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A Bronx Tale

1993 film directed by Robert De Niro

A Bronx Tale is a 1993 film that tells the coming of age story of an Italian-American boy, who, after encountering a local Mafia boss, is torn between the temptations of organized crime, racism in his community, and the values of his honest, hardworking father.

Directed by Robert De Niro. Written by Chazz Palminteri, based on his play.
One man lives in the neighborhood, another man owns it. A devoted father battles the local crime boss for the life of his son.
One man lives in the neighborhood, another man owns it.
Nobody cares.
I might not have any money, I might not have a Cadillac, but I'm proud of what I do and I don't answer to anybody.
Friendships that're bought with money mean nothing. You see how it is around here; I make a joke, everybody laughs. I know I'm funny, but I'm not that funny. It's fear that keeps them loyal to me. But the trick is not to be hated. That's why I treat my men good, but not too good; I give them too much then they don't need me. I give them just enough where they still need me, but they don't hate me.
Sonny and my father always said that when I get older I would understand. Well, I finally did. I learned something from these two men. I learned to give love and get love unconditionally. You just have to accept people for what they are, and I learned the greatest gift of all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever. But you can ask anybody from my neighborhood, and they'll just tell you this is just another Bronx tale.

Lorenzo Anello

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  • Sometimes in the heat of passion, the little head tells the big head what to do, and the big head should think twice about what you are doing.
  • [about Sonny] People don't love him, they fear him. There's a difference.

Sonny LoSpecchio

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  • Mickey Mantle? Is that what you're upset about? Mickey Mantle makes $100,000 a year. How much does your father make? You don't know? Well, see if your father can't pay the rent go ask Mickey Mantle and see what he tells you. Mickey Mantle don't care about you, so why should you care about him? Nobody cares.
  • [last words before he died] Come here!

Calogero Anello

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  • It was great to be Catholic and go to confession. You could start over every week.
  • I was getting two educations: One from the street and one from school. That way I'd be twice as smart as everybody.
  • [as he walks out of Sonny's funeral] Sonny and my father always said that when I get older I would understand. Well, I finally did. I learned something from these two men. I learned to give love and get love unconditionally. You just have to accept people for what they are, and I learned the greatest gift of all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices that you make will shape your life forever. But you can ask anybody from my neighborhood, and they'll just tell you this is just another Bronx tale.

Dialogue

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Priest: Don't be afraid, my son. No one is more powerful than God.
Calogero: I don't know about that, Father. Your guy may be bigger than my guy up there, but my guy is bigger than your guy down here.
Priest: You got a point.
Lorenzo: You don't see me going to the bar, do you?
Calogero: Mommy won't let you go there either?
Lorenzo: What am I going to do with this kid?
Calogero: [excited] Mommy, Mommy! Look what I got! Some peaches for… free.
[He sees his parents about to get mad at him]
Lorenzo: [shows C the dollar bill] What’s this?
Calogero: What’s what, Dad?
Lorenzo: Where did you get this?! Your mother found this behind your drawer.
Calogero: It’s my savings, Dad.
Lorenzo: Six hundred dollars you’ve been saving? What? Did you become a brain surgeon overnight, son?!
Rosina: Tell your father where you got the money.
Calogero: Dad, I worked for it.
Lorenzo: Doing what?
Calogero: Things.
Lorenzo: Things? Whaddya mean things? What things?
Calogero: Old things. Ya know, things.
Lorenzo: Hey. Don’t lie to me. Just tell me the truth. I won’t get upset.
Calogero: I worked the crap games and the guys gave me tips.
Rosina: The crap games?
Lorenzo: What crap games? What crap games? What tips? [Calogero doesn’t answer] [yells angrily] WHAT CRAP GAMES?!
Calogero: I told ya you weren’t gonna get upset, dad.
Lorenzo: I LIED! Now tell me everything!
Calogero: I told you, I worked for Sonny and he gave me tips.
Lorenzo: I knew it.
Rosina: Weren’t you told a thousand times not to go NEAR that bar?
Calogero: But Ma, I work for it.
Rosina: Well, whaddya mean you work for it? You’re not supposed to be in that bar!
Sonny: First of all, I respect you, Lorenzo, you're a stand-up guy and we're from the same neighborhood, but don't ever talk to me like that again. I tell your kid to go to school, to go to college...
Lorenzo: You don't understand: it's not what you say, it's what he sees, the clothes, the cars, the money, it's everything. He tried to throw away his baseball cards because he said Mickey Mantle will never pay the rent.
Sonny: [laughs] He said that to you? I don't believe this kid.
[The mobsters all laugh]
Lorenzo: That's not funny. Not when your kid has a bigger bank account than you.
Sonny: I offered you a job, you said "No" to me.
Lorenzo: That's right, and I say "No" now. Just leave my son alone, please.
Sonny: Hey! [Stands up] Don't you see how I treat that kid? I treat him like he's my son.
Lorenzo: He ain't your son, he's MY son.
Sonny: He's what?
Lorenzo: He's MY son!
Sonny: Hey, get the fuck outta here!
Lorenzo: [Shoved by the gangsters towards the door] I'm not afraid of you.
Sonny: You should be.
Lorenzo: I know who you are, Sonny, I know what you're capable of, and I would never step out of line, you can ask anyone in the neighborhood who knows me. But this time, you're wrong. You don't fool with a man's family. This is my son, not yours.
Sonny: What are you gonna do, fight me?
Lorenzo: You stay away from my son!
Sonny: Get outta here before I give you a fucking slap!
Lorenzo: You just stay away from my son!
Sonny: Go ahead!
Lorenzo: I don't care who you are! You stay away from my son!
Sonny: Alright, listen to me. You pull up right where she lives, right? Before you get outta the car, you lock both doors. Then, get outta the car, you walk over to her. You bring her over to the car. Dig out the key, put it in the lock and open the door for her. Then you let her get in. Then you close the door. Then you walk around the back of the car and look through the rear window. If she doesn't reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in: dump her.
Calogero: Just like that?
Sonny: Listen to me, kid. If she doesn't reach over and lift up that button so that you can get in, that means she's a selfish broad and all you're seeing is the tip of the iceberg. You dump her and you dump her fast.
Sonny: You like her?
Calogero: I do, but I don't want to hear the guys.
Sonny: Fuck them. Half of them are gonna end up dead or in jail. Nobody cares. The only thing that matters is what's good for you and how you feel about each other. Let me tell you something, when you're alone late at night in bed just you and her under the covers, that's all that matters. You gotta do what your heart tells you to do. Let me tell you something' right now. You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime. They come along like the great fighters, every ten years. Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis. Sometimes you get'em all at once. Me? I had my three when I was 16. That happens. What are you gonna do? That's the way it goes, you know? Tell you right now. See this girl? Maybe this girl, she put wind in your sails. Maybe she's your first great one.
Biker: We just wanted a couple beers then we'll be on our way.
Sonny: Couple beers? That's all?
Biker: That's all.
Sonny: Spoken like a gentleman. [to Tony] Get 'em the beers.
[Sonny starts to leave, but stops to watch the bikers]
Satan's Messengers: You got some brews down here. Nice cold ones. Get us some nice cold brews, come on. Two over here, huh? One more here, one more. Alright, brothers. If I may. A toast to our host. [They all salute, then shake their drinks and spray them all over the bar] In the name of the father, the son and the holy ghost!
Tony Toupee: Look at all the shit all over me!
[the bikers curse at him]
Sonny: Hey!
Biker: Oh, you again.
Sonny: That wasn't very nice. Now youse gotta leave.
Biker: I'll tell you when the fuck we leave, alright. Get the fuck away from me. [the bikers laugh at Sonny as he walks to the door] Go watch the bikes eh!
[Sonny locks the front door. The bikers hear the lock turn and look at Sonny]
Sonny: Now youse can't leave.
Calogero: [narrating] I will never forget the look on their faces. All eight of them. Their faces dropped. All their courage and strength was drained right from their bodies. They had reputation for breaking up bars, but they knew that instant, they'd made a fatal mistake. This time they walked into the wrong bar.
Calogero: Sonny was right. The working man IS a sucker, dad. He's a sucker.
Lorenzo: He's wrong! It don't take much strength to pull a trigger, but try and get up every morning, day after day and work for a livin'! Let's see him try that! Then we'll see who's the REAL tough guy! The working man's the tough guy! Your father's the tough guy!
[...]
Calogero: Oh, I don't wanna hear this.
Lorenzo: You don't wanna hear it, but you're gonna hear it. I might not have any money, I might not have a Cadillac, but I'm proud of what I do and I don't answer to anybody. My mother and father came to this country with nothin'-
Calogero: And they died with nothin'!
Lorenzo: Hey! Don't you dare disrespect your grandparents, do you hear me? They tried to give me a better life, and that's what I'm trying to give you!
Calogero: What better life?! You don't even own a car! We ain't got money, we ain't got nothin'! Don't take it out on me because you're a bus driver! The workin' man is a sucker.
Calogero: He owes me 20 dollars. It's been two weeks now, and every time he sees me he keeps dodging me. He's becoming a real pain in the ass. Should I crack him one, or what?
Sonny: Sometimes hurting somebody ain't the answer. First of all, is he a good friend of yours?
Calogero: No, I don't even like him.
Sonny: You don't even like him. There's your answer right there. Look at it this way: It costs you 20 dollars to get rid of him... He's out of your life for 20 dollars. You got off cheap. Forget him.
Sonny: That's what it comes down to- availability. The people in this neighborhood that see me that're on my side, they feel safe, because they know I'm close. And that gives them more reason to love me. But the people that wanna do otherwise? They think twice, because they know I'm close, and that gives them more reason to fear me.
Calogero: Is it better to be loved or feared?
Sonny: That's a good question. It's nice to be both, but that's very difficult. If I had my choice, I would rather be feared. Fear lasts longer than love. Friendships that're bought with money mean nothing. You see how it is around here; I make a joke, everybody laughs. I know I'm funny, but I'm not that funny. It's fear that keeps them loyal to me. But the trick is not to be hated. That's why I treat my men good, but not too good; I give them too much then they don't need me. I give them just enough where they still need me, but they don't hate me. Don't forget what I'm telling you.

Cast

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