Max’s Drive-In Movie – Mean Streets

Mean Streets

I like movies that are directed and written by the same person. That is the reason I like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin movies. You won’t find this much anymore unless it’s an indie movie. Movies that are written by a committee are sometimes slick and predictable. We need more movies and music like this. I talked about this last Friday in the comments with different people about The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and remembered I wrote it about this one as well.

You will hear one word in many of these reviews…and that word is gritty. The 1970s movies set in New York have grit, filth, and realism. The way these were made looks like they were made on the fly. I mean that in the best way. The characters look as if they were lifted off the streets and filmed. There is a good reason for that. It had a small budget so they couldn’t afford a union-shot movie. Many scenes were shot with natural lighting, and guerrilla filmmaking techniques were employed to save costs. They shot it in 26 days and made excellent use of a handheld camera.

This 1973 film opens with a famous monologue by Charlie, played by Keitel, which sets the tone for the character’s internal conflict. This introspective voice-over became a signature element of Scorsese’s storytelling style. Mean Streets is set in New York City’s Little Italy and follows Charlie (Harvey Keitel), a small-time hood trying to make his way in the local Mafia, and his reckless friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), who owes money all over town. The film explores the struggling street life and the demands of mob life…along with a lot of guilt.

It’s directed by Martin Scorsese and I think this is one of the best movies of its kind. He would later make other mob movies that are more well-known such as Goodfellas, Casino, and The Irishman but none of them are as, here is that word again, gritty as this. Scorsese knew the vibe well, growing up in his New York City neighborhood and dealing with a formative period in his life during the early 60’s. He shot this movie with Roger Corman’s crew with 6 days of location in New York and with most of the interiors done in Los Angeles. Scorsese edited much of the movie in his bedroom. It was written by Scorsese and his childhood friend Mardik Martin. What lends to the atmosphere is many of the film’s scenes were improvised. Scorsese encouraged his actors to ad-lib their lines to create a more authentic and natural feel.

The actors were fantastic. Harvey Keitel, De Niro, Amy Robinson, Victor Argo, and many more. Keitel stands out to me in this like he does in most of the films he made. Here he balances out toughness with vulnerability. He got this part because Jon Voight had dropped out.

Let’s talk about the music a little bit here. Not many directors are as good as Scorsese at placing music in movies. In the first few minutes of this movie, you hear two Stones songs and Derek and the Dominos as he fits the scenes beautifully.

The movie is not action-packed…it’s almost like a day in the life of these characters. You can see parts of Scorsese’s later movies in this one as well. Much like you can see Pulp Fiction in Reservoir Dogs for Quentin Tarantino.

Quotes:

Voice in Charlie’s Mind: You don’t make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit, and you know it.

Charlie: You know what the Queen said? If I had balls, I’d be King.

Charlie: It’s all bullshit except the pain. The pain of hell. The burn from a lighted match increased a million times. Infinite. Now, ya don’t fuck around with the infinite. There’s no way you do that. The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart… your soul, the spiritual side. And ya know… the worst of the two is the spiritual.

I saw this review about a book on mobster films that talks about this movie.

Over time, Scorsese would make “slicker, better-crafted movies,” according to authors George Anastasia and Glen Macnow in The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies, “but the nuts and bolts of who he is and what he’s about are here.” The authors rank Mean Streets No. 14 of the Top 100 gangster movies, just behind Léon: The Professional and ahead of Reservoir Dogs. “On one level, watching Mean Streets is like finding some old film of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays during their first seasons in the big leagues,” the authors wrote. “The raw talent is there. There are sparks and smoldering potential.”

…

Unknown's avatar

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

39 thoughts on “Max’s Drive-In Movie – Mean Streets”

  1. Very intriguing article Max. I regret not having seen it, since I’m such a fan of a lot of his movies. However, I think it’s availability has been very limited. Watching these legendary actors in their raw acting phases of their early career would be something else.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  2. The movie itself doesn’t sound like one for me but I agree on your idea that movies written & made by the same person often outdo Hollywood blockbusters and are often more original. Likewise the small budget flicks like these, since they can’t rely on CGI and dazzling superstars to win audiences over. How did he get the budget to use Derek & the Dominoes though?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Gritty, Indie etc. I’m in. Yes Ive watched this a few times and revisit because I like it. Agree with a lot of your insight. I’m a big Harvey guy. Martin made some very good early pictures. I’ve dropped off from his films but not this one. And yes he knows how to use the music. I’ll take this over “slick, predictable” every time. The 70’s kicked out a bunch of these. Means Streets is a very good film. You get locked into Harvey’s character and his life.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    1. Guerrilla filmmaking excites me…I’m sure you can get crap out of doing that but with the right people like this one… you can get diamonds out of it as well.
      The early seventies did do a lot of these…so far all of my movies have been in that era…as well as the next one.
      Another example of one is the one you reccomended… The Friends of Eddie Coyle.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      4. I loved him in his pre-botched-plastic-surgery days. That boy had such a pretty face. To his credit, his stardom has continued. I loved him in The Wrestler ❤

        Liked by 2 people

  11. I seriously cannot imagine Jon Voigt in Mean Streets in that role. They cast the characters right. Yes, the raw talent is all over the place. Where was Ray Liotta? Too young? He shoulda been in here too. Need to watch this again just for the soundtrack.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I like Jon, he was great in Midnight Cowboy but yea I agree…Harvey is the man in this one.
      Oh yea…Ray would probably have been too young…way too young.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Jon plays Ray Donovan’s dad in that excellent series. He can play a con artist really well but not right for Mean Streets part. You said it right that Harvey is da man in any movie I’ve seen him in.

        Like

  12. Pingback: Max’s Drive-In Movie – Mean Streets – MobsterTiger

  13. Watched this last night. Really good, despite the racist and misogynistic bits. The scene with the Vietnam veteran really sticks with me. It kind of surprised me that DeNiro got top billing over Keitel as Keitel was the main character. What a great cast. The guy who played the bartender was excellent.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to obbverse Cancel reply