Mean Streets

An early Martin Scorcese-Robert DeNiro effort.This is an excellent portrait of small-time hoods in New York City's Little Italy where brutality, competitiveness and strong family ties of the neighborhood are revealed.
Harvey Keitel plays Charlie, working his way up the ranks of a local mob.Amy Robinson is Teresa, the girlfriend his family deems unsuitable because of her epilepsy.And in the starmaking role that won Best Supporting Actor Awards from the New York and National Society of Film Critics, DeNiro is Johnny Boy, a small-time gambler in big-time debt to the loan sharks.