Mean Streets

In a tiny apartment in the middle of the night Charlie (Harvey Keitel) wakes up fired by the guilt that's nagging at his Catholic conscience. His faith does not accord with his vocation, running numbers for the mafia. "You don't make up for your sins in church," he tells himself, "you do it in the streets, you do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it." So begins one of the most important films of the 70s and the one that launched the careers of Scorsese, Keitel, and De Niro.

The film focuses on Charlie's efforts to play diplomat wherever there is conflict, especially between Michael (Richard Romanus) a small time hood and Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) who blows up mailboxes for laughs and owes everybody money. But doing the right thing lands them in serious trouble as Charlie and Johnny Boy lose control of events.

Scorsese is showing us the real mafioso, insolent, rascist and incredibly funny; much more recognisable to someone who grew up on the East side than Pacino and Brando in The Godfather, and therefore. much more genuine.

The innovation of the film is in the combination of the rapid rhythmic dialogue (Keitel and De Niro improvised several scenes) and the daring use of violence to evoke the tension and energy of a suffocating city. But more importantly no other film before or since has had such an integrated soundtrack; rock classics mixed with Italian Festival music become part of the film and give a further insight into the characters' lives. This is probably Scorsese's best picture. It has the best fight sequence and the best drunk sequence ever filmed. Go and see it.

Review by Stephen Cox
Taken from EUFS Programme 1994-95