Hey! Well I just finished watching this great film but.. Someone told me on this web site that De Niro didn't die at the end, but in the movie well it sure looked like he was about to. Still I felt that De Niro's death added something to the end and made it special. I think the movie should have been a bit shorter, but it did have some good scenes. Here are the "Key" scenes:

-The opening narration "You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is B.S and you know it"

-Introduction to the main characters

-The scene at the Billiards Place and the whole conversation involving the word "mook"

-The scene involving De Niro making up a story about the money

And there are many more. THis film was good but not great. I would give it a 3 out 5

Nick.V hiya and welcome to the BB
Mean streets sure is a good film, thanks for your review!!
I've included a link for you to look back and see another excellent review by our esteemed comrade Snake.

http://www.thegodfathertrilogy.net/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=000448#000000

FH

Welcome, Nick V! Glad you liked "Mean Streets." I'd give it 10 out of 10, but that's one man's opinion. It looked to me as if all of them in Tony's car were alive at the end (and being led away to an ambulance). I think the point there was not whether they lived or died, but that Michael was able to attack them without fear of Charlie's uncle Giovanni.
The scene in the back of Tony's car is one of the best ever to appear in a Scorsese film--it has that ad-libbed quality that makes his films so realistic and natural. That doo-wop sound track is wonderful, too. IMO, it was Keitel's greatest performance, and DeNiro's second-greatest (after "Raging Bull").
BTW: the actors who played Michael (Richard Romanus) and Tony (David Proval) turned up on "Sopranos": Romanus was Melfi's ex-husband, Proval was Richie Aprile. The shooter in Michael's car at the end of "Mean Streets" was Scorsese himself.

Yes, welcome to the BB! Mean Streets is a fantastic film, and one that stamped Scorsese's prowess on the film industry! A young De Niro is fantastic in what I consider to be in his top 3 roles. Keitel is also great, as well as not-so-nasty-this-time Richie April (David Proval).

Mick

PS> What is a mook?

I didnt know that Turnbull, , I think I'll have another viewing tomorrow, it's been a while

FH

I didn't know that either! I didn't see Melfi's husband either, but I haven't watched it since I started becoming a The Sopranos addict!

Mick

Thanks everyone I am glad to be here. I actually ordered a cable channel just to catch Mean Streets. And next month they will be showing Goodfellas. I only started to like gangster films a few months ago after watching Godfather. The Goodfellas DVD/VHS is always missing from my local video store, and I cant wait to see it. Casino in my opinion was amazing.

I didnt know that Turnbull, , I think I'll have another viewing tomorrow, it's been a while

FH [/b][/quote]hi FH!
same here, did'nt noticed that. i have to review that part again.

GoodFella

FH and GF: Scorsese played a character named Shorty (Charlie calls him "Shorts"). He's in another scene: Charlie's on the street outside a storefront, talking to Michael, and there's Shorty. Charlie, ever the diplomat, says, "Hey, Shorts..." and Shorty says, "F*** you, Charlie!" or something equally hostile. You wonder who he is and what he's doing with Michael. Then he shows up in the backseat of Michael's car, with the gun...
Nick, you've never seen "Goodfellas"? Oho, are you ever in for a treat!!!

Thanks for the tip Senor Turnbull. i just saw the part and all recognized from Martin was his thick eyebrow. he looks like a tall guy from the car. so that was him 30 years ago without the white and sporting a long hair. . .

GoodFella

I didn't like Mean Streets as much as I thought I would have. I mean, it was no Goodfellas or Casino & I didn't like De Niro's character (he played a dumb guy). I just didn't think it was that great. But I loved Harvey Kietel in it!

Mean Streets has that live, raw element in it that I tend to like in films. Its my favorite Scorsese film and that means a lot beacuse of greats like Goodfellas and Raging Bull. I just wish it got better treatment in the DVD department. I hear a special edition version will be released soon, but I don't want to wait for it and have those plans fall through while, by some chance, the current DVD gets taken off the shelves.

Hey Mal, where in Austin do you live? Are you going to UT? Ever hear of Cedar Park? That's where I live on the weekends, but during the week I'm in Belton for college at UMHB.

*********SPOILERS**********
i watched Mean Streets again and noticed something. everytime they play an instrumental song (or is this an italian song) something happens. just like the oranges in the Godfather. . .

GoodFella

Yes, Goodfella, that's one of Scorsese's trademarks: Italian song plays when someone gets shot or whacked. Like FFC: bad things occur during religious ceremonies.

BTW: I was reading a Scorsese biography in the library today. Said that only four days worth of shooting were done in New York. All the rest of the shooting was done in LA, including all the interiors, and the final scene.

Yeah, Irishman12, I go UT. I live on campus and I can't wait til I leave and finish with finals. What a pain.