Mean Streets (Scorsese)

[huntauk]

Originally Posted by rapta

I got fed up with waiting and complaining with them so ordered it from Rakuten for £6 (when the £5-off deal was working). Looking forward to this one!

Wish I'd done the same. Instead I ended up getting Nemesis for £5.99. Some reason I thought it would be trashy late 80's/early 90's fun - with Tim Thomerson & Brion James. Instead it was just poorly directed by Pyun - and plain boring.

Hopefully my amazon order ships soon so I get this and Paper Moon in hand for next weekend.

[rapta]

Originally Posted by huntauk

Wish I'd done the same. Instead I ended up getting Nemesis for £5.99. Some reason I thought it would be trashy late 80's/early 90's fun - with Tim Thomerson & Brion James. Instead it was just poorly directed by Pyun - and plain boring.

Hopefully my amazon order ships soon so I get this and Paper Moon in hand for next weekend.

Yeah wish I'd got a couple more as I already had several accounts set up...did manage to get Hobson's Choice and the Max Max Trilogy for around the same price though, so didn't do too bad.

Looking forward to Paper Moon as well...a good week for 70's American cinema! Should be arriving on Tuesday (almost forgot it was a Bank Holiday).

[intothewild]

Is there any subtitles on the new Icon version (UK) ?
(I know there is on the amercian version)

[mattyl149]

Originally Posted by intothewild

Is there any subtitles on the new Icon version (UK) ?
(I know there is on the amercian version)

If you look at that first picture, it confirms there are English HOH subtitles

[mojo_navigator]

Mean Streets is my favorite film and I consider it miles superior to other Scorsese flicks. Although those are technically better films, Mean Streets has real soul, something intangible that the other more celebrated works lack (at least to me).

It's such a shame that even though its respected as an influential piece of work, it has never received the full restoration work that Taxi Driver etc has for the home video market.

I’ve seen it over 40 times now, mostly in repertory cinemas, and would like to confirm that this film, though it cost only $250k to make, can look utterly spellbinding. I saw a 30 year restored anniversary print back in 2005 and YIKES!! I would utterly kill to see that kind of quality on Blu. So it is possible, folks. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Regarding the blu-ray versions currently on the market, I have both the US and French and they are both abominations. The US fares worse of the two. The color timing is plain wrong – pale, weak and anemic. Where interiors should be bathed in eye-gouging reds we are instead greeted with lightweight pinks that don’t look anything like the true film.

The French is slightly better and there are many moments when it looks closer to the theatrical presentation. It still suffers from color timing problems though. This time, instead of pink we get…orange! How difficult can it be to get something like this right? At other times, a bizarre green/olive tint makes itself known, again utterly unlike the film. Even for a devout obsessive like myself, it's a real chore to watch.

Originally I wasn't going to buy this one yet again as I'm sick of being conned continuously, but on the basis of the screenshots provided by blu-ray.com, I’ve gone ahead placed an order for this UK version. The screenshots look much more accurate than either the US or French so we shall see if it indeed captures the emotion and power of this truly outstanding and life-changing film.

Third time lucky, I hope

[mr-bayram92]

If anyone is interested this is in the hmv 5 for £30

[Nocturnaloner]

Originally Posted by mojo_navigator

Mean Streets is my favorite film and I consider it miles superior to other Scorsese flicks. Although those are technically better films, Mean Streets has real soul, something intangible that the other more celebrated works lack (at least to me).

I caught part of Mean Streets on TCM early this morning. It'd been years since I'd seen it. The shot where Johnny Boy walks into the bar, and we see his POV in slow motion, tracking over to Charlie as the music plays, everything about that carried the essence of Scorsese. The budget didn't allow for a beautiful shot in low light, it's murky and grainy, but there's an energy to it, a sort of first time love and excitement that you can feel. I don't know how that comes out of the screen to me, but it does. There can only be one first time.

[mojo_navigator]

My copy arrived today and I thought I’d give a quick scan of pivotal scenes to gauge its overall quality/accuracy.

I can confirm that this is by far and away the most accurate and authentic home video version I’ve seen of Mean Streets. For the first time, the colors are right – yes, the colorist understands red! It looks very much like, identical even, to all cinema presentations that I’ve witnessed.

The source could be better quality but honestly this is really minor. The streets of early ‘70s New York are rendered right. They look rough, mean and dirty. You can really smell the garbage on this transfer, so much so, that I had to switch it off as I didn’t want to ruin the moment; I want to watch the whole thing when the time’s right (saw it several months ago at the rep so a little too soon right now)

Another plus is the audio. Although I would have preferred the original 1.0 to 2.0, the dialogue is now very clear and this is very important in this film particularly since the people and their relationships are the story (there isn’t much of a plot). Plus the diction establishes the New York feel as much as the garbage.

Really pleased with what I've seen so far. Of the three blu-ray versions on the market, this is clearly the one to get.

[bigshot]

That would be a great critic's quote to put on the cover of the package... "You can smell the garbage!"

[rapta]

I managed to get mine from Rakuten whilst they were having £5 off £10+ spend, so got this for about £6...if anyone else hasn't got it yet, it's in HMV's 5 for £30/3 for £20 which makes it roughly £6 as well.

I liked the reversible cover, not watched the disc yet! Sounds great so far though (and got remastered Goodfellas and The Last Temptation of Christ this week too).

[Tech-UK]

Does this release feature alternative artwork (the original poster art)? I am sure I saw some pic's of it, but I cannot remember where.

Is it worth keeping the FR release for any reason? Different special features?

[rapta]

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

Does this release feature alternative artwork (the original poster art)? I am sure I saw some pic's of it, but I cannot remember where.

Is it worth keeping the FR release for any reason? Different special features?

Originally Posted by rapta

Here's the reverse artwork:

[Tech-UK]

I should have read your post fully, directly above mine!

Cheers rapta.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

Does this release feature alternative artwork (the original poster art)? I am sure I saw some pic's of it, but I cannot remember where.

Plenty of photos were provided with the review:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Mean-...116473/#Review





Pro-B

[the blob]

While it's showing as £8.99 on the website, this was already in my local HMV's 5 for £30/3 for £20! Going to have to give the deal a better run through next week as I wouldn't mind picking it up.

[CelestialAgent]

FDA are listing a UK theatrical reissue for 13th October from Altitude, same day as Friday the 13th and in time for Killers of the Flower Moon. Based on Bloodsport and The Misfits, maybe it’s a Capelight 4K restoration?

[jtarvainen]

Could someone confirm that the UK disc doesn’t mess up the narration in the beginning like the Warner US BD does?