Peter C
A Bronx Tale by Robert De Niro (written by Chazz Palminteri) is an amazing look into moral contrasts between two father figures who fight for the devotion of a young man.
‘A Bronx Tale’, released in 1993 is the directorial debut of hollywood legend, Robert De Niro. It is an adaptation of Chazz Palmenteri’s one-man show of the same name. While growing up in the 1960’s in an Italian American neighborhood in the Bronx, Calogero (Lillo Brancato & Francis Carpa) faces an internal battle on which father figure he wants to listen to- his father, Lorenzo (Robert De Niro), a bus driver who values hard work, or neighborhood crime boss, Sonny (Chazz Palmenteri). Throughout his son’s tumultuous experiences, Lorenzo fights to maintain his relationship with his son and keep him on the right path, away from the “mob life”. Calogero learns the true values that matter to him, and what path of life he ultimately wants to follow. The stunning film runs for approximately 2 hours and 1 minute and can be viewed on nearly 10 streaming platforms, most notably: Prime Video, AMC+, Apple TV, and Youtube TV.
The performance of the actors in this film stand paramount as the driving force behind the film’s long-lasting success and impression. The film offers contrasting themes of character in Sonny and Lorenzo who are both tugging at the heart strings of the young Calogero and attempting to keep his devotion and commitment.
Chazz Palminteri, one of the stars, delivers an amazing portrayal of Sonny. A great positive element of Chazz’s performance was his ability to make Sonny scary and intimidating but also make him come across as charismatic and caring. He is able to make Sonny connect with Calogero like a father, despite his criminality background and hard-nosed life. Chazz does this an amazing job of prioritizing Sonny’s different personality traits only when applicable. He shows compassion and love through his deep conversations with Calogero. For example, when he is talking about whether he feels it is better to be loved or feared. In contrast, his main character trait, toughness, along with his criminal nature shine through in the parts of the movie where there is no compassion demanded.
Robert De Niro’s portrayal of Lorenzo is one that many men with high-character fathers can relate to. He keeps his character, Lorenzo, grounded and makes sure he never strays from his values. He does an amazing job of portraying a man who desperately strives to keep his son on a good path and does everything in his power to minimize Sonny’s influence on his son. This adds a deep emotional aspect to his character, as Lorenzo is not just another run-of-the-mill working-class father who seems emotionally stagnant and unavailable. He has a deep love for his son and wants to see him be a better man than he could ever be. When he sees a negative outside influence creep in, he does everything in his power to deflect it. Like always, De Niro excelled in the heart-to-heart moments of the film like when he talks with Calogero on the bus and explains to him that the saddest thing in life is wasted talent. However, he also was amazing in delivering powerful messages throughout the film. An example of this is when Lorenzo goes toe-to-toe with Sonny, the dangerous mob boss out of an urge to protect his son from his crime-related influences.
Calogero is played by two actors. In the beginning of the film, he is a young boy played by Francis Carpa. The rest of the film, Calogero is a teenager played by Lillo Brancato. Capra did a phenomenal job of making young Calogero come across to the audience as an impressionable, yet strong-willed young boy. In synchronization, Brancato’s performance is an amazing portrayal of this same child, as a teenager. He shows Calogero’s slightly naive and impressionable traits, but they are exactly what you’d expect the traits to look like for a teenager who’s had them for his whole life. Yes, he is impressionable, but not nearly as much as when he was younger and he is still slightly naive to the evil around him. Another consistent trait these two actors portrayed was a sense of independence and curiosity. In the beginning, Calogero’s curiosity and sense of adventure and independence takes him to the bar. The rest of the film, these same traits present themselves in greater magnitude, like the independent urge to go against what his father would think is right and vandalize a place of business in the predominately African-American neighborhood.
These actors exemplified exceptional delivery for the main characters. However, not the same can be said for the side characters. There was not much insight into the personalities of these other characters beyond their surface-level ‘tough guy’ personas.
The direction of this film is effective in displaying the play in the film adaptation. This can, in large part, be credited to his learned expertise in powerful movies with a soft-hearted, touching message. The act of narration by Calogero was powerful in unraveling him as a character as the film went on. It offered great insight into the emotions of those around him as well as thoughts that he was experiencing. A great example of this is right before the fight in the bar with the biker gang. After Sonny tells the bikers, “now you’s can’t leave”, the narration is Calogero’s thoughts in that exact moment. The narration explains “all their courage and strength was drained from their bodies… this time they knew they made a fatal mistake”. This deepens the emotional connection of the audience with the film as it accentuates the feelings of the bikers in that exact instant, allowing the audience to capture the emotions of the biker gang right before chaos ensued. The story of this film was both very clear and relatable. It follows a boy who’s naive nature almost leads him down a path that he can not turn back from until he comes to the realization that this life is not for him after he sees his friends and Sonny pass away.
The design of ‘A Bronx Tale’ is extremely effective in sucking the audience into 1960’s Bronx, New York while also helping the audience view the contrast between Lorenzo and Sonny’s characters. First off, the music and scenery portray the feeling of living in that period. An example of this can be seen/heard in the bar fight scene. You can hear The Beatles’ “Come Together” playing in the background. This song was released in 1969. Due to the release year and worldwide sensational fame surrounding The Beatles at the time, it is sure that this is a song you’d hear in the ‘60s. Especially in a place like a bar. There are also musical hits among Italian Americans being played throughout the film which compliments the atmosphere that is trying to be conveyed to viewers. One way the design helps the audience see the difference between Lorenzo and Sonny is by their clothes and possessions. Lorenzo, a blue collar man who values hard work and grit is shown wearing beat-up clothes, living in a modest apartment and walking everywhere. This helps exemplify the vast differences in morals between the two men. On the other hand, Sonny has flash. He can be seen in suits, driving fancy cars, and living in a nice house in the neighborhood.
My overall reaction to this film was that I absolutely loved it. This was an amazing film with a perfect length. It was not too long with too much focus on meaningless acts or scenes. And it was not too short which would have ripped a lot of emotional connection away from the viewers. ‘A Bronx Tale’ was an excellent portrayal of contrasting moral themes and offered an amazing insight into life in The Bronx during the 1960’s.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/22/25
Full Review
Rami A
This is no ordinary Mafia/Crime film. This is a "coming of age" story in a Mafia/Crime setting. This movie is based on Chazz Palminteri (Sonny)'s "A Bronx Tale: One Man Show," and it is directed by the great Robert De Niro (Lorenzo Anello), who, in fact, saw the original play and loved it. What makes this movie great is the well-paced story and the characters. Not only does it teach the life of the Mafia in the 1960s, but it also imparts the values of life, as the morals taught in this can still be applied today due to their relevance.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/12/25
Full Review
Isa B
The directorial debut of one Robert De Niro. This film holds a special place in my heart. I first saw it as a kid and I love it as much now as I did back then. I love that Mr. De Niro casted local New Yorkers to star in this picture to give it that authentic feel. A Bronx Tale is well-written, well directed and certainly well acted with a beautiful soundtrack to top it off. I highly recommend this film.
96/100
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/06/25
Full Review
Aleksandar D
Grew up hearing about this movie from my dad and watched it probably 12-15 times. Excellent storytelling and message, especially for teenagers and young adults.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/26/24
Full Review
Audience Member
i loved it. its just s good and has a good meaning. i forgive cale-who for saying n word. its very light-heart for a mafia maybe that's why i love it. its my top 3 fav movies.❤❤❤❤❤❤
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/20/24
Full Review
Matt R
Amazing play adaptation that does an amazing job of conveying a complex topic. Was raised on this movie.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
11/18/24
Full Review
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