The King of New York

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.

Do you like Christopher Walken movies? The good, the deep psychological studies, the creepy pseudo-underworld /misfit characters that have unfortunately typecast one of America's greatest and multi-talented contemporary actors?

Do you like Abel Ferrara movies? The down in the muck, inner-city examinations of the seedier motivations and lifestyles-the side of life many of us would like to ignore, but are intrigued by nonetheless?

Low budget and a lot of conjones are trademarks of Ferrara's films (Fear City, The Addiction, The Funeral) and this is no exception, but the term stylish is defined here..You see, you hear, you FEEL the environment-the nasty low morality hustlers of the five burroughs………….Much congrats to Alex Tovoularis' production design.

King of New York may not be as famous as Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant in the world of the cinema-geek, but maybe it should be.

Joe Delia's haunting soundtrack is a perfect compliment to Bojan Bazelli's moody visuals-Walken's confrontation scene of the old-style Mafiosos is as classic as it is intense.

Man, do I love this movie.

In many of Ferrara's best films, including The King of New York, good and evil are not simply blurred distinctions, they are inseparable. Though this characteristic is more apparent and more powerfully examined in Bad Lieutenant than 'King', there are characters on both sides of the central conflict in this film who are equally disturbing and despicable. The word anti-hero was made for the main characters in this film.

Leading in one of his better roles since Deer Hunter, is Christopher Walken. The support cast is something of an all-star list of genre films - Fishburne, Caruso, Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, Buscemi... And all of the acting is excellent.

Walken plays a sociopathic organized crime kingpin who has just been released from jail and wants to improve his public image while taking over all of the profitable crime in New York. So, he starts offing the competition and donating to impoverished hospitals, etc. Some have compared Frank White to Robin Hood, but since I find it difficult to think of the English Folk hero as a psychotic with no moral compass whatsoever, I disagree.

Worth seeing for Walken and Fishburne's performances alone, King of New York has, over the years developed something of a cult following. Considering the cast and the directorial talent, this is no surprise. Ferrara makes an entertaining film which, though it doesn't offer a great deal of new material, offers some unique characterizations and avoid devolving into straight action.

Highly recommended for fans of Walken, Fishburne, Caruso and Ferrara. Recommended for crime drama and gangsta film fans. Weakly recommended for Snipes fans.

King of New York, while not a classic, is a gritty, drug-lord gangster flick in the same vein as films like 'New Jack City' and 'American Gangster'. If you like this type of movie then King of New York is definitely worth a look. Frank White (Christopher Walken) has just been released from prison and wants to get back together with his gang, take over the New York drug trade, and become a modern robin hood. This little known film somehow flew under the radar when released in 1990 but is just as entertaining as the movies I listed above.

New York detective Dennis Gilley (David Caruso) is sick and tired of seeing drug lords like Frank run amuck in his city and is ready to cross any line…indeed to do whatever it takes, including murder, to take Frank down. Dennis' captain Roy Bishop (the late Victor Argo) wants Frank busted too, but he wants to do it by the book and tries to control his subordinates to no avail.

One prolonged climactic sequence of this movie is virtually worth the price of admission; when Dennis and his group disguise themselves and infiltrate Frank's hideout while they are partying one night. The place erupts in a frenzy of gunfire as we try to distinguish just who is who and eventually the scene spills outside and evolves into a high speed car chase and shoot out as the cops chase Frank and his number two man Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) through the streets of New York. This protracted scene lasts about 15 minutes and is dynamite….you may find yourself rewinding to watch it again!

There is no conventional movie ending here, in fact it is a rather bleak and downcast wrap-up, but then this is no typical Hollywood film. The acting however is top notch, with Walken delivering as usual, Caruso bringing a surprising amount of intensity to his role, and the then-unknown Wesley Snipes effective as Caruso's partner. The standout to me though is Fishburne, who gives an over the top performance as the psychotic, volatile Jimmy Jump. It's worth watching for this performance alone. That is….if you like an action packed, violent gangster film…and if not, you're probably not still reading this anyway, so enjoy.

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.