Looking Back: Mean Streets (1973)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the film. If you have not seen the film, do not go further. 

While not Martin Scorsese’s directorial debut, this the film that put him on the map for future films like “Taxi Driver”, “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas”. The film tells the story of four Italian American friends who are involved in organized crime. Two of the friends are Charlie and Johnny Boy played respectively by Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. Charlie is a devout Roman Catholic who wants to move up in the business to impress his uncle while at the same time trying to protect Johnny Boy from getting into trouble. De Niro’s performance as Johnny lights up the screen, even stealing the scene from Keitel who is the lead. Johnny Boy is a small time gambler who owes money to a local loan shark. In the opening credits, he blows up a mailbox with a firecracker. Without words and his style of clothing, it tells us everything we need to know about him. Charlie is also romantically involved with Johnny Boy's cousin, Teresa. (My apologies in advance for the second and third videos since I could not uploaded them like the first one.)

I first saw this film while taking a class at my university. Prior to seeing it, it was a film I wanted to watch being a fan of Scorsese. Watching it for the first time was fun for me since it contained some of the director’s trademarks. It is pure cinema at it's finest in my opinion. A scene I would like to share is when Johnny Boy enters the bar with a girl in each arm. Prior to this scene, Charlie is aware of Johnny Boy’s debts and seems to be both worried and angry at him. Plus, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones is the icing in this scene. In a way, Scorsese is telling us everything we need to know visually. Johnny Boy lives his life without solving his problems. Fun fact even though it is not shown, De Niro improvised his dialogue in this scene.  

Another scene I would like to take a look at is the bar brawl scene. Charlie is collecting debt from clients and everything seems to be going well until Johnny Boy starts to insult some customers followed by the owner. The direction Scorsese goes for is frantic and chaos. Pay attention to the way Johnny Boy fights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtAl0bXSmzI

At this point in the film, Charlie is able to convince Johnny Boy to pay off some of his debt. The loan shark arrives at the bar waiting for him to collect. Then he shows up not only late but only pays ten dollars which the loan shark rejects. Then Johnny Boy starts to insult him and threatens him with a gun. What I like about this is the intensity De Niro calls him a jerk off. The scene speaks for itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92CKGAeQUY

If you are fan of Scorsese or any kind of gangster film, put this on your list. 

Looking Back: Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the film and if you have not seen it, do not go further and watch the film.

 

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” tells the story of a retired acrophobic detective Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart) who is hired as a private to spy on a blonde woman, Madeline, (Kim Novak) who is the wife of a friend.  Ferguson soon starts to become obsessed with Madeline, even after her death. Then he meets Judy, whose facial features resemble Madeline despite her blonde hair. As it turns out, Judy is Madeline who was hired to dupe Ferguson so that the friend can murder his actual wife. Ferguson then makes Judy dress and even dyes her hair blonde to resemble Madeline.

After Henri-Georges Clouzot beat Hitchcock for the rights to make “Diabolique”, Hitchcock contacted “Diabolique” novelists Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac to write a novel that he could make a film of. The result, “From Among the Dead”    Fifty eight years later after its release, “Vertigo” continues to be Hitchcock’s masterpiece. I have seen the film about three times.  I saw it again last week and I appreciated Hitchcock’s use of mise en scene. An example of this would be the entrance of Madeline. Ferguson is at the restaurant where his friend told him he will see Madeline.  The combination of the red colored wall and Madeline’s green and black dress look visually stunning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beac86mN8XM

If you noticed in the restaurant scene, there is no line of dialogue except people chattering. Hitchcock was a great visual storyteller thanks to his early work in silent cinema. This could also apply to his many other works like “Rear Window” and “North by Northwest”.  Upon release in 1958, it did not do well both financially and critically. Hitchcock would later blame the failure on Jimmy Stewart for being “too old”. Over the years, the film would be reappraised and is considered a masterpiece. It even knocked down Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” as the greatest film of all time in 2012. As I mentioned earlier, I have viewed the film three times and I can say that I enjoyed it the third time. I guess it is the character of Jimmy Stewart and his obsession with a woman. I also liked Hitchcock’s use of color in certain scenes. For example, there is the nightmare sequence that again does not use dialogue and it is almost hypnotic. What I like the most in this scene is the rapid change of colors and Bernard Herrmann’s score.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WAxDlUOw-w

Another scene I enjoy Hitchcock’s use of color is Judy’s hotel room. It is in a couple of scenes and what I like about it is the green tint that the sign gives. The clip below does a great job of what the green light does for the scene.  Especially when Judy walks out after making her hair look like Madeline's, it is almost as if she is walking into the gray like the color of her suit. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tesqTwX7cpc

Overall, the film is a great watch if you are a fan of Hitchcock's or mystery thrillers in general. It also demands multiple viewings once the film is over and in doing so, you can start to put the pieces together.