In den Straßen der 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.

Like Marty this is a masterpiece, done on less than a stellar budget. The acting is miraculous. Chazz is a genius who can write for the theater, the film and play the starring role. He is the modern personification of charisma. De Niro plays one of his most engaging and lovable roles. This, my friends, is movie making. No blue screens, no CGI, nothing but a wonderful story, brought to life, as movies were meant to be. Oh yes, the ending is perfect. Being a fellow filmmaker, I can't help but be a little envious at De Niro's first directing job. Directing is hard work, acting is hard work, to act in your first directing effort is...incredible. Well, I shouldn't be surprised. Look at the kind of actor he is. Great film, don't miss it, but please don't wait for the special effects. This is one film that doesn't need them to captivate you. 10/10

A Bronx Tale tells the story of a boy growing up in the Bronx that must face tough decisions between a mobster and his father the working man. Robert De Niro, in his directorial debut, shows an inside view of the mafia in the neighborhood and how an individual child idolize them just like the way the film GoodFellas showed how a kid wanted to be a gangster.

Chazz Palminteri plays Sonny, the kingpin in the neighborhood, who is not only a feared man in the Bronx but also kills a man in the streets and Lorenzo's (Robert De Niro) son, Colgero, is the witness. Lorenzo's son doesn't rat on anybody and Sonny considers the kid an okay person where he'll take care of him like a father would for his son if he does certain favors that would make Lorenzo uncomfortable.

Colgero sees different point of views from his two "fathers" where Lorenzo, his real father, is an honest bus driver who likes what he does in making a living prior to standing by in his codes of morality while Colgero sees Sonny as something of a hero since he's not a sucker like those who have to wait for bum paychecks where all he does is make a living by either killing or stealing where having power makes a man.

As Colgero grows into a teenager in the 60's, both his real father (Lorenzo) and his idol (Sonny) want the best for him with different standards and don't want to see him in the wrong direction. At the same time Colgero falls in love with a woman, a young black girl, at his high school where interracial relationships is consider a no-no to both the black community and the Italian neighborhood. It doesn't bother Colgero one bit while asking both his father and idol for advice where he's growing up to be a man.

"A Bronx Tale" is not only a life lesson movie, but a coming of age story where not only does Colgero witness everything in front of him from death to prejudice but it's about how two men from separate worlds want the best for this kid.

Robert De Niro's directorial debut is a criminally underappreciated piece of cinema. A Bronx Tale may not contain the same depth, intricacy and intensity of The Godfather or Goodfellas, but it can certainly be considered one of the finest gangster movies of the 20th century.

Unlike many other films in this genre which focus on the wider power dynamics within the mafia, A Bronx Tale tells its story mainly through personal relationships. There is a particular focus on Calogero's struggle to please his loving father while being constantly seduced by the alluring Sonny and the associated gang lifestyle. Lillo Broncato is warm and likeable in the lead role and has a remarkably authentic on-screen relationship with De Niro, which is enhanced by the strong physical resemblance between the two. The accomplished Chazz Palminteri shines as Sonny, turning in an understated performance with a delicacy often missing from these kind of characters.

And then there is the music. As a lifelong fan I am probably a little bit biased, but its hard to describe how much I love this soundtrack, particularly The Complexions version of 'I Only Have Eyes For You'. The sidewalk acapella groups crooning under the streetlights make me nostalgic about memories I don't even have.

There isn't much to dislike about this film. Joe Pesci's late cameo is unnecessary and a little glib, and the biker gang that get beat up in the bar are almost like slapstick characters. Aside from that, this is a truly magnificent film that has never received the recognition it deserves.

The amount of brillance that Robert DeNiro puts into all of his performances is unmatched and he proves that he can also be a fine director by debuting in that field as well as starring in this 1993 Savoy release. DeNiro is top billed but you actually don't see very much of him. The film's major focus is that of a little boy named Calogero and his idol, a mobster named Sonny (Chazz Palminteri). Sonny owns the Bronx neighborhood where Calogero and his honest bus driver father Lorenzo (DeNiro) live. He also basically owns them. Sonny's heavy amount of power and wealth make him an intimidating force throughout the neighborhood but his mob gang make their fear of him look like complete respect. Sonny knows that he's feared and it just encourages him to keep trying to rise in power. Calogero grows up watching Sonny cavorting on the street with his gang and secretly imitating him much to Lorenzo's chagrin. Lorenzo wants the best life possible for Calogero and doesn't want to see him fall into a life of crime or looking up to crime figures. Calogero doesn't listen because he idolizes Sonny too much and his chance to get Sonny's attention comes when he witnesses Sonny fatally shoot a man. When Calogero is questioned by police, his loyalty comes before his conscience and he doesn't rat out Sonny's guilt in the shooting. Sonny strongly appreciates this and so he gives Calogero an easy money job serving drinks for his high rollers gang. As several years pass and Calogero nears the end of his childhood, he must learn to make the ultimate choice between his two "father" figures. Just like in "Goodfellas", a classic soundtrack and excellent period detail is evident here and this film stands out as yet another classic in the modern day organized crime film genre. Palminteri makes a strong film starring debut and DeNiro makes the very most of his rather small seeming part. Joe Pesci also appears briefly as another respected crime boss. An instant "new classic."