A Bronx Tale

This article is about the 1993 film. For the Broadway musical, see A Bronx Tale (musical). For the 1989 play, see A Bronx Tale (play).

A Bronx Tale
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert De Niro
Screenplay by	Chazz Palminteri
Based on	A Bronx Tale by Chazz Palminteri
Produced by	Jane Rosenthal Jon Kilik Robert De Niro
Starring	Robert De Niro Chazz Palminteri Lillo Brancato Taral Hicks Kathrine Narducci
Cinematography	Reynaldo Villalobos
Edited by	David Ray Robert Q. Lovett
Music by	Butch Barbella
Production companies	Price Entertainment Tribeca Productions
Distributed by	Savoy Pictures
Release dates	September 14, 1993 (1993-09-14) (TIFF) September 29, 1993 (1993-09-29) (United States)
Running time	120 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$10 million
Box office	$17.3 million

A Bronx Tale is a 1993 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by and starring Robert De Niro in his directorial debut and produced by Jane Rosenthal, adapted from Chazz Palminteri's 1989 one-man play. It tells the coming-of-age story of an Italian-American boy, Calogero, who, after encountering a local Mafia boss, is torn between the temptations of organized crime and the values of his honest, hardworking father, as well as racial tensions in his community. The Broadway production was converted to film with limited changes.

De Niro, who first viewed the play in Los Angeles in 1990, acquired the rights from Palminteri, with the intent of making the play his directorial debut. The duo worked heavily together on the screenplay, with Palminteri aiming to retain many of the aspects of the original script, as it was based largely on his own childhood. Production began in 1991, and was funded in collaboration with De Niro's Tribeca Productions and Savoy Pictures, as the first film released by each studio.

A Bronx Tale premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 1993, and was released in the United States on September 29, 1993. The film achieved limited commercial success, grossing more than $17 million domestically. However, it fared much better with critics, who praised the performances of the leads, and launched Palminteri's acting career, while also helping De Niro gain acceptance as a director.

Plot

In 1960, nine-year-old Calogero lives in Belmont, a working-class Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx with his father Lorenzo, a Surface Transit (later MTA) bus driver, and his mother Rosina. Calogero becomes enamored of the Mafia presence in his neighborhood, led by local boss Sonny.

One day, Calogero witnesses Sonny shoot and kill a man who was assaulting his friend. Calogero keeps quiet when questioned by NYPD detectives. Sonny's men offer Lorenzo a better-paying job but, preferring a law-abiding life, he politely declines.

Sonny befriends Calogero and gives him the nickname "C". Calogero earns tips working in Sonny's bar and throwing dice, but is admonished by Lorenzo when he discovers the cash that his son has earned. Lorenzo returns the money to Sonny and warns him to keep away from Calogero.

Eight years later, a 17-year-old Calogero has been visiting Sonny regularly without his father's knowledge. Calogero is part of a gang of local Italian-American boys, which concerns Sonny, who does not want him to live a life of crime.

Calogero meets an African-American girl, Jane, and a tentative romance blossoms between them. Despite the high racial tensions between Italian-Americans and African-Americans in the area, Calogero arranges a date with Jane. He asks for advice from Sonny, who lends Calogero his car to impress her.

Earlier, Calogero's friends beat up a group of African-American cyclists who are riding through their neighborhood. During the fight, Calogero initially refuses his friends' calls for help. He eventually joins the others, but rather than fighting, he tries to protect one of the cyclists. This cyclist turns out to be Jane's brother, who accuses Calogero of beating him up when he and Jane meet for their date. Calogero loses his temper over the accusation, and calls him a nigger, which he instantly regrets. Jane, disappointed, leaves with her brother.

At home, Lorenzo confronts Calogero after seeing him driving Sonny's car. They argue and Calogero storms out. He runs into his friends, who tell him that some African-Americans egged their social club in retaliation to the earlier beating. Sonny and his crew confront Calogero after finding a bomb on Sonny's car. Calogero tearfully pleads his unwavering dedication to Sonny, who recognizes his innocence and allows him to leave. Calogero meets up with his friends and joins them in their car. After they drive off, his friends begin discussing their plans to use Molotov cocktails to get revenge on the African-Americans. Not wishing to appear scared in front of his peers, Calogero feigns a willingness to join in.

After the car comes to a stop at a traffic signal, Sonny appears at the passenger side window and orders Calogero to get out. Calogero complies, and Sonny drives him back to the social club. Calogero catches up with Jane, who tells him that her brother admitted he wasn't the one who attacked him. As Jane and Calogero make amends, he suddenly remembers his friends' plans and the two rush to stop them. His friends target a Record shop, and after performing a drive-by shooting, they begin to throw Molotov cocktails into the store. As they begin driving away, an African-American shopkeeper throws an unbroken Molotov cocktail back at them. Entering through an open window, it ignites a box of unused Molotov cocktails, causing an explosion. When Calogero and Jane arrive, the car is engulfed in flames and his friends lie dead on the ground.

Calogero, afraid for his safety in Jane's neighborhood, rushes to Sonny's bar to thank him for saving his life, but a young man (who had planted the bomb) shoots Sonny in the head moments before Calogero can warn him. Calogero soon learns that the killer was the son of the man whom Sonny killed eight years earlier in front of Calogero house.

At Sonny's funeral, countless people pay their respects, but, as Sonny had once stated, none seem to really care about his death. When everyone but Calogero has left, a lone man, Carmine, visits the funeral and tells Calogero that Sonny once saved his life. Calogero does not recognize Carmine until he sees a scar on his forehead and realizes that he was the man whom Sonny defended.

Carmine tells Calogero that he is filling in for Sonny in the neighborhood, and promises to help Calogero if he ever needs it. Carmine leaves as Lorenzo unexpectedly arrives to pay his respects to Sonny. Lorenzo thanks him for saving his son's life, and admits that he never hated him, but that he resented him for making Calogero grow up so quickly. Calogero bids goodbye to Sonny and walks home with Lorenzo while thinking about the lessons that he learned from his two mentors.

Cast

• Robert De Niro as Lorenzo
• Chazz Palminteri as "Sonny"
• Lillo Brancato Jr. as Calogero (age 17)
• Francis Capra as Calogero (age 9)
• Taral Hicks as Jane
• Kathrine Narducci as Rosina
• Clem Caserta as Jimmy "Whispers"
• Frank Pietrangolare as Danny "K.O."
• Joe Pesci as Carmine
• Alfred Sauchelli Jr. as Bobby "Bars"
• Robert D'Andrea as Tony "Toupee"
• Eddie Montanaro as Eddie "Mush"
• Fred Fischer as Joe "Jo Jo the Whale"
• Dave Salerno as Frankie "Coffeecake"
• Joe D'Onofrio as "Slick" (age 17)
• Louis Vanaria as Mario "Crazy Mario"
• Sobe Bailey as Willy, Jane's brother
• Domenick Lombardozzi as Nicky "Zero"

Production

The film is based on Chazz Palminteri's original play of the same name, which was performed as a one-man show, largely based on his own childhood, specifically the shooting that Calogero witnesses as a child, as well as the occupation and name of his father.

In 1990, at a performance of A Bronx Tale, Robert De Niro met with Palminteri in his dressing room after having seen the show. De Niro told Palminteri, "This is one of the greatest one-man shows I've ever seen, if not the greatest ... This is a movie, this is an incredible movie." After acquiring the rights to create the film, with De Niro claiming the deal was made solely with a gentlemen's agreement with Palminteri, the duo began crafting the screenplay. Prior to partnering with De Niro, Palminteri rejected several offers for the film's rights, including some as high as $1 million, due to not being granted the roles of primary screenwriter and Sonny, the gangster Calogero meets. De Niro met Palminteri's requirements on the condition that he be allowed to direct the film and play Lorenzo, Calogero's father, which Palminteri accepted.

Release

Theatrical

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 1993. It was released in the United States on September 29, 1993.

Home media

HBO Video released the movie on VHS on April 6, 1994, and in 1998 on DVD. In January 2010, Focus Features released a DVD copy of the film exclusive to online retailer Amazon.

Reception

Box office

A Bronx Tale opened in 1,077 theaters, with an opening weekend gross of $3.7 million. It went on to make $17.3 million domestically.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A Bronx Tale sets itself apart from other coming-of-age dramas thanks to a solid script, a terrific cast, and director Robert De Niro's sensitive work behind the camera." Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of 4, calling it "very funny [and] very touching. It is filled with life and colorful characters and great lines of dialogue, and De Niro, in his debut as a director, finds the right notes as he moves from laughter to anger to tears [while] retaining its values."

In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated the film for its Top 10 Gangster Films list.

30th Anniversary restoration

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of A Bronx Tale in 2023, Tribeca Productions, with technology and distribution partner Giant Pictures, undertook a 4K digital restoration of the film. The original negative was provided by the Harry Ransom Center film archive at the University of Texas at Austin, which houses the Robert De Niro collection. The film master and audio were digitally scanned and restored to create an ultra-high-definition 4K version of the film. The digital coloring process was handled at Goldcrest Post in New York and was personally overseen by director Robert De Niro. The restoration took 9 months to complete.

Coinciding with its 30th anniversary on September 29, 2023, Tribeca and Giant Pictures released the 4K version on UHD Blu-ray in the US, as well as on video-on-demand platforms, including Apple TV and Vudu. Titled A Bronx Tale (30th Anniversary Edition), the release showcases the new restoration in Ultra High Definition Dolby Vision and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround sound. The UHD Blu-ray edition includes new interviews with director and star Robert De Niro and writer and star Chazz Palminteri, reflecting on how the film has become a beloved classic, as well as recalling the original production process, how the screenplay was adapted and the authenticity of the film's characters.

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
Artios Awards	Best Feature Film Casting – Drama	Ellen Chenoweth	Nominated
Sant Jordi Awards	Best Foreign Actor	Chazz Palminteri (also for Bullets Over Broadway and The Usual Suspects)	Won
Young Artist Awards	Best Youth Actor Co-Starring in a Motion Picture – Drama	Francis Capra	Nominated

External links

• A Bronx Tale at IMDb
• A Bronx Tale at Metacritic
• A Bronx Tale at Rotten Tomatoes
• A Bronx Tale at Box Office Mojo