It is the story that embodies the reality of a young man named Charlie is a young American Italian and Johnny Boy. It may be quite difficult when the hood is struggling for a short time to succeed in the 'moderate streets' in Little Italy where circumstances and events conflict.
[F]or all the violence of the streets, this is less a crime film than a character piece, a love letter to the streets of New York's Little Italy and the young men rattling around like tough guys and fantasizing about becoming the real thing.
Authentic in feel and immensely personal in subject matter, Mean Streets marked the arrival of one Martin Scorsese and his unique brand of urban filmmaking.
No matter how bleak the milieu, no matter how heartbreaking the narrative, some films are so thoroughly, beautifully realized they have a kind of tonic effect that has no relation to the subject matter.
Los Angeles Times
February 14, 2001
Its greatness lies in its leanness, with nary a word, a move, a gesture that's nonessential.
This marriage of indelible imagery with electric, seemingly incongruous pop songs wouldn't be bettered until, well, the next time Scorsese decided to do it.
