Review of King of New York (1990) by Josh W — 04 Jan 2014

A gritty gangster film. Upon release it was criticized and dismissed, but now it is nothing short of a cult classic of the mob genre. King of New York is a great tale of greed, power, and violence.

Abel Ferrara directs this film, with his style of direction, and the low budget feel of this film it added to the films grit and atmosphere making it feel even more real. Making it indeed feel like a street film. The fact that this is an independent film it felt a lot like (at times) Quentin Tarantino's early work. Grittiness in the mob genre really helps bring to life the film because it makes it feel much more authentic... at times even a neo noir.

King of New York's small cast were suitable for their roles. Laurence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes and David Caruso in some of their early roles was cool to watch, not their best but certainly fitting for the film. However the film would NOT be the cult film it is today if it were not for Christopher Walken. Walken brings ego, charm, violence and style to his role as Frank White, big time drug dealer and no doubt (in this film) the most powerful man in the city. With White we see a man so powerful that his ego helped bring about his collapse towards film's end. He was "too powerful". White serves as a modern day Robin Hood attempting to with his funds as well as money from various other mob bosses and gangs to build a state of the art multimillion dollar hospital in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in New York, his way of giving back to the people. By giving back he feels is his way of repaying for plaguing the streets with drugs. Walken's villain has charisma not seen in a fictional gangster since the likes of Tony Montana, an astounding performance by Al Pacino in Brian DePalma's 1983 film, Scarface.

Perhaps King Of New York, like Scarface was a bit ahead of its time. Now it is monumental in the genre and one of the grittiest crime-drama's around. Its not a classic or nearly as well made as some gangster classics like Goodfellas but its worth a watch for fans of the genre as well as seeing a well done indie gangster flick.