tieman64
The early 1990s saw a huge resurgence in "gangster movies" ("Goodfellas", "Godfather 3", "New Jack City", "Boys in the Hood", "Mobsters", "Dick Tracy", "Juice", "Clockers", "Dead Presidents", "Menance to Society", "Miller's Crossing" etc etc). One of the earliest was Abel Ferrara's "King of New York".The plot? Christopher Walken plays Frank White, a drug lord who's recently been released from jail. Walken navigates the film like Noferatu in Armani, his time in prison filling his skull with delusions of grandeur; he wants New York. Not all of it. Just some.White then sets about reorganising his gangsters. He arranges a series of meetings with rival Colombian gang lords and has his lieutenants, led by Jimmy Jump (Lawrence Fisburne), execute them all. As White reclaims lost turf, and expands into new territory, he filters more and more money into local projects (eg – a Harlem hospital). With these scenes Ferrara intends to overlap blood money and social benediction, but the theme is quickly dropped.Indeed, most of the films ideas are brought up and then quickly ignored. Frank repeatedly tells street thugs to meet him at an opulent hotel, but never does. He trades ominous barbs with local gangsters, but these feuds go nowhere. Much of the film instead watches as a trio of cops, played by Victor Argo, David Caruso and Wesley Snipes, attempt to take Frank down. Realizing that "legal methods" aren't "sucessful enough", they thus resort to violent, "extralegal" measures. The film then traces two very broad movements, the cops becoming increasingly barbaric, whilst Frank, who exists in a kind of metropolitan purgatory, one foot in grimy dens, the other in luxurious hotels and up-market benefit gigs, attempts to go legitimate.Throughout the film, Ferrara approaches conventional scenes from odd angles. He stretches clichés to elaborate lengths and though his film possesses all the genre's typical plot beats, they're laid out in unconventional proportions, shootouts drawn to comically long lengths and moments of drama which would be fleshed out in another picture, treated wordlessly or quickly skirted over. This has the bizarre effect of making the film both interestingly idiosyncratic and totally uninteresting. What is Frank's goal? How did Frank become a drug lord? How does a white boy become leader of African American street gangs? Ferrara doesn't care. It's all about mood.Unfortunately this mood reeks of a very specific early 1990s aesthetic: lots of abandoned warehouses, blue light, blue filters, plastic sunglasses, pounding hip-hop, shoulder pads, mullets, Vivaldi orchestrals, Schoolly D, MTV vogue, MC Hammer shenanigans, gold chains, early 90s gun-play, fade-tops, Joo Woo style outlandishness, over-ripe imagery, dual pistol wielding, bombastic car chases, full moons, coke snorting, Bling Bling etc etc. The whole thing looks like a Patrick Nagel painting. Bizarrely, Ferrara says James Cameron's "The Terminator" was "King's" chief influence and inspiration. He set out to recreate Cameron's neon and moonlit Los Angeles in downtown New York. Style was primary, plot secondary.But while the likes of Don Corleone and Henry Hill frolic in fine suits and stylish finery, Ferrara's hoodlums look like a joke. Such an "aesthetic" plagues all the early 90s gangster movies filmed in the year they're set. Unlike something like "Scarface" (1983), which knows its costumes and decor are totally ridiculous, these films tend to present themselves without irony, and without the mediation or distance of time. One can rationalise their ridiculousness away – "the near past is a distant country, the distant past a familiar comfort" etc etc – but the fact is, early 90s fashion was pure crap. Early 90s hip-hop or black fashion, was even worse; a kind of vulgar appropriation of everything from corporate sports brands to tribal wear. This cross cultural mishmash was a celebration of individual expression, but also a means by which those whom society deemed worthless conveyed, via materialism, a signal of worth. Hop-hop fashion then celebrated values of opulence and pea-cocking, until it began to recognise its own anxieties in the mid 1990s. Its statements of bravado then became increasingly toned down, its style went up-market and the poor were slowly priced out of ghetto fashion. Later, to be black and successful suddenly meant to dress like classy white guys. Of course Frank has no time for these expressions or anxieties. He's the only "well dressed" person in the film, moving like a suited Velociraptor as he coolly plots conquest."King" ends with several protracted, bloody shootouts. Frank begins the film in the back of a stretched limo, but dies in the back of a taxi cab. "I didn't want to make money that way," he says in his epitaph. "And I never killed anybody who didn't deserve it." In the end, Frank White just wanted to be white. Legit. Establishment.Upon release, "King" was bashed for its sleaze and foul language. Ferrara would vocally defend the film, before all but disowning it years later for its "irresponsibleness", before welcoming it back with mixed feelings. The film's noirish, nighttime aesthetic is stiff compared to Ferrara's later works ("R'Xmas", "Last Day on Earth", "New Rose Hotel", "Go Go Tales" etc) and its law/order, wealth/slums juxtapositions are unsophisticated next to Ferrara's best pictures. Elsewhere "King" indulges in Ferrara's three loves: sleaze, religion and silent cinema. He paints Frank White as a vampire risen from the dead tombs of incarceration (the rat sequence from Murnau's "Nosferatu's" is seen playing on a cinema screen), ready to spread his disease. But Frank also has a Jesus complex, hoping to deliver a great, apocalyptic purge; to clean up the city with his new religion. Elsewhere the film oscillates between beautiful, spare, elegant imagery, totally cheesy moments, and crypto-Catholic imagery (blood sacrifices, bent Catholicism, rebirths, deaths etc) 6/10 – Worth one viewing.
jcbutthead86
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.
