Overview
In the gritty underbelly of New York City, loyalty and love collide with the harsh realities of street life.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- feverish
- sardonic
- intimate
- late night cinephile viewing
- crime film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, original, and culturally significant urban crime drama that announced Martin Scorsese as a major cinematic voice, especially praising its performances and personal filmmaking.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Little Italy functions as an interconnected world of bars, debt collection, family authority, and criminal obligation.
Charlie weighs criminal obligations, sexual love, redemption, and his Catholic conscience throughout the story.
Johnny Boy's disruptive behavior and the film's loose, feverish interactions showcase its improvisational energy.
The barroom and street milieu is rendered through expressive music, kinetic movement, and intensely personal atmosphere.
Films like Mean Streets, and why
Goodfellas
shared new hollywood filmmaking, italian american criminal milieu, volatile male friendship, and morally conflicted protagonist
Taxi Driver
shared neo-noir crime drama, urban moral decay, catholic guilt, and psychologically intense performances
The Godfather
shared intimate gangster storytelling, family pressure, criminal loyalty, and tragic inevitability
The French Connection
shared raw independent style, working-class urban setting, criminal alienation, and troubled male bonds
Movie Details
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Release Date
- 1973-10-14
- Runtime
- 112 min
- Rating
- 7.0 / 10 (2369)
Cast
- Robert De Niro
- Harvey Keitel
- David Proval
- Amy Robinson
- Richard Romanus
- Cesare Danova
- Victor Argo
- George Memmoli
- Lenny Scaletta
- Jeannie Bell
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mean Streets about?
- A morally divided young collector is pulled between Catholic redemption, forbidden love, and loyalty to a dangerously unstable friend in 1970s Little Italy.
- What is Mean Streets like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mean Streets as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mean Streets violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Mean Streets as moderate.
- What did critics think of Mean Streets?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a powerful, original, and culturally significant urban crime drama that announced Martin Scorsese as a major cinematic voice, especially praising its performances and personal filmmaking.
- Which films are like Mean Streets?
- Films with a similar feel include Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Godfather, and The French Connection.
- How long is Mean Streets?
- Mean Streets runs 112 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mean Streets?
- In United States, Mean Streets is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex.
