Martin Scorsese is undeniably one of the top filmmakers of his generation.
In the decades since the release of his first groundbreaking motion picture,
Mean Streets, countless individuals have continued to show
his monumental influence through their own work. It is fitting then that the
aforementioned film is finally getting the credit it deserves with a special
edition DVD release.
Mean Streets is a peek into the life of Charlie (Harvey Keitel),
a Little Italy native and nephew of a local mobster of considerable prestige.
Charlie is suffering a crisis of faith as the movie opens; though he holds his
religion close, he also believes that sins aren’t absolved by the church
but by his actions in the outside world. Enter Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro),
an id-centered, irresponsible mess of a man with debts all over town and friend
of Charlie. In an early scene, Charlie notes Johnny Boy’s entrance as
a sign that his sins may be forgiven by helping to straighten Johnny out. The
rest of the film plays out in an almost episodic manner, with Charlie and Johnny
going about their daily lives. There is an overarching narrative at work here
as Michael (Richard Romanus), a local loan shark to whom Johnny owes a sizeable
amount of money, grows increasingly angry with Johnny’s inability to make
his payments as well as his overall disregard for the situation. This ultimately
leads Charlie to help his friend get out of town and a bloody climax which brings
the film to a close.
Mean Streets is less a story than it is a study in characters
and the day-to-day affairs of a hoodlum in 1970s New York City, specifically
Little Italy. Martin Scorsese has crafted a film in which the real star is the
vibrant, breathing world in which these characters live. The reasonably trite
story and predictable final act take second seat as Charlie and Johnny move
about and play out their roles in life. Though this series of events ties together
in the end, it is the small moments such as Johnny’s explanation to Charlie
of why he has no money early on in the film or the realization that Tony (David
Proval) keeps a pet tiger in the back of his local bar, that make this a memorable
feature.
The neighborhood Mean Streets brings to life would not be quite
so sharp without the fabulous work of the actors. Robert De Niro is at the top
of his game in this, his first collaboration with Scorsese. He is more than
a local troublemaker, he is a force of nature and no one, not even his closest
friends, can hold him back or even hope to predict what he’ll do next.
Harvey Keitel’s Charlie is equally complex and hard to pin down, but much
more restrained in his actions. However, his moral crisis shines through clearly
when contrasting scenes such as the numerous times he defends Johnny’s
nonpayment to Michael against his outburst in which he throws a Jewish couple
out of Tony’s bar. A lot of credit also goes to supporting players David
Proval (Tony), Richard Romanus (Michael), Amy Robinson (Teresa, Johnny’s
cousin and Charlie’s secret girlfriend), and Cesare Danova (Giovanni,
Charlie’s mobster uncle) all of whom are essential in creating this very
real glimpse into 1970s Little Italy.
The special edition release of Mean Streets contains just two
features (aside from the theatrical trailer), but what it lacks in quantity
it makes up for in quality. First, there’s a commentary track with Martin
Scorsese and actress Amy Robinson (Teresa). This is somewhat misleading, as
the commentary only accompanies a few scenes. However, Scorsese openly discusses
his feelings about the creation of the film (which he doesn’t really view
as a film) and its semi-autobiographical content. Miss Robinson is only present
in the third (and final) scene with commentary and she recounts her impressions
of working on the film and being on set with Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese,
and the rest of the cast and crew. In addition to the commentary, there’s
a “vintage” documentary called Back on the Block, which obviously
came out sometime soon after the release of Mean Streets and
gets into a fairly detailed analysis of the facts from his own life that Scorsese
brought in the film. One final note, this new edition of Mean Streets
looks wonderful. The video transfer is great, much better than that
of the previously available release. The audio mix is touch and go at times;
the music is often too loud in the mix and muddies the dialogue. But all in
all, this is a tremendous improvement to the previously available releases of
this film.
In the end, Mean Streets should be a considered a must-own
for fans of Martin Scorsese, as well as for cinephiles and “gangster movie”
enthusiasts alike. The special features won’t knock you out like they
do with the recently released Goodfellas – Special Edition,
but they provide an interesting insight into the early career of Mr. Scorsese
nonetheless. If you already own Mean Streets and are wary of
spending more money for a couple of extra features, be aware that the video
transfer is significantly improved. This is one special edition release that’s
definitely worth picking up.
DVD Film Score: A-
DVD Special Features Score: B+
Overall Score: A-
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