King of New York (1990)

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer (WGA):

Nicholas St. John (written by)

Release Date:

28 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Not everyone who runs a city is elected.

Plot:

A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Drug Lord | Prison | Gang | Money

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Christopher Walken	...	Frank White
David Caruso	...	Dennis Gilley
Laurence Fishburne	...	Jimmy Jump (as Larry Fishburne)
Victor Argo	...	Roy Bishop
Wesley Snipes	...	Thomas Flanigan
Janet Julian	...	Jennifer
Joey Chin	...	Larry Wong
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Lance
Paul Calderon	...	Joey Dalesio
Steve Buscemi	...	Test Tube
Theresa Randle	...	Raye
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Blood (as Leonard Lee Thomas)
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Tanner (as Roger Smith)
Carrie Nygren	...	Melanie
Ernest Abuba	...	King Tito

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Italy | USA | UK

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

New Zealand:R18 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 (TV rating) | Argentina:16 | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | France:-16 | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 (re-rating) (2004) | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 | USA:R (re-rating on appeal) | USA:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Caminito

Trivia:

The production avoided shooting on the streets during the production as much as possible due to the NYC drought. Director Abel Ferrara used sprayers and hoses in order to better portray the city.

Goofs:

Continuity: In movie theater, the movie on screen is Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922), but the scenes are not in the correct order.

Quotes:

Jump: I wanna know who I'm selling drugs to, you know what I mean?
Joey Dalesio: You don't sell drugs, my brother. You shoot people.
Jump: Yo, I'm unemployed. Ain't nobody left.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in We Own the Night (2007)

Soundtrack:

Rockabilly Willy

The Cinema of Abel Ferrara: 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.