History Film / MeanStreets

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Scorsese's feature debut, ''Film/WhosThatKnockingAtMyDoor'', which also starred Harvey Keitel as a young Italian New Yorker with some mob ties and lots of Catholic guilt. In fact, Scorsese initially conceived it as a direct sequel.

* PoisonousFriend: Johnny Boy is so much of this to Charlie that even Charlie's Mob superior--his uncle--warns him to stay away.
** Subverted in the end, it turns out that it's Charlie who's this to Johnny Boy, at least from Scorsese's perspective, who believes that Charlie was using Johnny Boy for his own selfish moral conflict.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: Johnny Boy seems to be this in his circle. Charlie is the only one he has a close bond with.

* TwentyMinutesIntoThePast: Set in the latter part of TheSixties, with September 1968 likely being the specific time frame (since that's the month the San Gennaro festival takes place and it's also around the time [[Music/TheRollingStones "Jumpin' Jack Flash"]] was peaking on the charts).

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Scorsese's feature debut, ''Film/WhosThatKnockingAtMyDoor'', which also starred Harvey Keitel as a young Italian New Yorker with some mob ties and lots of [[RaisedCatholic Catholic guilt]]. In fact, Scorsese initially conceived it as a direct sequel.

-->--'''Charlie'''

The film was Scorsese's BreakthroughHit, establishing him as a major talent and proved to be [=DeNiro=]'s StarMakingRole. It was seen as the counterpart to ''Film/TheGodfather'' taking a gritty, down to earth approach to the Italian American mob showing them without the AffablyEvil stylizations of that film. Much of what came to be Scorsese's SignatureStyle is visible in this film, stylized camera movements, sudden violence, troubling religious iconography and use of popular music as scores.

!! This Movie Contains Examples Of:

* BullyingADragon: After Charlie has gone out of his way to rectify Johnny Boy's debt situation with a neighborhood mobster, Johnny Boy not only refuses to pay but also insults the mobster to his face and threatens him with a gun. [[WhatAnIdiot Not a wise move.]]

* InstantDeathBullet: Averted. See MadeOfIron below.

* EnterStageWindow: Johnny Boy does this to get into Teresa's apartment, finds Teresa and Charlie embracing, and finds out about their affair.

* GanglandDriveBy: [[spoiler:Michael and Jimmy Shorts spray Charlie's car full of lead at the end of the movie, after Johnny Boy goes way, way, way too far with antagonizing Michael. Apparently Charlie, Johnny Boy, and Teresa all survive, although it's not completely clear.]]

* YouWouldntShootMe: "You don't have the guts" - followed by the target fleeing the premises sharpish, only to set up a drive-by in revenge.

* NoEnding: [[spoiler:Michael, having been pushed way too far by Johnny Boy, stages a drive-by assault as Charlie is driving Johnny to Brooklyn with Teresa tagging along. After Jimmy Shorts pumps bullets into their car, Charlie crashes. Johnny is shot in the neck but apparently not fatally, as he stumbles away from the car. Charlie exits the car, shot in the hand. Teresa is also able to walk away, helped out by the =[EMTs]= after suffering a cut on the scalp. There's a quick montage of other characters from the film.]] Then the film ends.

* GanglandDriveBy: Michael and Jimmy Shorts spray Charlie's car full of lead at the end of the movie, after Johnny Boy goes way, way, way too far with antagonizing Michael. Apparently Charlie, Johnny Boy, and Teresa all survive, although it's not completely clear (see NoEnding Below).

* NoEnding: Michael, having been pushed way too far by Johnny Boy, stages a drive-by assault as Charlie is driving Johnny to Brooklyn with Teresa tagging along. After Jimmy Shorts pumps bullets into their car, Charlie crashes. Johnny is shot in the neck but apparently not fatally, as he stumbles away from the car. Charlie exits the car, shot in the hand. Teresa is also able to walk away, helped out by the [=EMTs=] after suffering a cut on the scalp. There's a quick montage of other characters from the film. Then the film ends.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Scorsese's feature debut, ''Film/WhosThatKnockingOnMyDoor'', which also starred Harvey Keitel as a young Italian New Yorker with some mob ties and lots of [[RaisedCatholic Catholic guilt]]. In fact, Scorsese initially conceived it as a direct sequel.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To Scorsese's feature debut, ''Who's That Knocking at My Door?'', which also starred Harvey Keitel as a young Italian New Yorker with some mob ties and lots of [[RaisedCatholic Catholic guilt]]. In fact, Scorsese initially conceived it as a direct sequel.

* GanglandDriveBy: Michael and Jimmy Shorts spray Charlie's car full of lead at the end of the movie, after Johnny Boy goes way, way, way too far with antagonizing Michael. Apparently Charlie, Johnny BOy, and Teresa all survive, although it's not completely clear (see NoEnding Below).

* MadeOfIron: The drunk played by David Carradine, who gets shot three times, turns and grabs his assailant and drags him out of the bathroom, gets shot a fourth time, grabs his assailant again, and appears to be winning the fight by the time they roll out into the street and he collapses. The gang marvels at this, and comparisons to [[RasputinianDeath Rasputin]] are made.

The film was Scorsese's BreakthroughHit, establishing him as a major talent and proved to be [=DeNiro=]'s StarMakingRole. It was seen as the [[CounterpartComparison counterpart]] to ''Film/TheGodfather'' taking a gritty, down to earth approach to the Italian American mob showing them without the AffablyEvil stylizations of that film. Much of what came to be Scorsese's SignatureStyle is visible in this film, stylized camera movements, sudden violence, troubling religious iconography and use of popular music as scores.

* TheMillstone: Johnny. Even when Charlie's trying to help him, Johnny spends the money Charlie loaned him to pay Michael just out of spite. He then insults Michael, threatens him, behaves like an idiot. In the end Charlie is probably going to get into trouble for disobeying his uncle and helping Johnny.