Robert De Niro's Underrated And Under-seen Directorial Debut Is A Must Watch

Savoy Pictures

While the later part of his career has been a bit spotty (with some notable exceptions), Robert De Niro is often hailed as one of our very best actors. So it's almost a little unfair that his directorial debut is a dang masterpiece, too. (Perhaps to balance out the cosmic scales, De Niro's second and as-of-now final directorial effort, "The Good Shepherd," is a boring dud). In 1993, after building up an acclaimed acting career, De Niro took a shot behind the camera with "A Bronx Tale," a drama set in an Italian-American New York neighborhood in the 1960s.

Some of the material in the film — neighborhood wiseguys and the insulated world they inhabit — was obviously familiar to De Niro, who both grew up around that environment and made movies about it, too (most notably "GoodFellas"). But "A Bronx Tale" wasn't De Niro's story. Instead, it was adapted from a one-man-show by Chazz Palminteri, who based the events on his own childhood. Palminteri struck a deal with De Niro to adapt the play into a film provided Palminteri could both write the screenplay and act in the film. The results were fantastic. Now, "A Bronx Tale" has a new 4K release from Imprint, and it's worth scooping up.

As "A Bronx Tale" begins, nine-year-old Calogero (Francis Capra) lives with his mother Rosina (Kathrine Narducci) and bus-driver father Lorenzo (De Niro) in the Bronx neighborhood of Belmont. It's an isolated place lorded over by local mobsters, lead by the charismatic Sonny (Chazz Palminteri). One day, Calogero witnesses Sonny shoot someone in the head over an argument. When the cops come calling, Calogero keeps his mouth shut — an action that impresses Sonny, who nicknames the kid "C" and takes him under his wing — much to Lorenzo's consternation.

Savoy Pictures

A few years later, C, now a teenager (played by Lillo Brancato Jr.), treats Sonny like a god while shirking the affections of his father. But even though Sonny is a gangster, he wants C to avoid that life, and when the teen starts hanging around with local hoodlums, Sonny warns him against it. This push and pull is at the heart of "A Bronx Tale": Lorenzo, an honest working man, and Sonny, a crook, are at odds, but both of them want what's best for C.

Things are further complicated when C finds himself falling for Jane (Taral Hicks), a Black girl who goes to his school. The idea of a white guy from a predominantly white neighborhood dating a Black girl in the '60s doesn't go over so well with the guys C hangs around with, and racial tensions arise when Jane's brother and some of his friends end up in the neighborhood and a fight breaks out — a fight C tries to stop, although he's also too afraid to tell his friends the truth about his relationship.

"A Bronx Tale" is a ground-level human story. While there are mobsters, this isn't like "GoodFellas"; C isn't a gangster, he's just a dumb kid trying to navigate through life. De Niro, working with Palminteri's script, paints a colorful portrait of the neighborhood and its inhabitants, resulting in funny slice-of-life moments that give "A Bronx Tale" a genuine quality that feels lived-in and honest. The film was well-reviewed but not exactly a huge box office hit. But time has been kind to "A Bronx Tale," cementing its status as one of De Niro's best works, worth revisiting and rediscovering in its new 4K format.