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 (screenplay by), Chazz Palminteri (based on his play)

Stars:

Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert De Niro	...	Lorenzo
Chazz Palminteri	...	Sonny
Lillo Brancato	...	Calogero (Age 17)
Francis Capra	...	Calogero (Age 9)
Taral Hicks	...	Jane
Kathrine Narducci	...	Rosina
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
Joseph D'Onofrio	...	Slick (Age 17)

Storyline

The Bronx, New York, 1960. 9-year-old Calogero grows up admiring and fascinated by the local mob boss, Sonny. Calogero's father, Lorenzo, wants to have nothing to do with the mob and does his best to keep his son away from Sonny and mob business. However, it may prove a losing battle.

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Plot Keywords:

bus driver | italian american | father son relationship | year 1960 | burnt body | 

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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.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and several scenes of violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kathrine Narducci brought her nine-year-old son to the open casting call to audition for the role of young Calogero. When she saw that the role of Calogero's mother was available, she asked if she could also audition, and got the part.

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Goofs

When Phil give Calogero the peaches it's daylight. He goes upstairs & he's confronted by his parents about the money he got from Sonny. They go to the bar to give the money back and it's dusk. They give the money back to Sonny and leave the bar, and it's now dark.

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Quotes

[Anello family eats steak once a week]
Calogero 'C' Anello: I'm not in the mood for steak.

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Connections

Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Intercultural Love Stories in Movies (2016)

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Soundtracks

Ruby
Written by Mitchell Parish and Heinz Roemheld
Performed by Adam Wade
Used by permission of EMI Miller Catalog Inc.
Courtesy of Epic Records
By arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

Wonderful coming-of-age story in little Italy

Oh, what a wonderfully small and intricate film this is! How I love and cherish the world I am pulled into every time I see this film. Robert De Niro's directorial debut proves strong and lively, evidenced by how he stuck to a topic close to home; a young, impressionable Italian kid growing up little Italy in the late 60's. As the naive protagonist Calogero, or 'C' as he is nicknamed, Lillo Brancato gives a great performance as a young man torn between the working-class honesty displayed by his strict father and the ruthless world of organized crime demonstrated by the neighborhood crime boss Sonny (Chazz Palminteri adapted his own play and cast himself as a burly, laid back, world weary know-it-all).

One key element that snags you in is the narration. Like equally personal films of its stature (Scorsese's gangster trilogy, "Taxi Driver," "Election," "Bringing Out The Dead", "SLC Punk!"), the voice-over guiding brings you in even further into the already detailed landscape and story presented. I don't really consider this a mafia movie, it's much more of a coming-of-age tale. However, the background De Niro provides is so intimate and thorough that you wish for another film chronicling the life of Sonny.

I have to admit that, for a debut, De Niro's judicious use of music seemed to rival that of Spike or Scorsese in turns of effectiveness. First of all, De Niro kept a much more grass roots approach, sticking to doo-wop, soul, rock, "mobster pop" (Dean or Frank) and a little jazz. Whereas Scorsese will use anything at his disposal ("Casino" had two Devo tunes in it), De Niro really seems to search for what really makes the scene. My favorite is the scoring of a street fight scene to "Nights In White Satin"... De Niro must of knew before we did it was all in the violins. De Niro said he knew this type of story had been done before and didn't want to repeat anything, so he viewed Scorsese's mobster trilogy to see what already had been done. It's obvious he paid attention.

Even De Niro himself knows a little Italy gangster film is not complete with at least a surprise-ending cameo from you know who...

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Bronx Tale

Filming Locations:

4408 30th Avenue, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,716,456, 3 October 1993

Gross USA:

$17,287,898

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$17,287,898

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price Entertainment, Penta Entertainment, Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1