A Bronx Tale

Rating:
Summary: if you loved this one
Review: Hey if you loved this movie then you'll be happy to hear that Jimmy Whispers starred in his own movie, a spinoff of A Bronx Tale entitled "Jimmy Whispers Returns to Mulberry Street". The movie follows Jimmy after his days with Sonny and is now available on DVD! check out the official website, jimmywhispersactingschool.com

Rating:
Summary: Mob tale of a different kind
Review: If you're used to seeing Robert Deniro as the tough guy gangster then get ready for a change. In this film Deniro is just a working stiff trying to raise his kid the right way. His son however, is fascinated by one of the local mob bosses (Chazz Palminteri). In this story set in the Bronx (circa 1960's) Lorenzo Anello (De Niro) desparately tries to keep his son Calogero on the straight and narrow. He tries to explain that the guy who gets up and goes to work every morning is the tough guy, not the guy who takes what others have by force.


Lillo Brancato who plays the 17 year old son is quite the find here. This was his acting debut and he has gone on to do other films since. Originally, this was a one man play written by Palminteri and the story is based on the events of his youth.

Eventually, the mob boss, who can't afford to trust anyone, turns on Calogero even though he loves the boy like a son. It is then that the teenager understands that his father told him the truth. Later in the film though, Calogero's life is saved because of the mobster. When Calogero goes to find his friend and thank him, things take a turn for the worse.

This is Deniro's directorial debut. Who knows better how to direct a gangster film then someone that's been in some of the best crime dramas of all time. Yes, he still has much to learn but still and all, it's a fine effort. Deniro made excellent use of the music of the day. Especially memorable is the bar scene where the gansters beat up a motorcycle gang and during the fight you can hear "The 10 Commandments of Love" playing over the visuals.

As with most gangster films, there is a lot of foul language and violence here but no nudity or sex.

This should be part of your collection if you are a fan of the genre.

Rating:
Summary: loved it!
Review: this is a really great movie even though i do not watch drama or mafia movies in particular. I usually enjoy watching Action movies or anything horror if its really scary cuz i dont find alot of scary movies scary anymore they r getting too damn boring. anyways this movie is about a boy name Calogero who grows up in the streets of the Bronx in the '60's with his good natured father Lorenzo who is a bus driver teaching his son good values ( i think). Cologero is given another name which is C which im gonna use for most of this review. even though C loves his father he starts looking up to a mobster who rules the streets name Sonny. Sonny and C become friends and Sonny introduces him to Sonny's mafia life even though his father wants him to stay away from Sonny because he is a "bad man". C decides whether to get the things he want the easy way or working hard for it like his father. besides that plot there are racial tensions between Italian-Americans and African Americans. this was the 1960's there was racial tensions and racism during that time period if you know your history or taken history classes. otherwise this was a really good movie but i also recommend watching GoodFellas which is another great mob film but actually based on a true story.

Rating:
Summary: Another mob movie
Review: I do not agree that this is deNiro's best performance. Raging Bull, The Godfather and Goodfellas were all beter parts and also better movies. The story is not bad, though the maffia characters are a little over the top. The man who always loses bets is funny, but out of place as well.

The story is both about the maffia in the Bronx but also about race relations in 1968 and therefore also worth watching.

See this if you have already seen Goodfellas, The Godfather and all the other maffia movies, if not: them first and then think again.

Rating:
Summary: The Mob Way Of Life
Review: Whenever an actor steps behind the camera to direct a movie for the first time, I'm always a little doubious about how things will turn out. After all, just because you can act, it's not always a given that you will know what to do as the person calling the shots...Robert De Niro took the plunge with A Bronx Tale, working on very familiar ground, yet making sure that that doesn't work against him.

Lorenzo Anello (De Niro)is a dutiful father and blue-collar bus driver from the harsh New York City borough of the Bronx. He tries very hard to keep his son Calogero (Francis Capra playing him at age 9 and Lillo Brancato playing him at age 17) from surrendering to the temptation of organized crime. When Calogero witnesses Mafia kingpin Sonny (Chaz Palminteri) commit murder, he decides to honor the "code of the streets" and offers no information to the cops when interrogated. Soon after, a friendship is forged between Sonny and Calogero, and--against his father's wishes--the young man joins the Mafia. Although Calogero respects his father, the allure of the Mob lifestyle, soon causes a rift between father and son. When push comes to shove it is his father who must confront the mob and try to save his son's life.

De Niro has appeared in more than his fair share of Mob films over the years, so going in, it's fairly safe to assume that he knows the genre. As a first time director, even knowing that fact, I was still quite impressed. I found myself more drawn to the father/son dynamics and their relationship, than I was with any of the Mafia stuff, which De Niro handles effectively as well. One must also mention that actor Chazz Palminteri's script also elevates the proceedings--capturing the setting and undertones of the story to a tee.

A Bronx Tale is good enough to warrant a better DVD release. The theatrical trailer is all you get to see in the of any extras. De Niro and Pamintiri should sit down for a audio commentary at least.

For now A Bronx Tale is still recommended until a better DVD version of the film comes along.

Rating:
Summary: Well-made
Review: A Bronx Tale is a fine film about a kid growing up under two competing influences. There's his father, an honest and hard-working bus driver; and then there's Sonny, a local mafioso who is slick, charming and seems to have everything in life. The movie deals a lot with moral choices and values and manages not to belabor its points. The ending is pretty moving; the magnitude of what happens is not lost on the characters, just as it's not lost on us.

The one drawback to the film is that it could have been even more compelling than it is. Despite the power of the storyline, and the love and care that De Niro obviously put into making the film, A Bronx Tale never goes that extra mile to greatness. It never totally comes alive or totally pulls us in; there's something still missing that could have given it more force.

Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your money!!
Review: This was not a great movie like everyone thinks it is. I really didnt get into it. I thought the actors portrait of "the mob" was not right at all. Very Very off.