King of New York (1990)

Fabulous, fast and furious whilst looking wonderful with bright lights, dark shadows and a lot of violence. Abel Ferrara may talk about not wanting arty lighting and fancy camerawork to get in the way but he either makes sure he has people doing this for him or he just can't help himself. However many involved in a shoot out, however many cars racing across a bridge, however complicated the street or big restaurant scene is and however much blood is spilt, it always looks good. Just about ever frame is perfect and if we can't always make out the dialogue for the noise of the traffic, the soundtrack or or buzz of a bunch of diners, it is a joy to look at. Not much of a story but the director brings together many people who would go on to work with the likes of Tarantino and produces a film that looks and sounds 'real' even if as Abel might have his doubts. Christopher Walked is magnificent, worrying, likeable, crazy and child like, he dominates the film, which has to accommodate his illogical seeming logic.

A top gangster called Frank White is released from prison and decides he wants to make a positive social contribution to his New York neighbourhood in the form of a public hospital. He requests help in this enterprise from his fellow gang lords, who refuse to co-operate, leading to a mob war.This gangster film was helmed by maverick director Abel Ferrara who specialises in gritty urban stories set in New York. This is one of his most accessible in many ways – it isn't quite as grim as the likes of The Driller Killer or Bad Lieutenant – but it's still a pretty typical bit of work. This one is all about moral ambiguity. Frank White eliminates his rivals because he doesn't like the ethics of their business practices, yet he still sells drugs on the streets to make money but he wants to use this cash to save a ghetto hospital. It's a film full of shades of grey. No one is good and no one is bad, everyone is in between. The criminals have a conscience, yet continue to commit crimes, while the police hunt these law breakers yet act like just another gang of thugs in doing so.The film is immeasurably helped by excellent acting from Christopher Walken in the central role. It's hardly surprising, seeing as Walken is a fantastic actor who always brings something interesting and compelling to dark roles such as this. There are a lot of great support players too, with good solid turns in particular from Laurence Fishburne and David Caruso. While the hip-hop soundtrack is very effective and adds to the sense of time and place. It's overall a very good crime movie.

King Of New York is one of the best Gangster Films and Crime Dramas ever made that's filled with stylish direction,Great performances from Christopher Walken and the whole cast,well-written screenplay and great Action. This film is an Underrated Classic and has a Cult following that is well-deserved.King Of New York tells the story of a gangster and drug lord named Frank White(Christopher Walken)who has just been released from prison and reunites with his former crew to wipe out his rivals and take back control of the drug game. While Frank is doing that,a group of New York cops want to take down Frank by any means necessary and try to stop Frank's rein as the King Of New York.King Of New York while a Great film and Cult Classic now,suffered from bad timing and unfortunately came out right around the same time as another Great New York set Gangster film Martin Scorsese's classic GoodFellas so KONY was basically ignored and overlooked by audiences as a result,but thankfully KONY was rediscovered through home video and was immortalized by the late great Hip-Hop icon The Notorious B.I.G who called himself The Black Frank White. One of the reasons I love KONY is the way it shows New York City a few years before the Big Apple was "cleaned-up" by Mayor Rudy Guiliani,the film shows New York as this dark and gritty place where drugs and crime have affected New York City,giving the film a sense of danger and gloomy atmosphere and a world where gangsters rule the streets.The screenplay by Nicholas St. John is well-written and memorable,giving the character great,realistic dialog,speaking in the tone and toughness of the streets. I also love the moral ambiguity of Frank White and the rest of the characters. Frank White is one of the best characters I've ever seen in a gangster film and in my opinion should be alongside Michael Coleone and Tony Montana as a gangster icon. Frank White is a character where one of the rare times in a gangster film you can relate to the main character because even though Frank is out of prison and back with his old crew,you feel that Frank is isolated and alone and lost too much time when he was in prison. And with Frank you may not always like his actions or the things he always or sometimes does but you like the character because one minute he's dealing with his rivals and drugs,while at the same time wanting to keep a hospital open. There's good and bad in Frank White and that is one of the things that makes Frank White a great character and so iconic. There's also a moral ambiguity with the other characters as well such as Frank's crew and the cops. Where in most Crime Dramas it's easy to figure out who's the good guys and the bad guys,it's not that easy with this film because you don't know who to root for and you don't who to root against. It would be easy to label Frank's crew the "Bad Guys" because they're dealing drugs and killing people and label cops as the "Good Guys" because the cops represent the law,but there is big a gray area that is in the film because you will love Frank's crew because of the things they do or hate the cops because of what they do or vice versa. That's one of the things I love about KONY is that nothing is what it seems and there is no easy answer. The Action and violence in the film is dark,gritty and violent and not for the faint of heart and it truly fits and matches the dark tone of the film showing viewers how the gangster lifestyle and drug dealing can be violent and horrible and the film doesn't glamorize the violence. The ending of this film is excellent and unlike most gangster film,this movie doesn't end with a bang,but in a sad,quiet way and one of the reasons KONY is a classic.The whole cast in the film is excellent. Christopher Walken gives one of his best and most iconic performances as Frank White,with Walken bringing an intensity,cool and calm demeanor to the role. Excellent performance by Walken. Laurence Fishburne gives a great,stand-out performance as Jimmy Jump,Frank's gun blazing right hand man. Fishburne is funny in the film and has great lines. David Caruso and Wesley Snipes are wonderful as Dennis and Tommy,two cops who want to nail Frank. Victor Argo is great as Roy,Dennis and Tommy's partner. Paul Calderon(Joey Dalesio),Janet Julian(Jennifer),Giancarlo Esposito(Lance),Steve Buscemi(Test Tube),Theresa Randle(Raye),Carrie Nygren(Melanie),Leonard L. Thomas(Blood),Roger Guenveur Smith(Tanner),Joey Chin(Larry Wong)and Frank Gio(Arty Clay) give good performances as well.The direction by Abel Ferrara is excellent,stylish and visually stunning,giving the film a great dark and gritty tone,while using different colors and always moving the camera. Great direction from Ferrara.The score by Joe Delia is wonderful,sad,energetic and melodic and adds to film's dark tone. Great score. The film also has great Hip-Hop tracks by Schooly-D like Am I Black Enough For You and Saturday Night. Great tracks.In final word,if you love Abel Ferrara,Christopher Walken,Gangster Films,Crime Dramas or films in general I suggest you see King Of New York,a true Gangster classic that will stay with you after watching it and a film that will stand the test of time. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

Legend has it that Abel Ferrera's girlfriend broke up with him at the premier of this gangster flick. Ya gotta love a movie director who manages to offend his own squeeze... That said, there is a lot wrong with this picture - the bust-happy obsessed cops are one dimensional goons; the black crooks are a little too street sassy to be believed (especially Fishburne); and the plotting tends toward the generic. There are few plot twists, and few unexpected happenings. Ultimately, though, the flashy visuals trump the flaws and the look of the picture triumphs over its more forgettable elements. Ferrera creates a glossy, almost movie star world for the Frank White character to inhabit, while giving us an appropriately grimy and rundown urban landscape just below his gleaming Plaza Hotel penthouse. The women are hot, the confrontations boil over into sudden violence with no warning and the chases and shoot-outs demonstrate careful and competent staging. Worth a look for late 80s / early 90s gangster flick fans.