King of New York

King of New York (1990) was Abel Ferrara's return to the his favorite style of film making (the urban street drama). Over the past fifteen years, this movie has achieved a cult status that one would have never imagined. During it's initial release on video, this film was a word-of-mouth hit. I remembered watching this in high school. Although the movie was never a major box office hit, film found an audience when it was released on tape. But the movie's popularity grew even more when rappers made numerous of references to it in music and song.

Christopher Walken stars as a crime lord who has done a stint in prison. Upon his release he begins to rebuild his fledging empire through violence and strong arming. Whilst he rotted in prison, his rivals became strong as they gobbled up his business. With time on his side, Frank launches a plan that'll make him KING OF NEW YORK. Can Frank do it by himself? How will the local authorities re-act to his new found activities? Will his soldiers remain loyal? What will his rivals do? To find out you'll just have to watch it!!

I found this movie to be very good. Abel Ferrara has found his niche audience and he should cater to it. He has a style that a director like Martin Scorese once had.

Highly recommended.

This film for many will be too much and by that I mean in every way possible; the amount of grim and grime in Abel Ferrara's portrayal of New York City at the turn of the '90's, the perpetual display of crime and gang activity, the almost impenetrable bad language, the shocking violence and the in-your-face portrayal of hard life and sudden death from the perspectives of both criminals and cops. Saying that, this is one of the first and few greats from writer and director Abel Ferrara, notorious creator of schlock-horror trash 'Driller Killer' and I love it for all the reasons that people tend to hate it.

The inimitable and irreplaceable Christopher Walken plays Frank White, whose Lieutenants - led by intimidating and possibly demented Jimmy Jump played by Laurence Fishburne - have been guarding his territory, awaiting his return from prison. But when he gets out and goes back home to see that the streets have become every man's nightmare and every crackhead's dream, he decides that through rebuilding his empire, he will clean up the streets and give back to the community what the gangs have taken.

What results of this new resolution is the start of an unprecedented bloodbath in White's attempt to rid the streets of these crack dealing gangs and this catches the attention of Roy Bishop - White's nemesis, a jaded New York cop - who proceeds to chase the kingpin with the help of his toughest men Gilley and Flanigan, played with integrity and even a clever hint of villainy by David Caruso and Wesley Snipes.

Ferrara's distinctive independent style of filmmaking truly comes to fruition in this one, as it did with 'Bad Lieutenant', giving the audience a glimpse of everyday life on the grimmest streets of New York, while allowing his characters to run wild. There seems to be no clear line in the sand designating who is supposed to be the villain here as both Frank White and Roy Bishop seem to be corrupted characters with little redeeming features, the same not exactly applying to their supporting characters.

White is a man with no qualms in spilling blood for what he sees as the greater good because he targets only the lowest of the low throughout the film until the cops' war with him becomes personal. Bishop's war with him is nothing but personal however and the only thing that suggests he isn't the true villain of the film is the fact that he's a cop. Fishburne's character, Jimmy Jump, is a devil with no need for disguise, a loyal animal that never questions the man he works for because the only kick he needs is to kill who he sees as the bad guys, even though he is possibly the most intimidating face in 'King...' And Gilley and Flanigan, as straight and clean-cut as they seem throughout the film, are in fact corrupted. Corrupted by hate, by the need for revenge and through the grudges that they bear.

If anything, Ferrara's crime thriller is a film study applying an old philosophy to modern social politics. That philosophy being, "he who fights monsters should see to it that he too does not become a monster in doing so..." The film relies on the talents of its actors as physical and emotional forces of nature, as their performances run along on little comprehensible dialogue in relation to the plot but this is strengthened by a simplistic plot with easily picked out references to classic crime thrillers and although we see where the film is headed from the start, personally found myself excited and in awe of how it got there and honestly didn't see the end coming. It goes far beyond where others dare to go and still keeps it real.

In the end I find myself thinking, this is the kind of film 'The Untouchables' and 'Carlito's Way' didn't have the balls to be!

Crime lord Frank White (Christopher Walken) is released from prison, and on his long drive back to New York City, witnesses the filth his city has descended into since his incarceration. His old friend Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) has just wiped out a Colombian drug operation and welcomes Frank back with a suitcase full of money and cocaine. Eager to win his city back, and also help fund the saving of an inner city hospital through his drug operation, he sets the wheels to his crowning in motion. But cops Roy Bishop (Victor Argo), Gilley (David Caruso) and Flanigan (Wesley Snipes) are on his case, but after struggling to bring Frank in under regulations, resort to more illegal methods of getting him off the streets.

King of New York was booed upon its initial screenings, with mass walk- outs and cult director Abel Ferrara being bombarded with uncomfortable questions. Audiences were apparently appalled by the films seemingly glamorous depiction of man who was essentially a homicidal maniac, encouraging violence and sleaze wherever he went. The film is certainly guilty of that, but the character of Frank is a little different to the likes of Tony Montana or Henry Hill. He seems to style himself as a champion of the lower-classes, using his influence and vast wealth to push a councilman to put forth the money to save a hospital in a poverty-stricken area, and then fund it himself when that fails. He and his girlfriend Jennifer (Janet Julian) are robbed on the subway by inner-city youths. Frank shown them his gun, and they back off, but Frank throws them a wad of money and tells them there is work for them if they want it. A crime-lord he may be, but is he any worse than the fat politicians that soak up the city's money, or the bent cops that are on his back?

In Walken's hands, White is a charismatic, unconventional crime boss, and is in turns charming, strange, and deranged. It's a fabulous performance, but for me it was Laurence (here still credited as Larry) Fishburne that steals the show, as the swaggering, loud-mouthed gun-man Jimmy ("yo, where the chicken at?" he says after killing a cop), a man of such ridiculous posturing that he almost becomes a cartoon character. And this is one of the main reasons I loved this film. It is, at times, so outlandishly over-the-top that it should betray its gritty roots, but its so steeped in atmosphere and that key element, grime, that it becomes a fantasy-laden, insane ride amongst a decaying city and one its most colourful characters.

For anyone who has seen the work of Abel Ferrara, especially two of his most popular films, The Driller Killer (1979) and Bad Lieutenant (1992), will know what they are in for. His New York is not the one you see in the earlier works of Woody Allen, but one of whacked-out prostitutes, cocaine-sniffing criminals, inner-city poverty, and angry, sweaty, middle-aged detectives. We do glimpse the glitzier side of the city in King of New York, as Frank often mingles with the politicians and power- players, but it is a world of black suits and orange lighting, and a world that shares the same depravity and sleaze as the lower-classes. It's a grim thing to see through Abel Ferrara's gaze, but boy is it brimming with atmosphere. This will always play second or third fiddle to the likes of Scarface (1983), but King of New York is the film the former could never be, and in its own depressing way, is a much better film. Undoubtedly Ferrara's finest, and most 'polished' work.

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King of New York(1990) is an excellent movie that is Abel Ferrara's most stylish film. As years go by, King of New York is a film that will be more respected and seen as an example of Ferrara's best work. It was the second best gangster film in 1990 next to Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. The direction is surpurb and the characters are filled with colorful traits.

King of New York(1990) is a modern reworking of the Robin Hood legend. Its basically about a former drug lord who wants to use drug money to help poor and unfortunate people. Christopher Walken gives one of his five top best performances in the role of Frank. The feature is a neo noir because there are no people except for a couple that are likable.

The violence in this film is very brutal and done with plenty of flair. Frank's plans do not work out as everyone is out to get him(espically the police). Frank is a person who's alive on the outside but dead on the inside. King of New York has been compared to Scarface(1983) but I believe that this movie is closer in spirit to Ringo Lam's City on Fire(1987) and the two Chow Yun Fat/Andy Lau films of Rich & Famous(1986) and Tragic Hero(1987).

Laurence Fishburne gives a very good performance as Frank's loyal right hand man. In fact, all of the action sequences involving him makes the actor the Hollywood B-movie eqevulent of Chow Yun Fat with his two gun act. Steve Buscemi has a bit part as a rival drug dealer. I only wished that the idea of putting a contract on the police was expanded on with a few scenes of many police officers being assassinated by Frank's men.

One scene that is terrific is the scene where the police dressed up as drug dealers who raid and try to terminate Frank and his gang. Another excellent scene is the funeral sequence. The ending is unusually low key for a mafia flick. I would like to see a director's cut of this film released on video because I feel that something's missing from the R-rated version.

Now here's a film with a mean edge....very mean....almost too mean. If I didn't like Christopher Walken (and who doesn't?) I wouldn't have watched this low- life trash. But Walken makes the trash fashionable somehow. Plus, I always like looking at great nighttime shots of New York City.

A nice job of restoration was done on this latest two-disc DVD. The film finally looks good. This is stylishly filmed, too.

Story-wise, as mentioned, it's very rough, lots of f-words, and a simple story of a crime boss who is released from jail and is trying to reclaim his hold on the city's mob scene.

It's an interesting cast. Besides Walken is a trio of actors who wound up becoming stars: David Caruso (a TV star), Lawrence Fishburne and Wesley Snipes. All of them are nasty, too. Sometimes they make Walken look good in comparison. Unfortunately, two of those guys are cops and filmmakers love to make the cops into unlikable bad guys. They certainly are here.

So, if you're feeling ornery and want to take out some hostility without hurting anyone or anything, just flip this disc in your DVD and it should be what the doctor ordered. If you can relate to any of these people in this movie, call a minister, priest, rabbi or psychiatrist. You need help.