A Bronx Tale (1993)

A father becomes worried when a local gangster befriends his son in the Bronx in the 1960s.

Director:

Robert De Niro

Writers:

Chazz Palminteri (play), Chazz Palminteri (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Lorenzo Anello
Chazz Palminteri	...	Sonny LoSpecchio
Lillo Brancato	...	Calogero 'C' Anello (age 17)
Francis Capra	...	Calogero 'C' Anello (age 9)
Taral Hicks	...	Jane Williams
Kathrine Narducci	...	Rosina Anello
Clem Caserta	...	Jimmy Whispers
Alfred Sauchelli Jr.	...	Bobby Bars
Frank Pietrangolare	...	Danny K.O
Joe Pesci	...	Carmine
Robert D'Andrea	...	Tony Toupee
Eddie Montanaro	...	Eddie Mush
Fred Fischer	...	JoJo the Whale
Dave Salerno	...	Frankie Coffeecake
Joe D'Onofrio	...	Slick (Age 17)

Storyline

Gangster Sonny is the big man in the Bronx neighborhood of an Italian small boy named Calogero. A shooting witnessed by the boy (nicknamed C) is the starting point of a lasting bond between the gangster and the boy. Father (bus driver Lorenzo), however, disapproves. C grows up under the wing of both men, torn between his own natural honesty and his fascination with Sonny. C's neighborhood cronies get involved in theft, use of guns, and racial fights. When C falls for an African American girl, things don't get any easier. C's leap to manhood is marked by tragedy, but also by his recognition of the many faces of love.

---

Plot Keywords:

gangster | racism | bus | african american | racist | 

---

Taglines:

One man lives in the neighborhood, another man owns it. A devoted father battles the local crime boss for the life of his son.

---

Genres:

Crime | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and several scenes of violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

29 September 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

In den Straßen der Bronx

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$17,266,971 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price Entertainment, Penta Entertainment, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in the film, Sonny tells Calogero that he read 'Niccolo Machiavelli' during his time in prison. He later tells Calogero how he runs his gang - that he'd rather be feared than loved, because fear is something that he can control, while love is not. Sonny then goes on to stress it's important not to give his people so little that fear crosses over into hate. This concept of leadership stems directly from Machiavelli's most famous book, "The Prince."

---

Goofs

Early in the movie, when we first see Calogero on the bus, he's wearing a white dress shirt. When Lorenzo drops him off at their bldg, Calogero is wearing a white T-shirt as he looks up at his Mom. After we see his Mom in the window waving, he has the dress shirt on again.

---

Quotes

Sonny: No-no-no. Coffeecake, no good. I don't want that face lookin' at his face when he's rollin' my dice. Jimmy! Grab a towel from the bar!

---

Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the memory of Robert De Niro, Sr.

---

Connections

References The Godfather (1972)

---

Soundtracks

"I Need Your Loving"
Performed by Don Gardner and Dee Dee Ford

User Reviews

One of the best gangster films. Honestly.

The fact that someone is a terrific, legendary and highly talented and celebrated actor doesn't automatically make him a good director. That goes without saying. Robert De Niro is - as we all naturally know - among the best of the best when it comes to acting. I mean he is a pure genius.

He chose to make his directorial debut (as well as the only motion picture he has directed so far) out of the fine genre he was so familiar with (after playing Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather: Part II", David Aaronson in Sergio Leone's "Once upon a time in America", Al Capone in Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables", Jimmy Conway in Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas" and so on...) that is, a gangster movie.

Surprisingly he ended up directing a masterpiece, at least I think so. Interesting thing is "A Bronx tale" is not exclusively for adult viewers. It's a gangster movie all right so it's definitely violent from time to time but intentionally not far as violent as the films of this type normally tend to be.

This is a moving, attractive and gripping story about a young boy who has to live between the shadow of two powerful men, his own father (De Niro) and local gangster Sonny (Palminteri in his very greatest role). I just watched "A Bronx tale" couple of days ago. I was quite hungry by the time I started to watch it and practically starving by the time of the end credits but there simply wasn't a single scene in this film for me to visit the fridge.

I just didn't want to miss one moment - not even one second of sensational "A Bronx tale". And people, I've seen this film before. Chazz Palminteri's screenplay was excellent and the story was so utterly enchanting and fascinating there's not enough words to describe it. If this turns out to be the only movie De Niro directs he will certainly be remembered as a great director. "A Bronx tale" is one of the best gangster films ever. 10/10.