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Arrow Video: King of New York (1990) - Reviewed
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| Courtesy of Arrow Films |
Starring a sizzling ensemble cast including but not limited
to Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito,
Scorsese regular Victor Argo and even Steve Buscemi, the film penned by frequent
Ferrara collaborator Nicolas St. John is an unexpected mixture of Ferrara’s penchant
for violence and debauchery while also serving up a postmodern reworking of the
legend of Robin Hood (believe it or not).
Drug lord Frank White (Walken) recently released from prison
and back on his turf in the streets of New York, fancies himself as the city’s
new crossbreed between Robin Hood and Tony Montana, a violent wrongdoer trying
to use his muscle to give back to the community including funneling money to
save a hospital from oblivion. To do
this, his enforcers led by gangster Jimmy (Laurence Fishburne) sweep the city
turf by turf from other mobsters, ruthlessly gunning down opponents while
fending off a band of crooked cops (Victor Argo, David Caruso and Wesley
Snipes) determined to take Frank down even if it means breaking the law
themselves. All of this plays out across
the cocaine underworld empire which leaves ample room for Walken to chew up the
scenery as the coked-up Frank White.
A brutally violent, crude and often depraved crime epic that
feels genuinely sleazy and dirty thanks to Ferrara’s trademark gritty aesthetic
though fans of the director will begin noticing a finer polish on this one than
what came previously. Lensed beautifully
by Bojan Bazelli who also shot Ferrara’s Body Snatchers as well as Gore
Verbinski’s A Cure for Wellness and aided by a pulsating score by
Ferrara disciple Joe Delia who scored every one of the director’s films, King
of New York now remastered in 4K UHD by Arrow Video looks and sounds
stunning, probably the best a Ferrara product has ever looked on home
video. In addition to the score is a cavalcade
of hip-hop R&B tracks which perfectly compliments the urban criminal
underworld lived in by Frank and his cronies.
Partially an action picture, partially a distinctly New York
based character study that is as much about the kingpins as it is about the
personality and weather of the city itself, Abel Ferrara’s King of New York second
to Body Snatchers is the director’s most straightforward film. A hard-boiled crime drama, a swan dive into
depravity, a limb for Christopher Walken to jump off of, King of New York opened
to poor reviews and dismal box office returns but as with most of Ferrara’s work
found a second life on home video before being reappraised as a modern classic
of neo-noir. As always with Ferrara, all
of the debaucheries are framed within the context of a morally conflicted evil
man trying with what life and power he has left to live to make some measure of
change for the better, even if it means gunning down a few people along the
way.
Seen now, the film is mostly a showcase for the ensemble
cast to give go-for-broke over-the-top performances that in another movie would
threaten to derail the picture but here only serves to enhance its dangerousness. In Ferrara’s pantheon it doesn’t quite have
the punch Bad Lieutenant or, many years later, Welcome to New York. But it is nevertheless a deliriously
entertaining Ferrara effort that capitalizes on everything fans of his came to
expect from his ‘90s output: sex, drugs, violence, grit and impassioned
over-the-top acting that feels oddly appropriate for Ferrara’s universe. A one-of-a-kind crime saga from a still controversial
and divisive but brilliant cinematic artist.
--Andrew Kotwicki
