a entry into the playing field for Scorsese. Clearly not a very developed story. More just a showcase of style. Besides that the acting and cinematography is really good. Just lacks a story which had me irked the whole time watching. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Synopsis A slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. A small-time hood gets in over his head with a vicious loan shark. In an attempt to free himself from the dangers of his debt, he gets help from a friend who is also involved in criminal activities.
Director
Martin Scorsese
Producer
Jonathan T. Taplin
Screenwriter
Martin Scorsese, Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Taplin - Perry - Scorsese Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 1, 1973, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA)
$32.6K
Runtime
1h 52m
Sound Mix
Mono
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