Lists
- ranked 8 in Roger Ebert's Best Films of 1974
- ranked 13 in Chicago Tribune 100 Best Films of the Century
- ranked 45 in Total Film's 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time
- ranked 64 in Entertainment Weekly's 100 Greatest Movies of All Time
- ranked 93 in BBC 100 Greatest American Films
- ranked 126 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (August 2005)
- ranked 127 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (March 2006)
- ranked 132 in They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 1000 Greatest Films (December 2006)
- ranked 377 in Empire 500 Greatest Movies (2008)
- one of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies Nominees
- one of AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills Nominees
- one of Guardian 1,000 films to see before you die
- one of Leonard Maltin's 100 "Must See" Films of the 20th Century
- one of The New York Times Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
I understand that Mean Streets was based on things that Martin Scorsese saw himself growing up in the Italian-American community, and that community is its real star. Charlie (Harvey Keitel) tries to be friends with everyone, interceding to protect his crazy, self-destructive gambler friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro). It's a slice of life, almost impressionistic, in a seedy world where everyone knows everyone else, where violence comes in an instant and goes away as fast. Performances are great but it's the net effect, the way the streets come alive, the milieu comes alive, that is enthralling.