2. Mean Streets
Scorsese's first masterpiece and also one of the greatest independent films ever made. Mean Streets is a very raw movie that feels brutally realistic at some points thanks to its extremely unpolished nature. Mean Streets is basically a blueprint for Scorsese's entire career in that it features characters who are likeable while also being morally reprehensible, a story that feels both honest and stylized and a directorial touch that always allows the narrative to flow at a natural pace. The depiction of New York City is also something that will later be an obsession of sorts for Scorsese and Mean Streets presents the city in a brilliant way, especially Little Italy. He clearly loves his home city and that love has never been clearer than it is in this film because he shows honest, hard working people that also have connections in the criminal underground. Instead of judging these characters they are shown as real people that are tying to overcome their environment.