Scorsese described the genesis of “Mean Streets” as “pretty much a counterbalance to ‘Who’s That Knocking’. To a certain extent, ‘Mean Streets’ is closer to the reality of what was going on.” Finding financing wasn’t easy - the director related the now-famous story of Corman pitching him on an all-black version of “Mean Streets.” “I said, ‘Ok, I’ll think about it.’ You never say no. As I walked out, I said, ‘I can’t, no it’s just not gonna work.’ ”

Shooting in New York for more than a few days was out of their budget, so Scorsese and crew tracked down the most New York-esque places they could find — in Los Angeles. “The interiors had to have some aspect of New York,” Scorsese explained. Shooting around Little Italy proved difficult, since most people in the neighborhood weren’t open to having cameras around. “My father had to talk to a lot of people, pay some money to people in buildings, and he was quite upset about it, but they weren’t very forthcoming.” The shoot lasted twenty six days. “Basically it was all designed, for one shot to go to the next, to create the impression of New York.”

Martin Scorsese Talks About Growing Up On Some Mean Streets in New York’s Lincoln Center