In New York, crime
gets done Frank's way - or it doesn't get done at all. Recently
freed from prison, Frank White (Walken) hooks up with his old crew
to challenge
his few 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.
CRITIQUE
Directed by Abel
Ferrara, King of New York is very well directed and moves
at a pretty good pace. It takes place primarily at night, which
gives the film a haunting mood. It's Nicholas St. John's
screenplay that creates the mood and sets in motion a variety of
elements that mount up to a solid crime film. Number one is the
story. Walken's Frank White feels no more remorse after getting
out of prison, and even though his intentions are good in nature,
his perspective and way of doing things is highly skewed, not to
mention against the law. With his gang of thieves, lead by Jump
(now Lawrence Fishburne), he decides to clean up the streets by
killing rival gang bosses.
This, however, does
not sit right with the film's main police officers, played
excellently in supporting roles by David Caruso, Victor Argo, and
Wesley Snipes. They try to arrest Jump and his right-hand man, but
White coughs up the bail. Running out of options, they try to make
it work on their own, except Argo's ranking police officer advises
against such action. The film presents a tough and harsh battle
between White and the officers played by Caruso and Snipes.
Another element that
counts towards the film is the acting. Every actor is perfectly
cast. Walken hardly shows any emotion when he shoots a rival gang
boss seven or eight times, or when he orders a former friend of
his to be killed. There's an early scene where Walken breaks out
dancing that seems odd now, but for the rest of the film his
acting is very solid. Fishburne does an interesting job with his
character; one of his earlier roles where he plays someone very
differently, but does it well. I like Victor Argo's character, but
the script doesn't flesh him out enough. That creates less of an
impact as the scene on the subway at the end of the film
progresses. Still, the film's last ten minutes are very good.
THE VIDEO
Lions Gate presents King
of New York in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Noticeable
grain shows up in a handful of scenes, because a lot of the film
takes place at night. The print quality is fine, some flaws
remain. Colors are well-saturated, while dark tones and black
levels are deep.
Optional subtitles
include English and Spanish.
THE AUDIO
Lions Gate presents King
of New York in English 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound. Dialogue is
clear and easy to understand for most of the time. There are two
or three muffled sounds, but the front speakers do a pretty good
job. Surrounds are active, especially during one night scene in
the rain. Sound effects are loud and clear. Overall, a pretty
good audio presentation.
The film is also
available in a 2.0 soundtrack.
THE EXTRAS
The set-up menu
lists two commentaries. The commentary by director Abel
Ferrara is fair and also somewhat strange. The first thing you
hear on this track is the sound of popping open a bottle.
Ferrara mentions something about sitting down after getting
$5,000 from somebody, maybe for participating in this
commentary. Anyway, his comments vary between good information
and the obvious. When he doesn't say "wow, look at this shot" or
points out other obvious things, he talks about filming, the
actors, specific scenes, and how things were done, plus he
curses a hell of a lot. The DVD producer(s) did a smart thing
here, they got somebody to interview the director for this
track. The overall track, however, is more dry than interesting.
On the other hand,
the commentary by producers Mary Kane, associate producer
Randy Sabusawa, editor Anthony Redman, and composer Joe Delia
feels much more focused and prepared. They sometimes interrupt
each other, but the amount of information on this track is good.
All four of them are recorded together, which makes the track
flow nicely.
Under special
features you'll find two extras. The first is a documentary
(below), the other the film's theatrical trailer.
A Short Film
About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (47mins) features a
series of interviews with frequent collaborators and friends of
the director, such as the director of photography, editor,
composer, producer, art director, etc. Overall, it's really only
a lot of talk. The participants discuss Ferrara's various films
over the past few decades, however, there are hardly any
film clips to support the dialogue, except for a few from
King of New York. Then again, licensing could've been an
issue here. This documentary focuses mainly on the director's
films, not on the director as a person; sure, there are the
obligatory "great" comments from the interviewees, but I didn't
learn a whole lot about him. Plus, Ferrara never shows up in
here either. Well, this is essentially a "short film" about the
long career of the guy.
The second disc
holds a single extra, a documentary called The Adventures of
Schooly D: Snowboarder (mins). This is a portrait Schooly D,
the father of gangsta rap and the inspiration behind the film.
The documentary follows his start on the streets to his ten
years with Abel while tracking the ongoing influences of rap in
music and film. Overall, a pretty interesting documentary and companion piece to the
film.
The 106-minute feature is organized into twenty-four chapters. A
booklet insert lists the cast, documentaries, features,
and chapters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
King of New York
is a solid crime film with really good acting and a good script. The
story is intoxicating, but it should've been more fleshed out; I think
that could've made the film better than it is. The DVD presents good
video and pretty nice audio quality. Extras are not overwhelming,
except for the interesting Schooly D documentary. The special edition
DVD is worth a purchase for fans, and is a recommended rental for
everyone else.
