Mean Streets

Mean Streets (1973) is a crime drama directed by Martin Scorsese, co-written with Mardik Martin . Set in New York's Little Italy, it follows small-time hood Charlie Cappa (Harvey Keitel), who is torn between his devout Catholic faith and his work for the Mafia . His life is further complicated by his secret relationship with an epileptic woman and his reckless, debt-ridden best friend "Johnny Boy" Civello (Robert De Niro in his first collaboration with Scorsese) . In 1997, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress .