Directing rookie De Niro makes film shine
“A Bronx Tale”
The movie’s narrator calls it “just another
Bronx tale,” but it’s not really.
“A Bronx Tale” is special for a few
reasons. Robert De Niro makes his directing
debut in a coming-of-age story told with a
refreshing frankness. It’s told from the view
point of a young man, who also narrates.
And it makes no bones about the struggle
between good and evil.
Well, maybe good and evil are too strong.
Instead, let’s say it’s a struggle between a
working man, who wants what is best for his
son, and the mobster his son idolizes.
De Niro is Lorenzo, a bus driver living in
an Italian-American neighborhood in 1960s
New York. His son, 9-year-old Colgcro
(Francis Capra), witnesses the neighbor
hood “god” Sonny (Chazz Palminteri) kill a
man in the street.
Colgero doesn’t rat on Sonny, both be
cause the boy idolizes him and because
there’s nothing worse in his neighborhood
than a rat. This forms the base for Sonny’s
relationship with the boy, whom Sonny now
calls C.
C. starts working at the Chez Bippy,
• where all the “guys” hang out. Sonny is the
“god to the neighborhood,” but Lorenzo
constantly reminds C. that Sonny is not
loved or respected but feared.
Despite his status as a gangster, Sonny
wants what is best for C. As the boy grows.
Sonny doles out advice and tries to keep him
out of trouble, even'saving the boy’s life
when he’s 17 years old.
Newcomer Lillo Brancato plays the older
Colgero, and he does a fine job. Palmmten,
who adapted the screenplay from his own
play, is very good as Sonny, giving him a
three-dimensional quality few film gang
sters seem to have.
There is some heavy violence, such as the
brutal clashes between the young Italians
and the young blacks.
Some shots are jerky and jumpy, but
throughout, Dc Niro’s direction is consis
tently solid. And from doo-wop to the
Beatles, the movie’s music also subtly shows
the passage of time.
“A Bronx Tale” is a fine first effort from
Hollywood’s heavyweight actor.
—Anne Steyer
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IN OMAHAm _IN LINCOLN
Courtesy of SBK Records
Country singer Billy Dean will appear at the Lied Center for Performing Arts Saturday
at 8 p.m. The conceit will raise money to benefit Lincoln General Hospital.
Dean to shine at Star Night,
Lincoln General’s fund-raiser
By Jill O’Brien
Staff Reporter
Country western singer Billy Dean
is the star of Star Night, an annual
benefit hosted by the Lincoln General
Hospital Auxil lary, Saturday at 8 p.m.
at the Lied Center for Performing
Arts.
Sheryl Wanck, general chairwom
an of Star Night, said the Auxiliary,
matte up of volunteer members and
Lincoln General Hospital staff, had a
history of hiring high-caliber artists
such as Dean to perform at the benefit.
“Last year, we had Mark Chestnut,
another country western singer, plus
we’ve had Juice Newton, Melissa
Manchester, Natalie Cole and Bob
Hope.”
Besides offering top-notch enter
tainment, the show will benefit Lin
coln General Hospital.
Proceeds from Star Night ticket
sales will purchase a pneumatically
powered scalpel, a state-of-the-art tool
for the surgery department," Wanck
said.
While this year marks the 31st
Auxiliary benefit, Star Night is only
three years old, Wanek said.
Prior to Star N ight, the annual ben
efit was called the Fashion Review
show. A fashion show at the Pershing
Auditorium was held in conjunction
with an evening of entertainment, she
said.
Wanek, a graduate of the Univer
sity of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the
auxiliary decided to drop the fashion
section of the program and move the
entertainment to the Lied Center.
It is a move that has proved suc
cessful.
“It had gotten to the point where
we had done the fashion review for
many, many years, and at the time we
made the switch, with the economy it
was harder to get the stores to partic
ipate. We felt maybe it was a good
time to try something a little different.
The new format worked so well, we
decided to stick with it."
Wanek said the Star Night enter
tainment was excellent.
“Billy Dean is going to put on a
good show for us,” she said.
Wanek, a self-confessed Dean fan,
said one of her responsibilities as
general chairwoman was finding the
entertainer.
“Basically when you go about get
ting an entertainer, you get an idea of
how much money you’re willing to
spend, and then you look for enter
tainers that fall into that range,” she
said.
“Right now it’s a little easier to
find country entertainers for a lesser
price than someofthe pop artists. And
since 1 also enjoy country music, it
was natural for me,” she said.
“When 1 found that Dean was within
our price range, he was somebody 1
was interested in.”
“He’s a very down-to-earth per
son,” she added. “He’s very nice and
fiuts on a great show, so we’re really
ooking forward to Saturday night.’
UNL or Nebraska Wesleyan Uni
versity students can attend the benefit
at the Lied for $14. General public
tickets cost $18.