Mean Streets - videos, teasers and stills from filming

All videos, teasers and footage from the filming of the film "Mean Streets"

Mean Streets (1973)

Timing: 1:51 (111 min)

7.088/10
2005

7.076/10
13577

7.2/10
128000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 47

Actors and characters

Mean Streets (1973) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD]

English

3:30

50th Anniversary 4K Restoration Clip

English

1:28

What's left behind the scenes

As soon as funding was secured, Scorsese began casting the actors. Robert De Niro met the director in 1972. He liked that he saw in “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”: he was impressed by how realistically the film depicted life in Little Italy. After one of the actors left the project, Scorsese chose Harvey Keitel, with whom he had worked before, to play the lead role of Charlie.
In 1997, the film was included in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.
Director John Cassavetes was also present at a preview of the film “Berthe’s Husband.” After the screening, he approached Scorsese, hugged him, and said, “You just wasted a year of your life making a piece of crap.” He advised Scorsese to film stories that he knew and understood. This inspired the young director to make his next film based on his own life experience. As a result, “Mean Streets” recreated events that Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, had regularly witnessed.
The film was initially proposed as a sequel to "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" and was to be called "Witch Hunting Season".
According to Scorsese, the film's plot initially focused on the religious conflict of Charlie and its influence on his worldview. To this end, Scorsese and screenwriter Mardik Martin often drove around Little Italy while writing the script. They would find a spot next to the park and begin writing.
Very little was filmed directly in the film's setting, New York. Most of the scenes were shot in Los Angeles. The unusual handheld camera techniques were largely a result of the film's meager budget, which was insufficient to set up a large number of tracks for filming. Thus, to realistically film Harvey Keitel's drunken scene, the camera was actually tied to the actor to convey the character's intoxicated state. For the same reason, the shooting schedule ultimately lasted only 25 days.
Scorsese composed the film's soundtrack mainly from his own collection. As a result, the film features many pop and rock hits, including "Rubber Biscuit" by The Chips, "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes, a cover version of "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes, as well as the songs "Jumpin' Jack Flash" and "Tell Me" by The Rolling Stones. Purchasing the rights to use the musical compositions in the film cost half of its budget.
As soon as funding was secured, Scorsese began casting. Robert De Niro met the director in 1972. He liked that he saw in "Who's That Knocking at My Door?": he was impressed by how realistically the film portrayed life in Little Italy. After one of the actors left the project, Scorsese chose Harvey Keitel, with whom he had worked previously, to play the lead role of Charlie.
Director John Cassavetes was also present at a preview screening of "Bertha, the Railway Worker." After the screening, he approached Scorsese, hugged him, and said, "You just wasted a year of your life creating a piece of crap." He advised Scorsese to film stories that he knew and understood. This inspired the young director to make his next film based on his own life experience. As a result, "Mean Streets" recreated events that Scorsese, growing up in Little Italy, regularly witnessed.
The film was initially proposed as a sequel to "Who's That Knocking at My Door?" and was to be called "Witch Hunt Season."
Scorsese compiled the film's soundtrack mainly from his own collection. As a result, the film features many pop and rock hits, including “Rubber Biscuit” by The Chips, “Be My Baby” by The Ronettes, a cover version of “Please Mr. Postman” by The Marvelettes, and songs “Jumpin' Jack Flash” and “Tell Me” by The Rolling Stones. Purchasing the rights to use the musical compositions in the film cost half its budget.

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