Mean Streets (1973)

It was a good film but not a great film. It seemed like the actors were improvising the lines as they went along. As if the script only had an outline and and the actors were told to improvise. Either that or the actors (which are great actors now) were just learning their timing. Either way, the timing was off. The fight scenes didn't have any injuries and seemed to be more wrestling than fighting. None of the characters had any redeeming qualities so you don't really care what happens to the characters themselves. I think the audience cares about the characters only because of the actors playing them. For instance, De Nero's character, many people had at least one person in their group like him. Looking back, that person was more work than he was worth and we all grew up and away from that type of person. If De Nero wasn't in our hearts already, we wouldn't feel anything for the character he played.The characters in Saturday Night Fever seemed to have a closer relationship than these characters. I am pretty sure Scorsese would remake the film differently if he had a chance. I liked the film but as a slice of that type of life. More as a documentary than as a story telling film.