Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Mean Streets 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 22, 2023

Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets" (1973) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Martin Scorsese; archival program with cinematographer Kent Wakeford; archival featurettes; new video essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Mooks

Charlie (Harvey Keitel, Bad Lieutenant) dreams of running a restaurant controlled by his uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova, Dublin Murders), a respected mafia boss. Any chance he gets, he tries to show Giovanni that he is a man that can be trusted, a man that can take care of things. He reminds people in the neighborhood when it is time for them to pay their dues and collects bad debts for him. He has a good image, but not the status he wants.

Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro, Taxi Driver), Charlie’s best friend, is a violent punk without ambitions who owes money to a lot of people, including Michael (Richard Romulus, Murphy's Law), a loan shark with plenty of friends who like to carry guns. Johnny Boy does not have a steady job and isn’t interested in having one, which is why he keeps borrowing money from people that are willing to give them to him. He has already missed a couple of payments with Michael, which is why Charlie has been asked to talk to him.

Tony (David Proval, Nunzio) owns a small bar where the guys like to hang around. He isn’t making much, but realizes that it is better to be behind the bar than trying to make ends meet on the streets. He likes going out with Charlie and Johnny Boy.

Teresa (Amy Robinson) is Johnny’s sister. Charlie likes making love to her, but is unsure if she is the woman he should spend the rest of his life with. In fact, he is unsure if he wants to have a wife. Women make him feel good, but they also make him feel weak and guilty. Teresa does not understand Charlie. He is a good man, but not like the other men in the neighborhood. She can’t read him.

Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets is about faith and rituals and a group of men with different priorities in life. All of them are Italian-Americans who live in an environment where violence is a way of life. They are friends, but true friendship means little to them.

Charlie, the smartest and most ambitious amongst them, is a man of faith. Part of him realizes that he is surrounded by men who have embraced crime and turned their backs on God, but he cannot walk away from them because he understands that he belongs amongst them. This is why he has assumed the role of a mediator. He maintains order and prevents his friends from committing foolish crimes. It is the best he can do. It is the only thing he can do.

Giovanni does not like the fact that Charlie always tries to help Johnny Boy. They live in a jungle where only the smart and strong should survive. Johnny Boy is weak, unreliable, a recipe for disaster. If Charlie wants to make it big, he should stay away from Johnny Boy. But Charlie can't give up on his friend, which is why Giovanni has started losing interest in him.

Michael has also started losing respect for Charlie, who has not been able to convince Johnny Boy to pay his debts. In fact, he already feels disrespected.

It is easy to declare that Mean Streets is the rawest and purest of director Scorsese’s gangster films. There is a certain sense of unpredictability and powerlessness in it that feels right, because as news reports often reveal, real gangsters aren’t classy and flashy men who are never afraid to face the consequences of their actions. They easily get scared, and they are often struggling with moral dilemmas exactly like the ones Charlie faces in the film.

*In 1974, Mean Streets won Best Supporting Actor Award (Robert De Niro) at the National Society of Film Critics Awards.

Mean Streets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Mean Streets is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "looked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-32 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #35-40 are from 4K Blu-ray.

The following text appears inside the leaflet that is provided with this release:

"Approved by director Martin Scorsese and collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker, this new digital master was created from the original 35mm camera negative, which was scanned in 3K resolution on a Lasergraphics Dorector film scanner. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm DME magnetic track by the Criterion Collection.

Mastering supervisors: Martin Scorsese, Thelma Schoonmaker, Lee Kline.
Colorist: Yvan Lucas/Company3, Hollywood and New York.
Disc mastering: NexSpec."

The new 4K makeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I viewed the native 4K presentation in its entirety with HDR. I also viewed the 1080p presentation in its entirety so that I know exactly how the film looks in native 4K and 1080p before I offer my thoughts on the new 4K makeover.

Mean Streets looks strange now. After it was restored in 4K, the film was regraded as well, which means that it has an entirely new appearance. In a lot of areas it can look very yellowish/greenish, exactly like the various the very problematic restorations we have seen coming out of France and Italy in recent years, and flat as well. I noticed several areas where the dynamic range of the visuals was clearly off because of the regrading. (You can see an obvious example here). In some outdoor sequences with plenty of natural light -- like the one where Robert De Niro destroys the mailbox -- the shift in color values is so extreme that the visuals look as if they are extracted from a 2023 production, like Wes Anderson's Asteroid City. I do not remember Mean Streets ever looking like this. In darker areas, some shadow nuances become weak and unconvincing as well, though I must say that the very best looking footage is from the bar where primary red has always been overwhelming. Unfortunately, all other footage with diverse colors has destabilized primaries and nuances. Does the HDR grade improve anything? I do not think so. It does expand the color gamut, as it should, but the changes are too drastic and too obvious. This is very unfortunate because it is very easy to see the raw 4K data is of exceptionally high-quality. Image stability is outstanding. The entire film looks immaculate as well.

Mean Streets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is outstanding. All exchanges are very sharp and clear. There are no stability issues. I thought that some of the outdoor footage where there is a bit more activity sounded better now. But the biggest strength of this track is its health -- it sounds great.

Mean Streets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Martin Scorsese with Richard Linklater - presented here is an excerpt from a conversation between Martin Scorsese and Richard Linklater (The Before Trilogy) that was filmed for the Directors Guild of America following a screening of Mean Streets in 2011. Mr. Scorsese recalls how Mean Streets came to exist and some personal experiences he had in New York that are reproduced in the film. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Selected-Scene Commentary - in this audio commentary, director Martin Scorsese explains how Mean Streets came to exist, what the film represents, how the world of the main characters in the film compares to the one he grew up in, etc. Actress Amy Robinson (Teresa) also recalls her initial encounter with Martin Scorsese, and discusses her contribution to the film as well as the character she plays. The commentary was recorded in 2004.

• A Body Among Other Bodies - presented here is an exclusive new video essay created by critic Imogen Sara Smith in 2023. In English, not subtitled. (30 min).

• Kent Wakeford - in this archival program, cinematographer Kent Wakeford discusses his collaboration with Martin Scorsese on Mean Streets. The program was produced in 2011 and also appeared on French label Carlotta Films' Blu-ray release of Mean Streets. In English, not subtitled. (20 min).

• Mardik Martin - presented here are two excerpts from the documentary Mardik: Baghdad to Hollywood, directed by Ramy Katrib and Evan York in 2008, which features cowriter Mardik Martin, cowriter-director Martin Scorsese, journalist Peter Biskind, and filmmaker Amy Heckerling. Also inlcuded is footage from the documentary Italianamerican, which is inlcuded on Carlotta Films' Blu-ray release of Mean Streets. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Martin Scorsese: Back on the Block - in this archival featurette, director Martin Scorsese talks about the city he grew up in, New York. The featurette was produced by Warner Bros. in 1973 for the theatrical release of Mean Streets. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Trailer - presented here is an archival U.S. trailer for Mean Streets. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Lucy Sante as well as technical credits.

Mean Streets 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Martin Scorsese has said that Mean Streets reproduces a lot of experiences he had as a young man while living in New York City, which I do not doubt at all because the film is so simple and sincere it is brilliant. Criterion's upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack introduces a new 4K restoration of Mean Streets that was apparently approved by Scorsese and editor Thelma Schoonmaker. Unfortunately, I have to report that the 4K makeover alters the original appearance of the film quite dramatically. If you have been planing to pick up this release for your library, I suggest that you find a way to test it first and then make a final decision whether to upgrade.