Mean Streets

AroView: Martin Scorsese made his name with this pungent rendition of New York Italian-Americana set among the teeming lowlife of his old neighbourhood.

The loyalties of Harvey Keitel and buddies are divided over the debt-dodging antics of their friend Robert De Niro. Propulsive camerawork, sharp acting and a seminal rock soundtrack collide in some of cinema’s grittiest scenes in what is one of the most influential works of American independent cinema.