It’s been 30 years since the release of the groundbreaking film, “A Bronx Tale.” To mark that anniversary, a new edition of the film was recently released in newly restored Ultra High-Definition Dolby Vision and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound.
The film will be available on VOD on AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Vudu, Microsoft Store/Xbox, Redbox On Demand, Kaleidescape and cable and satellite platforms in the U.S. and Canada. The new edition will include brand-new exclusive interviews with director and star Robert De Niro and writer and star Chazz Palminteri.
At its heart, “A Bronx Tale” is a family drama where the main character Calogero (Lillo Brancato) struggles between idolizing his salt-of-the-earth bus driver father (De Niro) and the slick neighborhood mob boss and wannabe mentor, Sonny (Palminteri).
It was also an ode to the Bronx, a crime drama, and a film that delved into New York’s racial dynamics using Italian-American Calogero and his Black love interest Jane (Taral Hicks), as a focal point. Touching, funny, and at times searing, “A Bronx Tale” was DeNiro’s directorial debut, and has since its release, cemented itself as a fixture of American popular film.
Both sixteen when they acted in “A Bronx Tale,” Hicks and Brancato remain friends to this day. They spoke to the AmNews about their experience.
Brancato, then a non-actor who was discovered hanging out at the beach, said, “Doing that film, so many years ago, no one knew that it would be what it is today. But people love it. I’m really touched by that and I’m just really thankful to have been part of that.”
Hicks, who was a seasoned theater performer, having appeared off-Broadway in “Mama I Want To Sing!” for many years, knew nothing about film at the time its casting call went out. “My sister heard about an audition on ‘Video Music Box’ and told me to try,” the actress and singer recalls.
Hicks went to the audition, but lost her nerve when she arrived. “When my Mom pulled up, the line for the audition was around the corner. I was like, I’m absolutely not going to get this!” Her mother encouraged her to try anyway. After ten callbacks, Hicks’ confidence grew exponentially. She laughs as she remembers. “Those last auditions, I went in there with all the confidence that God gives me and I said those lines like I felt they were mine. I looked those people in the face and let them know, I’m your girl for this role!”
“A Bronx Tale” was ahead of its time as one of the first films, particularly as a large-scale motion picture production, to feature a young adult interracial relationship (“Zebrahead,” starring N’Bushe Wright, preceded it by about a year). Hicks, who has been married for 24 years and is the mother of two sons, believes the characters in “A Bronx Tale “ filled a definite need. “I feel the characters Jane and Calogero were something that the world was waiting to see. There were a lot of interracial couples that were afraid to show who they were because of judgment, because of what the world would say about them. So I think the world was ready to see a teenage couple like that. They embraced us so well. At the end of the day, we demonstrated that love is love despite color. The fact that we could be the poster children for that represents something so positive.”
For Brancato, who grew up in Yonkers, being part of “A Bronx Tale” enlightened him. “Growing up I was closed off to a lot of things. My world revolved around [Italian-Americans]. Seeing the way this film was accepted by so many different types of people, and being approached by so many who told me how much they appreciated the film, really expanded my horizons.” The actor has been open, most notably in the 2018 documentary, “Wasted Talent,” about his subsequent struggles with drugs and crime for a number of years, which led to an eight-year stint in prison.
Hicks, who is also an accomplished singer, has performed steadily in films since “A Bronx Tale.” She says De Niro and co-star and writer Chazz Palminteri gave her lessons in acting she takes with her today. “They were my first acting coaches. They were my introduction into how to carry myself as an actress, how to give it my all, how to be focused, how to project my lines in such a way that they’re unforgettable.” Hicks’ latest film, “The Agnostic” will be released in December 2023.
Hicks is also proud of advancing representation at that time. “I’m happy to see so much melanin on the screen today. I was one of the first to open that door to young girls accepting our dark complexions and not being ashamed or feeling that we’re not pretty.”
As for what makes “A Bronx Tale” a timeless film, Brancato says that it was the film’s willingness to go against the grain while retaining its verisimilitude. “In real life, a street guy mafioso-type like Sonny wouldn’t tell Calogero, ‘This girl puts wind in your sails? That’s what matters.’ But we did it in a way that was real, that worked, that was authentic. The bottom line is the film worked, and whatever it was about my performance, it really resonated with people even 30 years later.”
I have loved this film from the first time I saw it and to this day will still look at it when it airs. Thank you Robert DeNiro for such an insightful and well acted movie that still resonates with me and countless other lovers of movies that stir the soul.
great movie! Being Italian it hit home. The acting was exceptional and the music was moving, harmony warms the soul.One of the top ten movies ever made.