Editing Mean Streets (section)

==Reception==
''Mean Streets'' received immense critical acclaim on its release. On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 92% based on 78 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "''Mean Streets'' is a powerful tale of urban sin and guilt that marks Scorsese's arrival as an important cinematic voice and features electrifying performances from Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mean_streets/|title=Mean Streets (1973) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=November 26, 2024}}</ref> According to [[Metacritic]], which assigns a weighted average of 96 out of 100, based on eleven critics, the film received "universal acclaim".<ref>{{cite Metacritic|id=mean-streets |type=movie|title= Mean Streets Reviews|access-date= August 17, 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Martin_Scorsese_by_David_Shankbone_(2601129680).jpg|thumb|right|alt=Director Martin Scorsese|Director Martin Scorsese]]

[[Pauline Kael]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was among the enthusiastic critics, calling it "a true original, and a triumph of personal filmmaking" and "dizzyingly sensual".<ref>Kael, Pauline (1991). ''5001 Nights at the Movies''. New York: Holt Paperbacks. p. 473. {{ISBN|0-8050-1367-9}}.</ref>

[[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' reflected that "no matter how bleak the milieu, no matter how heartbreaking the narrative, some films are so thoroughly, beautifully realized they have a kind of tonic effect that has no relation to the subject matter".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Canby |first=Vincent |date=1973-10-03 |title='Mean Streets' at Film Festival |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/03/archives/mean-streets-at-film-festival-the-cast.html |access-date=2022-11-29 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine called it "one of the best American films of the decade".<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mean Streets (1973) |work=[[Time Out London]] |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/72996/mean_streets.html |url-status=dead |access-date=2022-11-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607134208/http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/72996/mean_streets.html |archive-date=2011-06-07}}</ref>

[[David Denby]], writing for ''[[Sight and Sound]]'', praised the film's acting, saying that Scorsese had used improvisation "better than anyone in American movies so far". He concluded by saying, "Scorsese's impulse to express all he feels about life in every scene (a cannier, more prudent director wouldn't have started his film with that great De Niro monologue), and thus to wrench his audience upwards into a new state of consciousness with one prolonged and devastating gesture, infinitely hurting and infinitely tender. ''Mean Streets'' comes close enough to this feverish ideal to warrant our love and much of our respect."<ref>{{cite book |date=2021 |title=Martin Scorsese: A Life of Movies |pages=10–13}}</ref>

Retrospectively, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' inducted ''Mean Streets'' on his [[The Great Movies|Great Movies list]] and wrote: "In countless ways, right down to the detail of modern TV crime shows, ''Mean Streets'' is one of the source points of modern movies."<ref name="ebert">{{cite web |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=December 31, 2003 |title=Mean Streets Movie Review & Film Summary (1973) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-mean-streets-1973 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |website=RogerEbert.com}}</ref>

In 2013, the staff of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' voted the film the seventh greatest of all time.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 27, 2013 |title=Movies: 10 All-Time Greatest - 7. Mean Streets (1973) |url=http://ew.com/gallery/movies-10-all-time-greatest/7-mean-streets-1973 |url-status=dead |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211080817/http://ew.com/gallery/movies-10-all-time-greatest/7-mean-streets-1973/ |archive-date=2017-02-11 |access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref> In 2015, it was ranked 93rd on the BBC's list of the 100 greatest American films.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films | title=The 100 greatest American films | publisher=BBC | date=July 20, 2015 | access-date=January 19, 2017}}</ref>

[[James Gandolfini]], when asked on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'' (season 11, episode two) which films that most influenced him, cited ''Mean Streets'', saying, "I saw that ten times in a row".<ref>{{cite web | first=Scott | last=Collins | title=James Gandolfini dies at 51; actor starred in 'The Sopranos' | url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-xpm-2013-jun-20-la-me-james-gandolfini-20130620-story.html | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=June 20, 2013 | access-date=February 9, 2017}}</ref>

Likewise, director [[Kathryn Bigelow]] said that ''Mean Streets'' was one of her five favorite movies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 8, 2009 |title=Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/five-favorite-films-with-kathryn-bigelow/ |access-date=November 16, 2020 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref>

In an interview with [[GQ Magazine|''GQ'']], [[Spike Lee]] named ''Mean Streets'' as one of his influences, along with ''[[On The Waterfront]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ofiaza |first1=Renz |title=Spike Lee Breaks Down His Film Heroes in New Interview |url=https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/spike-lee-film-heroes/ |access-date=November 7, 2021 |work=Highsnobiety |date=August 19, 2018 |language=en}}</ref>

In 2011, [[Empire (film magazine)|''Empire'']] listed the film as #1 on its "50 Greatest American Independent Films" list.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Toy |first1=Sam |last2=Carty |first2=Stephen |last3=Jolin |first3=Dan |last4=White |first4=James |last5=O'Hara |first5=Helen |last6=Plumb |first6=Ali |last7=De Semlyen |first7=Philip |title=The 50 Greatest American Independent Movies |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/50-greatest-american-indies/ |access-date=November 7, 2021 |work=Empire |date=June 30, 2011}}</ref>

In 2022, the film appeared on "''Variety'''s 100 Greatest Films of All Time" list.<ref>{{Cite web |last6=Laffly |date=2022-12-21 |title=The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time |url=https://variety.com/lists/best-movies-of-all-time/mean-streets-1973-2/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>