A Bronx Tale

Starring: Robert De Niro, Chazz Palminteri, & Lillo Brancato

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

For a long time, A Bronx Tale had distribution problems, was out of print, and was widely unavailable. For those reasons, I hadn't seen it since I was a kid. Watching it again years later, not only did I realize just how good a movie it is, but I also found that I took a lot more out of it. While being widely considered as one of the best mafia movies of all time, A Bronx Tale actually has a deeper meaning, which is not to waste the talent you have in the time you are given. I was also surprised to learn that this story is in fact the true story of Chazz Palminteri's childhood, with Chazz being a nickname for Calogero. For those of you who don't know the story, it's about the son of a bus driver, who grows up in the Bronx, right down the block from a mafia hangout. While this boy learns different things from his real family and his mafia family, who are always at odds, they actually both want the same things for this kid. A Bronx Tale isn't just another gangster movie, there is some of that, but it's really an inspirational coming of age tale that I found to be very eye opening. The cast is of course fantastic, featuring Robert De Niro, who directs and stars in the film, along with Palminteri, who wrote the film. The true irony of A Bronx Tale is surrounded by the true story of Lillo Brancato, the boy who plays Calogero. As I said the story is about discovering right from wrong and not wasting your talent, something Brancato did when he was convicted of an armed robbery, which led to the death of an off-duty police officer. There are many sides to that, but I felt it necessary to mention how ironic it is that the message of the film is actually lost on one it's stars. In closing, A Bronx Tale really is a lost gem, that lives up to all the hype, and I hope that now that's streaming on Netflix, a whole new generation will be exposed to the message it puts out there for them to hear.