Mean Streets (1973) Martin Scorsese
Introduction
A film is a story or an event that is a set of moving images or motion pictures and is shown in theater or on television. Films always portray different messages in them depending on the subject topic. The message they portray or carry mainly depend on the plot, setting of the movie and the role the different characters take up in the film or movie. The intent of the film is always in the main theme and this is always the beneficial part of the film to the viewers or the consumers (Merritt n.p).
“Mean Streets” is one of the few thrilling films that have shaped the world over the past four decades. The American film was directed by Martin Scorsese who then co-wrote it with Madrik Martin. The film was officially released by Warner Bros in 1973, October 2. The purpose of this paper is to describe the film, “Mean Streets (1973) Martin Scorsese” including its genre and in general terms. Carry out the discussion of the major themes as communicated in the film, evaluate the film for production quality and lastly summarize by briefly pointing out the strengths and weakness of the film.
Description of the film
Film lovers will always be happy and satisfied if after watching the film it affects or deeply changes their lives. This is what is Martin Scorsese wanted when he shot his film “Mean Streets (1973)”. The main topic of the film is, “You do not make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it.” The main topic of the film clearly indicates that daily life of individuals in which ever place they find themselves and their deeds constitutes some of the actions the church consider evil and therefore not encouraged in our societal interactions (Levy n.p).
The plot of the film centers on the struggles of four young men in their mid-20s who intend to become gangers, loan sharks or plain hoods in Little Italy. The film gives a slice of street life of the four young men where one of them, Charlie Cappa hooks up with a loan shark. He is to free himself from the dangers of his rising debts as life becomes unbearable and therefore seeks assistances form one of them who is deep into criminal activities. The film tries to indicate that the future is good for Tony who owns a bar and Michael a person who makes end meet by running deals in the streets of New York City’s Little Italy. The future not well defined for their foe Charlie who makes bad debts as he works for his uncle. The setting of the film is in Little Italy, New York and brings out the life that young individuals had to do with which at times was against the catholic faith (Martin 49).
The main characters in the film are Tony who is a little bigger than the other three young men are and runs a bar in the neighborhood of Little Italy. Then we have Michael, who has turns out to be a loan shark in the film with a habit of ripping off naïve teenagers from Brooklyn. The film then brings out Jonny Boy one of the main characters as a crazy and irresponsible individual with aggressive and violent criminal intent. Jonny Boy has a habit of borrowing money from sharks with intention of not paying back and occasional blows up mailboxes. Finally yet importantly, the other main character in the play is Charlie. Charlie is a well-groomed nephew of a local mafia boss Giovanni and he is interested in nothing but running his restaurant in Little Italy. Charlie comes out as the only savior to the young Johnny Boy who seems to be lost deeply into his borrowing antics and never wants to hear any of Charlie’s plans (Jefferson and Clarke 49-55).
The main theme of any film is always portrayed in the characters traits of the main characters. One of the major themes brought out clearly in the film is the intense internal struggle that is required from individuals as they encounter daily lives. This is clearly brought out by Charlie who loves his girlfriend Teresa but worries because of her epilepsy state, but secretly decides to love her even without the knowledge of his uncle. The internal struggle is further portrayed out as Charlie go far away to have Michael as her friend who is a black stripper. He continues squaring out his life by working for his uncle that is even against his own religious convictions. He is deeply concerned by the outcomes of sins and occasional prays in the cathedral as he wonders about eternal horrors and punishment from God after death. The actions of Charlie bring out the other theme of moral obligations that the members of the society are expected to harbor as they engage in their daily activities in the society. The film through Charlie brings out the religious concerns and obsessions of guilt that members of society should harbor. He is of a catholic faith and therefore he finds it difficult to reconcile his life as a Mafioso and his association with his friends (Jefferson and Clarke n.p).
The other theme in the film is directly associated to pride and respect. The film brings out the male characters in the play as individuals suffering from extreme anxiety of doubting themselves. Pride is let out in the film when Giovanni who is a stern patriarch warns Michael of associating with anyone or any activity that is likely to lead to dishonor. He again dismisses the relationship between Charlie and Teresa just because the person suffers from epilepsy, a clear indication that because of his pride he did not want to be associated with epileptic people. When Charlie comes to the rescue of his friend Johnny Boy to straighten him, Johnny Boy prides off and continues with his habits of borrowing money from sharks with intention of not paying back and occasional continues to blow up mailboxes (Jefferson and Clarke n.p).
Evaluation of the film for production quality
A movie’s production quality depends on how style, direction, editing, acting, light, music and how well the cinematic techniques are used in the storyline. The production quality of “Mean Streets (1973) Martin Scorsese” is very good as the film comes out with a very nice filmic softness and the encoding in it strikes as both precise and proficient. The film brings out the fine textures and blue light rays that enhance its originality that enables it to retain some consistency and visceral reliability. The audio in the film is clear, allowing dialogue, effects, ambiance and music to come together without even tripping or trampling on one another. Stylistically the film comes out as a rough sketch. The film employs good use of cinematic techniques such as symbolism by fashioning through the characters a grim and brutal honest life on the streets of Little Italy (Dancyger 1-11).
Strengths and weakness of the film
The intent of any film once it hits the market is always to be beneficial to the viewers. Most the films produces though have some strengths as well as weakness. One of the strengths of the film “Mean Streets (1973) Martin Scorsese” is that is a stepping-stone in educating the aspiring auteur. The film is so original making it to achieve the effects of expression without use of distortion, giving the aspiring auteur an opportunity to learn how to focus on originality of their work. The movie is all-educative as per the themes and the character traits it reveals to the viewers. The super charged drama in it takes one on a frenzied and emotional tour, with sensational and brilliant characters (Dancyger n.p).
The weakness of the movie is seen as it ends; the story ends without knowing what happens next. The film ends on a note of total disorder, with a shout out and act of violence perpetrated on the characters.
Conclusion
Works Cited
Adamson, Lynda G. Thematic Guide to Popular Nonfiction. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 2006. Print
Dancyger, Ken. Global Scriptwriting. Boston: Focal Press, 2001. Print.
Grierson, Tim. Martin Scorsese in Ten Scenes. London: ILex, 2015. Print.
Jefferson, T, and J Clarke. "down These Mean Streetsthe Meaning of Mugging": September 1973. Birmingham: University of Birmingham, Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, 1973. Print.
Levy, Emanuel. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York: New York UP, 1999. Print.
Martin, Richard. Mean Streets and Raging Bulls: The Legacy of Film Noir in Contemporary American Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1999. Internet resource.
Merritt, Greg. Celluloid Mavericks: The History of American Independent Film. New York, NY: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2000. Print.
