| | | "THX Optimum Resolution DVD, The Ultimate Home Theater Experience."
Features: DVD, THX, Widescreen, English, Subtitled, Spanish, Dolby Digital (5.1)
In New York, crime gets done Frank's way - or it doesn't get done at all. Recently freed from prison, Frank White (Christopher Walken) hooks up with his old crew to challenge his fellow drug lords. Each bloody battle aims at a piece of the high-priced action where being at the top of the chain can mean the difference between life and death. Unable to keep him behind bars, the cops declare war on him. Frank's answer-put a contract out on the cops. Academy Award winner Christopher Walken stars in this mesmerizing, ultraviolent street drama of a city on the edge. Larry Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes and Giancarlo Esposito also star in director Abel Ferrara's (Bad Lieutenant, Dangerous Game) riveting and horrifyingly realistic story of one man who takes the city beyond its limits.This release of the film starring Christopher Walken is in THX Optimum Resolution, for the highest possible quality.
"...is gleefully over the top, its a bit of good fun." Eric Melin, SceneStealers.com
"Deliciously indecent." Nick Schager, Nick Schager Film Project
"...blend of toughness and lyricism turns this visionary crime film into something stylish, seductive and haunting..." Rolling Stone
Editor's Note
Christopher Walken stars as Frank White, an ultracool crime boss, in this moody gem from director Abel Ferrara. Released from a long stint in jail, White rejoins his devoted gang, which includes the trigger-happy Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne), Test Tube (Steve Buscemi), and his attractive attorney girlfriend, Jennifer (Janet Julian). Setting up headquarters in Trump Plaza, they start wiping out members of rival mobs in a bid to take back the streets and indulge in lots of cocaine and sex, but ultimately White has more noble ambitions, such as giving a fortune in drug money to charity. David Caruso, Victor Argo, and Wesley Snipes costar as a group of bitter cops who don't buy Frank's change of heart and decide to go outside the law to take him down. Poetic, sexy, funny, somber, and very violent, this critical hit cemented the rep of Ferrara and has earned a strong cult following. Bozan Bajelli serves as director of the arresting cinematography, which is full of rich shadows and gold, blue, and red hues. For fans of films such as THE GODFATHER and SCARFACE, this is essential viewing.
Plot Summary
In Abel Ferrara's KING OF NEW YORK, drug lord Frank White, recently released from prison, ruthlessly maneuvers to take control of the entire city's drug trade. When the police declare war on the convict, White strikes back by putting a contract out on the cops.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Lions Gate |
| Release Date: 10/24/2006 |
| Running Time: 106 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1990 | | Catalog ID: 15528 | | UPC: 00012236203551 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1991) | | | Independent Spirit, Bojan Bazelli, Best Cinematography |
| Memorable Quotes| "I spent half my life in prison. I never got away with anything, and I never killed anybody that didn't...that didn't deserve it."----Frank White (Christopher Walken) to Bishop (Victor Argo) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...Ferrara's blend of toughness and lyricism turns this visionary crime film into something stylish, seductive and haunting..." 10/18/1990 p.49Sight and Sound
"...Christopher Walken lends the role a certain sleazy charm..." 07/01/1991 p.46 USA Today
"...Ferrara knows how to shoot the grimmer parts of New York..." 10/01/1990 p.4D New York Times
"...Grisly yet electrifying..." 09/22/1990 p.13 Film Comment
"...Exhilaratingly nasty....It moves like a bat out of hell..." 01/01/1991 p.54-8 Los Angeles Times
"...Abel Ferrara, director of KING OF NEW YORK is a virtuoso of grunge....Christopher Walken is the ideal actor for Ferrara because he combines an ultra-scary stolidness with balletic grace..." 10/26/1990 p.F6 Empire
4 stars out of 5 -- "[With] a giant performance from Walken, who turns silence into noise with every icy look." 10/01/2008 p.174 Sight and Sound
"Canny casting caught Steve Buscemi, Laurence Fishburne and Wesley Snipes early in their careers..." 11/01/2008 p.85 Reel.com 8 of 10
The term that comes to mind when describing Abel Ferrara's King of New York is "crime opera." Ferrara stalwart Christopher Walken plays the aptly named Frank White, a kingpin running the New York drug trade with a crew of black drug dealers doing his dirty work for him..This movie has had a word-of-mouth following for years, and it's good to see it reissued with a remastered 5.1 soundtrack, even if the special features are a little skimpy. Ferrara ups the ante for on-screen violence at every turn, and the film is masterfully shot, edited, and put together. Still, it has a tendency to melt on contact, playing like a trashy grindhouse special all tarted up with sumptuous visuals and an ominous score. Maybe that's the best of both worlds, or maybe it's just a little shallow. - Jerry Renshaw
Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
Instead of "Romeo and Juliet," this one recycles "Robin Hood," with Christopher Walken as a New York drug kingpin who wants to use his profits to pay the budget of a hospital for poor people. The Walken character never quite gets around to explaining precisely how he plans to set up his financing, and I am not sure any money actually goes to the poor and sick, but it's a good idea, anyway...He has gone about as far as a director can go on pure style, and he apparently isn't one of those filmmakers who can begin with a sketchy script and patch it up as he goes along. His effects are too good, his command of mood is too sure, for him to continue trying to bluff his way through half-written movies like this one. All it did was whet my appetite. - Roger Ebert
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