Scorcese's third feature film (after his first independent experiment, and his little stint with Roger Corman) is the true beginning of his film career. The New York City middle-lower class Italian-American drama was to become his strongest forte (this film, along with Raging Bull and Goodfellas are arguably his most recongized films - along with Taxi Driver), and in Mean Streets this is proven. The themes of catholicism and catholic guilt, the life of organized crime, the spurts of sudden violence, the 60's rock-n-roll soundtrack, and the overlapping dialogue are all here in fine form. The story rings with truth, the characters are genuine and exciting, yet there is no overacting or in-your-face cinematic gimmickery, nor cheap tricks.
Often imitated but never duplicated, one viewing of "Mean Streets" will make any Tarantino flick look like a pale imitation (and most independent crime flicks an imitation of this imitation). Scorcese understands his subject and characters in a way no one else has so far shown. Keitel and Deniro are in their finest form.
"Mean Streets" was initially supposed to be funded by exploitation meister Roger Corman, who wanted it to conform to the nudity-every-ten-pages rule, but Marty decided to get it made independently, which ultimately dragged out the process. Like Stanley Kubrick, Marty hardly made any money off of his third picture. In Marty's case, this was because the Rolling Stones' royalties ate up most of the box office (and had he tried to do the same today, it's likely he would still be in debt).
Often imitated but never duplicated, one viewing of "Mean Streets" will make any Tarantino flick look like a pale imitation (and most independent crime flicks an imitation of this imitation). Scorcese understands his subject and characters in a way no one else has so far shown. Keitel and Deniro are in their finest form.
"Mean Streets" was initially supposed to be funded by exploitation meister Roger Corman, who wanted it to conform to the nudity-every-ten-pages rule, but Marty decided to get it made independently, which ultimately dragged out the process. Like Stanley Kubrick, Marty hardly made any money off of his third picture. In Marty's case, this was because the Rolling Stones' royalties ate up most of the box office (and had he tried to do the same today, it's likely he would still be in debt).