The 1973 Martin Scorsese crime drama Mean Streets starred young actors Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. This was not De Niro's first film, but it came before The Godfather II and Taxi Driver. Critics raved about Mean Streets and De Niro won a Best Supporting Actor award from the National Society of Film Critics. Mean Streets, from the era before home video, has been overlooked relative to Scorsese's later films, but is well worth a watch 45 years later. Here's a bit more about the film:
10. This was the first film in which Robert De Niro and Martin Scorcese worked together.
Obviously they would go on to collaborate in a lot of films after this. In fact it’s hard not to think of one or the other when you see their name on a film.
9. The music in the film took up half the budget.
There wasn’t much of a budget to begin with and getting the permission to use the music took a heavy toll on the expenses.
Learn more about the making of Mean Streets at TVOM.