by Anthony O'Connor
Worth: Discs: 2, The Film: 4/5, The Extras: 4/5, Overall: 8/10
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, Lillo Brancato Jr., Francis Capra, Taral Hicks, Kathrine Narducci, Clem Caserta, Joe Pesci
Intro:
... a rich, vibrant, beautifully shot, well acted and sharply written coming-of-age yarn that drips with authenticity.
The Film:
We all love a true Hollywood underdog story. Like the tale of that Italian bloke who couldn’t get acting roles to save his life. So, he ended up writing a screenplay that had Hollywood a-knocking at his door. However, this fella wanted to retain control and play the lead, refusing any amount of money to part with scripting duties. If you think the Italian bloke in question is Sylvester Stallone and the script Rocky, well, you’re not actually wrong but that same situation applies to one Chazz Palminteri and his wildly successful one man play, A Bronx Tale.
See, ol’ mate Chazz got bit parts here and there and worked as a bouncer in Hollywood until he famously got fired for not letting a renowned agent (and massive wanker, from the sound) into the club. He then penned A Bronx Tale, a one man semi-autobiographical play that functioned as a coming-of-age yarn mixed with a crime story. It was a huge hit, but when producers started offering Chazz money for the rights, he refused. Chazz was adamant that he would play the role of “Sonny” and he would write the script. The bloke ended up turning down an offer of US$1 million before Robert De Niro made Chazz an offer he could refuse but thankfully didn’t. Bobby said “Chazz, you play Sonny, I’ll play the dad. You write and I’ll direct.” And, finally, Mr. Palminteri said “righto”, except in an Italian accent and with a lot of gravitas.
The result is 1993’s A Bronx Tale, now available in a brand spanking new 4K edition. And you know what? It’s pretty bloody good, mate.
A Bronx Tale is the story of young Calogero (Francis Capra/Lillo Brancato Jr.), a young Italian kid growing up in The Bronx in the 1960s. After witnessing a man being gunned down by local gangster Sonny (Chazz Palminteri), Cal makes the wise decision to not rat on the up-and-coming mafioso. Although this decision is ultimately approved of by his bus driving father, Lorenzo (Robert De Niro), the working man certainly doesn’t approve of the growing bond between his kid and the criminal. Time passes and Calogero grows up with two paternal influences, often at odds with one another, and when he starts to try and become his own man, both of those relationships become strained.
Set in a vaguely romanticised but very atmospheric and textured 1960s Bronx, A Bronx Tale offers a wistful, nostalgic look back at a time in America that truly was a different world. Cal’s growing friendship with Sonny, his father’s rejection of the idea that “the working man is a sucker” and the growing racial problems with the black community all offer a wealth of thematic resonance brought to life by De Niro’s assured direction and dependably understated acting. Palminteri also does terrific work as Sonny in a role that he’d repeat to one degree or another for years afterwards. However, the real star of the piece is the actor who plays 17-year-old Calogero, Lillo Brancato Jr.. Lillo looks the dead spit of De Niro and you’d swear it’s his biological son. Not true, in fact he’s Colombian not Italian, but it’s a rock solid take on the character. You feel for this kid even if, like all 17-year-olds, he’s a massive idiot at times.
Beautifully observed and shot, wonderfully acted and with a heartfelt script that you might think occasionally drifts into the mawkish… until you realise it’s shockingly autobiographical for Chazz. A film based on a one man show could potentially be a bit static, but De Niro does a wonderful job of making it feel alive and lively, a beautiful time capsule and an earnest, engaging story to boot.
Extras:
The extras on hand here emphasise quality over quantity, but they’re pretty bloody good.
For a start, there are a bunch of archival making-of and interview featurettes, which are brisk and pretty information light, as was the style at the time. However, the more recent gear is much more impressive.
There’s Native New York: an interview with actress Kathrine Narducci who plays Cal’s mum in the movie, there are three Revisiting A Bronx Tale featurettes, one with actor/director Robert De Niro, one with producer Jane Rosenthal and – the highlight of the package – an epic 45+ minute chinwag with Chazz Palminteri. Ol’ mate Chazz digs deep into the writing process, his career prior to the one man show, how many of the events in the film did or did not happen (spoiler alert: a shocking number of them were true!) and he just seems like a genuinely nice bloke and wonderful storyteller to boot. It’s a pity there’s no audio commentary included because hearing Chazz and De Niro wax lyrical about the making of the flick would have been a delight.
The whole package comes in a fancy-looking hardbox bundled together with a hardback version of the script. Perfect if you want to offend a large group of people by bunging on a deeply offensive, stereotypical Italian accent. “Eeeeeey gabagool” and so forth!
The Verdict:
A Bronx Tale is a rich, vibrant, beautifully shot, well acted and sharply written coming-of-age yarn that drips with authenticity. Now available in a gorgeous 4K version, this is the perfect way to revisit the classic or see it for the first time.
And when you watch the special features and find out how hard it was to get made, and how much of the narrative actually happened, you realise that this heartfelt missive is something very special indeed.
