Even though there are a few direct-to-DVD pickles and comedic missteps mixed in, especially in the new millennium, the filmography for the masterpieces “The Godfather 2” and “Raging Bull” stretches back to the 1960s reads Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro was absolutely impressive.
Over the course of his stellar career, De Niro has not only been in front of the camera, but also tried his hand behind the camera for the first time in 1993 – albeit with little success, at least from a financial point of view. His directorial debut”On the streets of the Bronx‘ only took in about $17 million of its $21 million production budget at the box officea clear flop for De Niro, who was accustomed to success at the time, and whose directorial career seemed to be over before it had really started.
“I was never asked to do a movie after that,” explains De Niro at the recently concluded Tribeca Film Festival, where “The Streets of the Bronx” was once again screened and celebrated on the big screen in celebration of its 30th anniversary (via ). With this statement, De Niro was of course not referring to his work as an actor, in which he was still very busy, but to his work as a director. And in fact, 13 years would have to pass before De Niro’s second and final directorial work to date was “The Good Shepherd,” which the 79-year-old says was another uphill battle.
Still a “great experience”
While the poor performance of The Streets of the Bronx was a huge disappointment to Robert De Niro, given all the work that went into the film, he said he was happy to close the film he wanted to make. And that’s what it’s all about in the end.
Because, as De Niro explained at the Tribeca Film Festival, while it’s a nice confirmation when a movie is immediately viewed by many people and makes a lot of money, what matters most is the work itself and its creation. Looking back, he also described working on The Streets of the Bronx as a “pleasure” and a “great experience”.
And Finally, the once-flopped coming-of-age gangster drama got the recognition it deserved: Written by De Niro’s then-co-star Chazz Palminteri, the semi-autobiographical tale of a boy torn between his upstanding father (De Niro) and a crime boss (Palminteri) has become a cult following over the years and has become a favorite for many. of De Niro’s most popular works.