I think of DeNiro's Johnny Boy as his second best performance, after LaMotta in"Raging Bull." Keitel was wonderful, too. "Mean Streets" has that almost-magical Scorsese talent for making scripted scenes look like they're ad-libbed. The scene in the back of Tony's bar when Charlie is haranguing Johnny Boy about paying his debts, and they're talking about the girls "Is she the one on my left, or your left" will never be surpassed.
Still my favorite after all these years. I was 14 when Mean Streets came out and honestly didn't see it in theatres (I have seen it since on multiple occasions when it runs in a revival type movie house). I guess I saw it for the first time around 1980. The 8th Street Street Playhouse had it on a double bill with Raging Bull. My aunt lived across the street. And what I loved is that, in the scene where the gay guys are getting rousted in the car, you not only see the sign for West 8th Street, you also see the old 69 cent store that was literally spitting distance from my aunt and uncle's apartment!
Please look for it upon your next viewing for me, TB. My little brother, who's 56 now lol, and I spent countless Sundays running down to that store with pockets fulls of change. So there are very personal reasons involved for me, but even without that nice personal touch, Mean Streets will ALWAYS be my favorite Scorsese film. Because it's the most raw and endearing NYC film I've ever seen next to The Sweet Smell of Success.
And, TB. When you post these little tidbits, it makes me happy that I've returned here. So if you see posting more than a casual observation in the OC threads, please kick my ass off. Because I don't wanna take another four years off😂😂.
