"Mean Streets"

Paper Summary:

"Mean Streets" is a film about gangster punks in New York's Little Italy neighborhood. This paper analyzes "Mean Streets" from a stylistic vantage point, discussing not only the film's influences, but also its mise en scene, narrative devices, acting, and editing. In doing so, It hopes to make a case for why "Mean Streets" is one of Scorsese's more successful earlier efforts and that it warrants further investigation.

From the Paper:

"Like many other of the famous New Hollywood films from this era, Mean Streets was influenced by European art films - particularly those of the French nouvelle vague, a movement made famous by the directorial efforts of such auteurs as Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Another clear stylistic influence was Direct Cinema, an American movement of the 1950s and 1960s in which directors attempted to capture reality directly with as little mediation as possible. This documentary approach surfaces early on in Mean Streets. The first shot in the film, which follows Charlie from the bed to the mirror and back again, utilizes many of the techniques that Direct Cinema first employed - a real life location (rather than a studio set); natural light; shaky, hand held camera work; and long takes (Grist 65). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cannon, Damian. "Mean Streets (1973)." Movie Reviews UK, 1997. Retrieved April 24, 2008 from: http://www.film.u-net.com/Movies/Reviews/Mean_Streets.html.
• Ebert, Roger. "Mean Streets." 2003. Retrieved April 25, 2008 from: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031231/REVIEWS08/401010340/1023.
• Friedman, Lawrence S. The Cinema of Martin Scorsese. New York: Continuum, 1997.
• Grist, Leighton. The Films of Martin Scorsese, 1963-77: Authorship and Context. New York: St. Martin's, 2000.
• Kael, Pauline. For Keeps. New York: Dutton, 1994.

More papers on "Mean Streets":

• Book Review # 117751 : "Piri Thomas' "Down These Mean Streets"
• Book Review # 116549 : "Down These Mean Streets"
• Analytical Essay # 56921 : "Down These Mean Streets"

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