King of New York (1990)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

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 | Prison | Drug Lord | Hospital | 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

Also Known As:

El rey de Nueva York (Spain) [es]
King of New York - König zwischen Tag und Nacht (West Germany) [de]
Król Nowego Yorku (Poland) [pl]
Kralj Njujorka (Serbia) [sr]
Le roi de New York (France) (TV title) [fr]
New Yorkin kuningas (Finland) [fi]
O Rei de Nova Iorque (Portugal) [pt]
O Rei de Nova York (Brazil) [pt]
The King of New York (France) [fr]
To afentiko tis Neas Yorkis (Greece) [el]

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:

James Russo turned down the part Jimmy Jump. Laurence Fishburne, who had already been cast as Thomas Flanagan, persistently begged director Abel Ferrara for an audition for the part. He got the part just by coming in looking exactly as he does in the film and did not have to audition.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the car chase, the right headlight gets knocked out in the dark sedan, but later shots of the chase show both headlights working on all three cars.

Quotes:

Frank White: There are some things I don't do.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Saturday Night

Great cast crap sound

Do we blame the director for the noise noise noise that pervades and ruins what would have been an alright film. The soundtrack is of a quality more akin to a third rate porn movie. The director is an idiot if he thinks this is quality sound recording. It does nothing for the atmosphere of the movie but rather detracts from what storyline there is.

As for the storyline, it has no real direction, rambling along at too slow a pace to be interesting. A great pity as Walken as always is excellent. Frankly if he was not in it then this would have been a complete flop. Maybe someone will decide to do a proper re-make. I wait in hope.

One final comment. Wesley Snipes playing a cop, proves even at this early stage in his career that he has no talent whatsoever and it never ceases to amaze me that he has been able to star in so many crap movies of his own.