X
- 1990
- R
- Carolco Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
- 1990
- R
- Carolco Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
Summary A drug kingpin (Christopher Walken) is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
Directed By: Abel Ferrara
Written By: Nicholas St. John
- 1990
- R
- Carolco Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
- 1990
- R
- Carolco Pictures
- 1 h 43 m
King of New York
66
6.9
Where to Watch
Summary A drug kingpin (Christopher Walken) is released from prison and seeks to take total control of the criminal underworld in order to give back to the community.
Directed By: Abel Ferrara
Written By: Nicholas St. John
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
66
70% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
25% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
66
70% Positive
14 Reviews
14 Reviews
25% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Ferrara is a master at luring the viewer into his sinister underworld, where survival of the fittest is the only rule. It's refreshing to find an auteur whose storytelling isn't enslaved by plot conventions. Putting substance second to style isn't always a sin, and King of New York has a style that's a joy to behold through many viewings. [8 Aug 1993, p.5]
Ferrara’s blend of toughness and lyricism turns this visionary crime film into something stylish, seductive and haunting.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
6.9
53% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
47% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 19 User Ratings
6.9
53% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
47% Mixed
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
This movie is so gangster. I found it through a rap song by Notorious B.I.G. Frank White is a legendary character.
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This is a pretty action packed film with a decent cast - I enjoyed seeing Christopher Walken (I kept thinking of Stephen Merchants recent British drama 'The Outlaws' while watching Walken on screen - this ain't Bristol MF'er!) and Wesley Snipes on screen, plus there's David Caruso of CSI: Miami fame. Its pretty gritty in parts and it keeps you guessing. A decent, explosive action/crime/thriller with a decent car chase scene. Yes, I'd recommend this.
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Complementing Walken’s bravura turn are equally flamboyant performances by David Caruso as the young Irish cop out to destroy Walken, and Larry Fishburne as Walken’s slightly crazy aide-de-camp.
Director Abel Ferrara stages the violence in electrifying spasms, and Walken, with his undead complexion, his jittery line readings, and his stare of cold rage, mesmerizes the camera.
Be warned: King of New York is trash, but it's trash with an attitude. [25 Oct 1990, p.11]
What Ferrara needs for his next film is a sound screenplay...He has gone about as far as a director can go on pure style.
That's the allure of the genre. Succeed, and you're artful,
thoughtful, and popular all at the same time. But fail, and you're the
King of New York. As failures go, this is typical enough, smugly
dividing the world into good gangsters and bad ones. [9 Nov 1990]
I assume its an incalculable number of times that Frank White would of been murdered in real life, he offs 3(?) major players within the first half of the movie.
My suspension of belief finally ran out when he killed a cop at another cops funeral and got away.
Thomas Flanigan is a crazy name for a Wesley Snipes character.
I liked the movie.
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In this film I give more credit to Christopher Walken than to Abel Ferrara, and don't get me wrong, Ferrara's hand is noticeable throughout, but Walken is so good at selling you on his character, that you can't help but be enraptured by him.
The script itself is full of inconsistencies and that's never a good thing, but King of New York has an impressive ability to mesmerise you and make you overlook many of its inconsistencies.
Abel Ferrara is an incredibly variable and unstable director, but surprisingly, even though he's involved with a lot of failed scripts, he often manages to pull himself out of what could be really bad projects.
King of New York is one of those. It has a lot of problems, but it entertained me enough not to be too drastic about them.
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Shoulda loved it, didn't.
The violent nature of 'King of New York' is its strongest element, though otherwise I found this to be unsatisfying. A lot happens but none of it really clicked for me, while I held very little interest in any of the characters - despite an exceptional cast list.
Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes, Steve Buscemi and Giancarlo Esposito are all in there, yet none of their performances shone through to me to be honest. Walken is the obvious standout, though that's only via a process of elimination.
Gritty gangster flicks would usually be my thing, but for some reason this 1990 release disappointed me.
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