"You don't make up for your sins at church, you do it in the streets". Those were the first lines uttered in Martin Scorsese's classic Mean Streets, a film the director made after friend and mentor John Cassavetes condemned him for making cheap exploitation picture Boxcar Bertha saying that "you've just spent a year of your life making a piece of sh*t". Inspired, Scorsese decided to make a deeply personal film based off of his own experiences of growing up in a New York neighbourhood. The film was a huge success and brought Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Harvey Kietel to the attention of the film world. Often imitated but never duplicated, Mean Streets remains one of the most original American films of all time and is bristling with independent spirit.
