A BRONX TALE 🤩

I was born in the Bronx. I lived in a neighborhood of tall apartment buildings. My street doesn’t exist as it used to back in the 50s. It has long been incorporated into the freeway system. Featherbed Lane was a good street name. It was only two blocks from Fordham Avenue, which was and still is a major street crossing. Fordham cuts across the Bronx with the subway on top and the car traffic below. It was a rough neighborhood, but I didn’t see it that way. 

My friends and I would hang out on the stoop, ride our bikes on the sidewalk, play handball against the red brick walls, and the older kids would open the fire hydrants on steamy, summer days. Everyone would holler out their open windows to announce when it was supper time. My mother was no different. She must have had eyes in the back of her head as she constantly and loudly called out my name. Everyone knew everyone’s business. Every neighbor kept an eye on all the kids on the street. It was a wonder any of us got away with anything.  

The Bronx has always held a special place in my heart. It was where I was introduced to diversity and a feeling of belonging to a community. The man who owned Schwartz’s Drugstore knew me. He always had a little, special candy treat waiting for me whenever I walked into his store. Some old ladies sat in front of our apartment house, knitting, chatting, laughing, and ready to talk about the old days to anyone who passed.  It was home to me. My first experience, and I will never forget my roots. 

When my family left the Bronx and moved to Arizona in 1957, I thought my life was over. None of us wanted to leave our safe cocoon and fly across the country, but my parents had to make a change for my dad’s health and livelihood. I often think about how my life could have turned out if we had stayed. What kind of an education would I get at good old PS 70? Would I have gotten into trouble? Would the street gang life take my brother and me down a different path? Would I still be who I am today? Would I have found my passion for theatre? Or would I have become street savvy, witnessing things beyond my young years? I will never know for sure, but it does make me dream about what could have been when I watch the journey of one boy coming of age in A BRONX TALE. 

A BRONX TALE was Robert De Niro’s directing debut. He wanted to direct and act in a possible movie after reading Chazz Palminteri’s original novel. It was a matter of compromise when they first met. Chazz wanted to write the screenplay and portray the leading role of mobster, Sonny. De Niro wanted to play the other leading role, Lorenzo, and direct. They agreed with a handshake. It was the perfect match-up. The film they created was a stunning portrait of what life was like in the Bronx in the 60’s. They were able to capture the essence of living in an Italian neighborhood run by some pretty bad guys. The film brilliantly showcased those streets and how fear and violence ruled. It would be impossible for years to get out from under a gang mentality. Very few had the courage. 

The film, created in 1993, follows the life of a young boy from the age of nine to 17. It highlights the struggle between Calogero (Lilli Brancato) and his father’s morally correct lifestyle, pitted against the lure of money and the mobster’s state of mind. Caldero or ‘C’ grew up loving two father figures. Luckily for C, Sunny adored him and was able to impact his young life with the best of himself. 

It would be an actor’s dream to go up against De Niro. These were masterfully created dialogues. The rise and fall of emotions was a testament to the quality of acting intentions. It was phenomenal to see the gears immediately shift whenever a young child entered the scene. Audiences were tossed every which way in the bar battle, the craps game, the bludgeon of bikers, and near-death fiascos. The tension was palpable. Beads of sweat became normal when viewing these everyday volatile Bronx moments. 

A BRONX TALE was ahead of its time. Seconds were dealing with race and crossing those street boundaries. This was a sweet spot within the turmoil of what was considered acceptable during the black and white revolution in our country. Music from those decades also played a heavy hand as the story unfolded. Oh, the times they were changing. 

A BRONX TALE is a moral classic. It does not say to viewers how to live their lives. It just pushes the idea that everyone must choose for themselves. It expresses the question of whether it is better to be loved or feared. Is it possible to trust those around you? It reiterates over and over that “The single worst thing in life would be wasted talent.” C was lucky in the end. He received an education both in school and on the streets. Not everyone was as fortunate, but this was, in the end, just one of many possible Bronx tales. Mine included.

A BRONX TALE is available on AMC.