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Director Abel
Ferrara has made quite a few… uhhh…
interesting films during his career, most
of them you might have head of in passing
without even knowing he had anything to
do with them. “Cat Chaser”,
“Body Snatchers” come to mind.
But he is best known for two extremely gritty
and violent ‘cop dramas.’ Harvey
Keitel delivers one of his best, yet most
disturbing performances in 1992’s
“Bad Lieutenant”. But prior
to that, Christopher Walken struck fear
into audiences as Frank White in 1990’s
“King of New York.”
Walken plays Frank White, whom we learn
quite quickly, has not learned his lesson
from time spent in prison. He immediately
gets back together with his crew, and decides
he is going to be the number one drug lord,
no matter what the cost. Walken pulls out
all the stops to make White one of the most
despicable characters of his career. He
is known for bringing a steel-eyed intensity
to the screen and here the intensity is
turned up to 11.
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Unfortunately, in recent years Walken has become
somewhat of a caricature of himself, with that
intensity often played for laughs. In “King
of New York”, however, he is as frightening
as he is vicious.
I hadn’t seen the movie in ages, and as
my memory isn’t what it used to be, I was
really surprised who made up some of the rest
of the cast. It was a veritable cornucopia of
up-and-comers. David Caruso and Wesley Snipes
star as the two cops whose sole aim in life seems
to be brining White to justice. Unfortunately
he has Morpheu… I mean, Laurence Fishburne
on his team, which spells big trouble for our
stalwart officers. Even at this early point in
their careers, you could see the potential for
star power these three had. I was in for a bigger
surprise when Steve Buscemi popped up in a small
role. I have always enjoyed Buscemi as an actor,
and love the fact that he’s become kind
of an unconventional household name.
I believe there was an earlier release of “King
of New York”, but I’ve never seen
it so I can’t tell you how this new Special
Edition from Artisan compares. What I can tell
you is that this set is right on the edge of being
phenomenal. Not so much for the extras, which
are okay, but for the high quality of the transfer.
Ferrara’s films are often dark, and the
cinematography doesn’t compare to something
like “Gone with the Wind”, but it’s
not supposed to. What was so impressive was just
how good the picture looked in spite of the director’s
style. For the most part you have little problem
picking up on what is happening, even in the darkest
of scenes. The sound is also quite good. I never
had any problems hearing the dialogue, which is
a problem I sometimes run into.
As for the extras, there are two commentaries.
The first one is by director Ferrara, and though
it makes for a fairly good listen is only worthwhile
if you really, really like the film. The second
is by several members of the creative team and
runs about the same as far as interest level.
There is also a bit of a documentary feature on
Ferrara’s work which I found to be a very
worthwhile addition for both hardcore and casual
fans alike.
“King of New York” is said to be inspired
by the experiences of Schoolly D, who is called
here the ‘Father of Gangsta Rap.”
Admittedly, I never heard of him, but I’m
not a real big fan of rap, gangsta or otherwise.
Go figure. So the producers of the DVD decided
to include another lengthy documentary about him,
which is watchable, but not overly enthralling.
The editing is a bit choppy, which makes viewing
it even less entertaining. This is followed up
by one of his videos, which I could take or leave.
Closing out the set, you’ll also find some
of the requisite trailers and TV spots.
The set is made up of 2 discs, giving you the
choice of watching it in Widescreen or Full Screen
(but why, oh why would you want to), and has these
extras spread out over both discs.
If you’re into really violent cop vs. drug
lord movies, “King of New York” is
still one of the better ones. It holds up well,
even 14 years later.
Directed by: Abel Ferrara
Starring: Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburne,
David Caruso, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes, Janet
Julian, Joey Chin, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Calderon
Extras: Audio Commentary with Director Abel Ferrara,
Audio Commentary with Mary Kane (Producer), Anthony
Redman (Editor), Joe Delia ( Composer), Randy
Sabusawa (Associate Producer), “A Short
Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara”,
“The Adventures of Schoolly D: Snowboarder”
– the Father of Gangsta Rap,
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1) and Full Screen,
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital
2.0 Surround Sound
Studio: Artisan
Release Date: 4/20/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website
We'll give King of New York: Special Edition
a B.
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