Mean Streets (1973) [The Criterion Collection]

Director: Martin Scorsese
Writer: Martin Scorsese, Mardik Martin
Stars: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, David Proval

Martin Scorsese emerged as a generation-defining filmmaker with this gritty portrait of 1970s New York City, one of the most influential works of American independent cinema. Set in the insular Little Italy neighborhood of Scorsese’s youth, Mean Streets follows guilt-ridden small-time ringleader Charlie (Harvey Keitel) as he deals with the debts owed by his dangerously volatile best pal, Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), and pressure from his headstrong girlfriend, Teresa (Amy Robinson). As their intertwined lives spiral out of control, Scorsese showcases his precocious mastery of film style—evident in everything from his propulsive editing rhythms to the lovingly curated soundtrack—to create an electrifying vision of sin and redemption.

Extras:
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Martin Scorsese and collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
- Excerpted conversation between Scorsese and filmmaker Richard Linklater from a 2011 Directors Guild of America event
- Selected-scene audio commentary featuring Scorsese and actor Amy Robinson
- New video essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith about the film’s physicality and its portrayal of brotherhood
- Interview with director of photography Kent Wakeford
- Excerpt from the documentary Mardik: Baghdad to Hollywood (2008) featuring Mean Streets cowriter Mardik Martin as well as Scorsese, journalist Peter Biskind, and filmmaker Amy Heckerling
- Martin Scorsese: Back on the Block (1973) , a promotional video from the film’s original theatrical release
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Lucy Sante