Almost There: Robert De Niro in "Mean Streets"
Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at 9:00PM 
Fifty years ago today, the 46th Academy Awards took place in Los Angeles. It was a starry night, as Oscar nights often are, and The Sting would end the ceremony as its big winner. The Exorcist and The Way We Were also did well for themselves, illustrating a push-and-pull between modernity and tradition as the industry tried to reckon with the nascent Old Hollywood movement within its ranks. Indeed, that same year, an up-and-coming New York-based filmmaker had premiered his third feature to great acclaim. Amid its cast was an actor who'd become one of his most important collaborators, a creative partnership that lasts till today and has shaped a good part of American film history.
Mean Streets was also the first time Robert De Niro entered the Oscar conversation. Critics singled him out for his turn as Scorsese's Johnny Boy…