estelastudent
3 things that the film did really well was 1. showed how overprotective parents can be 2. showed the maturity of a young boy grow up into a young man and how people in his life influence him. Ways this movie showed accurately shows teenage life in NYC is how friends can be bad influences and how parents want to protect their children from the dangers that some parts of NYC can have. People should pay attention to my review because it gives a youth perspective of the movie and I live in NYC, so I can tell people if it is an accurate portrayal of NYC.
FlashCallahan
Sonny is the man in the Bronx neighbourhood of Italian boy Calogero. A shooting witnessed by the boy (nicknamed C by Sonny) is the starting point of a lasting bond between the gangster and the boy. His father Lorenzo disapproves. C grows up under the wing of both men, torn between his own natural honesty and his fascination with Sonny. C's neighbourhood friends get involved in theft, and racially fuelled fights. When C falls for an African American girl, things don't get any better.....It's quite admirable for an actor with such screen presence as De Niro to not only try and emulate Scorcese's arguably finest hour Goodfellas, but to take a back seat when it comes to letting people show their range.But as admirable emulating Goodfellas is, you cannot help but compare this film to that, and ultimately, finding many flaws with the film. Yes, the source material is based on Palminteri's theatre production, but there are so many similarities, right to a special guest appearance from an old friend in the last scene.But it's still a wonderful film, seeing Henry, sorry C grow up and create this subliminal partition from the real world, and the fantasy he is living when he is with Sonny.The racial tension is a pivotal point in the films narrative, and it's like a metaphorical melting pot that bubbles more and more and the film concentrates more on C, rather than the tension between Lorenzo and Sonny.Some of the scenes are beautifully crafted, especially the dice scene, which is as funny as it is sinister. De Niro keeps an air of tension in the film, but divides it with the family life, and the mobster life, and when the two interact with each other, the fight for the alpha male in C's life is up there with some of the most thrilling scenes seen in crime drama.For a debut, De Niro has crafted something that isn't just wonderfully authentic, but keeps the audience involved in all aspects of the story.it's a shame that it's sadly fallen under the radar since it's release, but it's worth seeking out for the similarities between this and Goodfellas.
Breumaster
I don't know the Bronx. I only know it from tales and movies. But there was not any movie like this about the Bronx, i saw before. In this movie, there is no single boring Minute. From beginning to the end, it's a interesting Story about the troubles from coming of Age in a Mafia ruled district. The effort of a father to Keep his beloved son away from sliding into a Company of the Mafioso, the effort of the son to do the best and cope with the circumstances and the Mafioso who lives to keep the scales in Balance for not diyng to early. :) There are a few aspects, that make this movie unique. It's the Story with the exact amount of Tension that makes you want you watch continuously. The movie is perfectly edited for flowing from Scene to Scene. The Story is told in a flawless flow. The camera-work is on a high Level and the casting is dreamlike! The actors are all perfectly casted and do a real good work. One of the best of deNiro and i do not now one other movie, in which Chazz Palminteri is more sympathetic than in this one. I will surely watch this again. :)
OllieSuave-007
This is a Godfather-type movie where an Italian boy named Calogero (Lillo Brancato) befriends a big-time gangster named Sonny (Chazz Palminteri) after Calogero witnesses a crime. Calogero's father Lorenzo (Robert De Niro) disapproves of the friendship, and things get a little murkier when Calogero falls in love with an African American girl named Jane (Taral Hicks) and his neighborhood becomes involved in theft, guns and racial tensions.The cinematography definitely gives this movie a fascinating film-noir atmosphere and some of the New York City scenes gives you the fast adrenaline of the big city feel and the uneasiness of its crime-infested streets. Coupled with the plot device of Calogero trying to choose his way of life within these streets gives the film some pretty nice action scenes and suspenseful moments, which is good for its sometimes slow plot. And, the subplot of the relationship between Calogero and Jane was pretty heartfelt, which does make up for the average acting. I don't watch much gangster films, but for this one being one of the few, it wasn't bad at all.Grade B-
AD
