Mean Streets

1973 film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.

Scorsese hit it big with this movie, and so did De Niro.

Is part of a informal trilogy, with Goodfellas and Casino.

Mean Streets was added to the National Film Registry in 1997.

Martin Scorsese had made two films before Mean Streets: Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967) and Boxcar Bertha, but this was the film that proved to the world that Scorsese was a special breed of filmmaker: original, volatile, personal, and brilliant. Mean Streets was heavily inspired by events he saw growing up in Little Italy, but the style of filmmaking on display is a kinetic fusion of Scorsese's biggest influences: Powell & Pressburger, Kenneth Anger, John Cassavetes, but with a speed and assurance that would ultimately define Scorsese as a filmmaker. Harvey Keitel shines as Charlie Cappa, but Robert De Niro is the true breakout start as Johnny Boy, a frequently careless low-level gangster who Charlie remains loyal to, in spite of all the trouble he causes.

(Description copied from "Brief Descriptions and Expanded Essays of National Film Registry Titles", which the Library of Congress has placed into the public domain.)


 * The Mafia: Charlie works for Giovanni, the local "capo", but want to move higher in the ranks.
 * The Gambling Addict: Charlie's friend Johnny Boy plays small-time and owes money to loan sharks.