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.

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Video Quality

The Criterion Collection presents Mean Streets with a magnificent 2160p Dolby Vision/HDR transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio sourced from a 4K scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative approved by director Martin Scorsese and collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker. It should be noted before delving into this one that the film is extremely gritty and grain-heavy, and thankfully there has been no digital manipulation to tarnish the natural look. For those who come to 4K strictly for a sleek and clean picture, you should probably look elsewhere. That being said, this is the best this film has ever looked and it serves as a welcome improvement upon the 2012 Blu-Ray from Warner Bros.

The level of detail and clarity is stunning with all of the natural film grain intact. The grain resolves much more favorably than before with only some minor fluctuations due to the original photography. The texture on display in the dingy streets and within the outfits is a revelation. Even the makeup effects such as some of the blood present with impressive clarity that makes the work all the more visceral. This transfer does not showcase anything in the way of print damage. This presentation is true to the original look of the film with the added resolution making elements seem more natural. There do not appear to be any jarring digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances.

This is not the most vibrant film to ever exist, but how color is utilized could not be more deliberate and essential to the experience. The Dolby Vision presentation unlocks a world of nuance within the lighting schemes of Kent Wakeford. The lighting choices such as the red, hellish descent into certain seedy establishments are executed with confidence and ease. It might not be candy-colored, but this transfer reaches an accuracy not possible on a lesser format. There have been some complaints about the color grade, but nothing looks unnatural and this has been approved by Scorsese, a renowned preservationist, so we will defer to his judgment. The black levels are robust with nothing in the way of crush present, and highlights are solid as a rock with no evidence of blooming. This presentation is the ultimate representation thanks to the folks at The Criterion Collection.

Audio Quality

The 4K UHD Blu-Ray disc comes with a remastered LPCM 1.0 mono track that sounds quite nice given the source limitations. The track provides an expansive soundscape that perfectly captures the artistic intent. The environmental sounds of the city are rendered well alongside everything else. There do not seem to be any egregious instances of age-related wear and tear, only a slight bit of upper-register harshness in the opening credit song. Music is used impeccably to establish the mood of the story, and it largely comes through favorably. There is never a moment where it threatens to overwhelm competing sounds, and it maintains a good balance so that dialogue comes through clearly. The Criterion Collection has given this film a perfectly preserved audio presentation. There are optional English SDH subtitles included.

Special Features

The Criterion 4K UHD Blu-Ray of Mean Streets includes a foldout booklet featuring the essay “Rites of Passage” by author Lucy Sante which gives a rich analysis of the film. The on-disc special features are as follows:

Martin Scorsese with Richard Linklater: A 30-minute conversation from a 2011 Director’s Guild of America moderated by director Richard Linklater (Hit Man) who talks to Scorsese about his relationship with the film, the personal nature of the story, the real-life details behind certain moments, the evolution of his filmmaking, the creative compromises that had to be made to get the film made at an acceptable budget, and more.

Selected-Scene Commentary: Martin Scorsese and actor Amy Robinson provide individual recollections from 2004 on portions of the film that give you some great biographical details, anecdotes, insights, and more.

A Body Among Other Bodies: A 29-minute video essay from Imogen Sara Smith that explores the nuances of the physicality of the film and the place of brotherhood amongst the characters. This is a great piece that services up plenty of clips as examples to reinforce her underlying point.

Kent Wakeford: A 19-minute interview with director of photography Kent Wakeford in which he discusses his work on Mean Street, shooting in Los Angeles to portray New York, adapting to working on his first narrative feature, the misconceptions about certain shooting locations, working with the performers to figure out how much freedom they had to move about the set, and more.

Mardik Martin: Two excerpts totaling nearly ten minutes from the documentary Mardik: Baghdad to Hollywood which gives some background information on the co-writer’s relationship with Martin Scorsese.

Martin Scorsese – Back On The Block: A seven-minute archival featurette is provided here which takes a look at Martin Scorsese’s connection to the narrative.

Trailer: The nearly four-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Mean Streets is a breakthrough feature for Martin Scorsese, and it still stands pretty tall within his legacy of crime narratives. With this being so early in his career and the story focusing on low-level, somewhat inexperienced criminals, there is a youthful energy bubbling throughout that makes the journey feel unpredictable and volatile. This one falls in the shadow of some more prominent features, but only because it is from one of the greatest living filmmakers. The dynamic between Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro is captivating, and they both deliver in the way they consistently would later in their careers. The Criterion Collection has released a sensational 4K UHD Blu-Ray package featuring an A+ audio/visual presentation and an excellent assortment of special features. You should not miss out if you are a Scorsese fan. Highly Recommended

Mean Streets is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Blu-Ray.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: The Criterion Collection has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.