Mean Streets

A grimy slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. Charlie (Keitel), the nephew of mob boss Giovanni (Danova), struggles to keep his crazy friend Johnny Boy (De Niro) out of serious trouble. A riveting, free-form feature film, marking the formal debut by Scorsese (five years earlier he had completed a student film, "Who's That Knocking At My Door?"). Unorthodox camera movement and gritty performances by De Niro and Keitel, with underlying Catholic guilt providing the moral conflict. Excellent early '60s soundtrack.