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 & 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:

first love | father son relationship | gangster | money | bus | 

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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

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and several scenes of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

1 October 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Bronx Tale

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$17,266,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

Price Entertainment,Penta Entertainment,Tribeca Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The street in front of the Chez Bippy bar is 30th Avenue in Astoria Queens, New York. Now called the American Sports Center, and is located at 4402 30th Avenue, Astoria, New York 11103.

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Goofs

While Sonny and C are in the convertible on Sonny's drive-way, the steering wheel moves between shots.

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Quotes

Lorenzo: [about C] The other night he tried to throw away his baseball cards because he said Mickey Mantle would never pay our rent.
Sonny: [laughs] He said that to you? I can't believe that kid.
[They all start laughing]
Lorenzo: That's not funny. Not when your kid has a bigger bank account than you do.

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to the memory of Robert De Niro, Sr.

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Connections

Referenced in Mike & Mike: Episode dated 23 August 2016 (2016)

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Soundtracks

For Your Precious Love
Written by Arthur Brooks, Richard Brooks and Jerry Butler
Performed by Jerry Butler & The Impressions

User Reviews

Growing Up In The Bronx

A Bronx Tale does take me back to New York City in the sixties. I grew up in Brooklyn then which certainly has always had its own identity. I'm glad that Chazz Palmentiri has given the Bronx an identity of its own. There are still parts of the Bronx which have the Italian neighborhood you see depicted here. But the Bronx is a Latino majority borough now, ironic when you consider part of the story of A Bronx Tale is the racial tension between the blacks and Italians.

The movie divides in two parts, the first is around 1960 with the background of the 1960 World Series, one of the best ever played where the Yankees of Mickey Mantle lost to the Pirates in seven games. Robert DeNiro is your average Joe, a bus driver by profession trying with his wife, Katherine Narducci, to raise their son who is eight years old. Young Francis Capra who is fascinated by the gangsters hanging out at the bar down the street, witnesses the local boss commit a murder. True to the neighborhood code he doesn't snitch to the police and the local boss takes him under his wing.

Chazz Palmentiri is the boss and he's an interesting character. A man who's risen to the top of his profession, he's got a sense of himself and what it took to get there. Life is about choices, he made his and he's going with the flow, but he knows it isn't for everyone. He advises young Capra to stay in school, but the more he advises the more fascinating Palmentiri becomes to DeNiro's dismay.

The second half of the story is in 1968, the Bronx as part of America ravaged by racial tensions, assassinations and the war in Vietnam. The little boy is now teenager Lillo Brancato who gets interested in a black girl, a big no-no in the crowd he comes from, but Palmentiri is the one person who encourages the relationship. Let's just say that everything, every element of the story comes full circle on one night in the Bronx in 1968.

The comparison to Goodfellas for me is obvious. The two kids who grow up to be Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta are taken under the wing of neighborhood boss Paul Sorvino who sees them as promising gangster material and they grow into the roles. Palmentiri keeps telling the young kid here do what I say not what I do, but in the end it takes some tragic events to set him on a right path.

DeNiro who you would normally expect in the gangster role is just fine as the father, a good man, not a perfect one by any means, but just a guy trying to do right by his family. It's Palmentiri however who really steals the film as the local gangster boss who's as street smart as they come, but even with all that can't anticipate all contingencies.

Lillo Brancato who went on to several other film roles and a long running one in The Sopranos certainly in real life didn't make the same choices as his character Calogero Anello did. Life really imitated art in his life story.

Nice to see the Bronx get its due.