KING OF NEW YORK - DVD review

With most of his films billed as exploitative trash, B-movie king and independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara is a man that clearly knows what he wants to do with his art and has no qualms about going through with it. From 1979's violent gore-fest "The Driller Killer" to supernatural vampirism in 1995's "The Addiction" and brutal crime dramas like 1992's "Bad Lieutenant", Ferrara's raging desire to portray on-screen sex, nudity and graphic violence in his movies is more a matter of artistic integrity than provocative headline grabbing. Sidelined by major motion picture studios, the self-proclaimed bad boy of filmmaking continues to work independently. Say what you will about Ferrara, he knows his strengths and let the critics and the box-office be damned. For good measure, Ferrara's street cred is closely tied to his cult-like following. If you can look beyond all the unpleasantness in his films, you might be able to spot Ferrara's oft-repeated theme of urban, social and moral decay in the context of the not-so-good versus the worse-than-evil. Characters in a Ferrara movie--on both sides of the ethics equation--are almost always morally ambiguous.

Artisan previously released "King of New York" in 2000 as a single disc barebones DVD with non-anamorphic video and just its theatrical trailer, TV spots and a Schoolly D music video as extra features. This new 2-disc Special Edition release features remastered anamorphic video, Dolby Digital audio as well as a set of comprehensive extras.

In probably one of Ferrara's most accessible works to date (next to Harvey Kietel's "Bad Lieutenant"), "King of New York" tells a sordid tale of twisted moralities with enough violence, drugs and beautiful and naked women to make every Ferrara fan swoon with delight. Released back in 1990, "King of New York" surprisingly stars some of Hollywood's heavy hitters like Christopher Walken, Larry Fishburne (before he started using Lawrence), Wesley Snipes and David Caruso. There is even a bit part for Steve Buscemi.

"King of New York" opens with convicted New York City crime boss Frank White (Walken) getting released from prison after having served his time. Before the ink is even dry on his release papers, White has ordered his henchmen, led by Jimmy Jump (Fishburne) to take out King Tito (Ernest Abuba), a local drug lord, in a bold and calculated move to signal his return. Now that he is back in business, White demands a piece of every single action that goes down in the city from the other crime bosses. Of course, against a demented and ruthless Frank White, resistance is foolhardy and probably futile as his crew starts a gang war against the various factions in an exercise that seeks to install White as the one and only crime king of New York City.

On the other side of the fence sits the police. Although happy that the bad guys are killing each other, they cannot sit idly by while a gang war erupts within the city. Three detectives, Roy Bishop (Victor Argo), Dennis Gilley (David Caruso) and Thomas Flanigan (Wesley Snipes) go after Frank and his men but they can't find enough evidence to make the murder charges against them stick. Frustrated by the bureaucracy and the rule of law, Gilley, Flanigan and some of the other guys decide to take matters into their own hands, against the advice of Bishop. What ensues is a dramatic and very violent showdown between the cops and Frank White's cold-blooded crew.

As you can see, the narrative of the story is very simple and straightforward. There is no beating around the bush here--no betrayals and no plot twists. At once, you can make an obvious distinction between the good guys and the bad guys. While the cops are shown attending a wedding or drinking in a pub, the criminals are continually shown snorting coke, cavorting with half-naked women or putting holes in their rivals. However, you will slowly find that in Ferrara's world, these distinctions can also be an illusion.

In some twisted way, White sees himself as a modern day Robin Hood, in order to justify the murders of the crime bosses, which he acknowledges as his way of getting rid of the city's scum. At the same time that these killings are happening, White also finds time to infuse his own money into a needy hospital located in a poor neighborhood as a way to buy himself some influence with the city's politicians. The cops themselves are no angels. With their efforts to nab White and his henchmen thwarted at every corner, they begin to lose faith in the system. What starts out as a clear battle line drawn between the police and the criminals slowly begins to blur and degenerates into the depths of madness, a realm where only violence can be quelled by more violence.

Abel Ferrara's vision of New York City is an exaggerated one, a city where all the bad guys look so cool wearing shades, even in the dead of night and a city that knows nothing but violence. "King of New York" plays out like a crime saga set against a morally corrupt urban dreamscape. Heavily influenced by 80's rap music and hip-hop culture, this is probably the only film where you will see Lawrence Fishburne dress, talk and act like a member of Run DMC and have Christopher Walken show us where he first acquired his dance moves before his big debut on the Fat Boy Slim music video, "Weapon of Choice" eleven years later. Come to think of it, many times over the course of the film, I kept thinking about how similar, the look of "King of New York" is to Michael Jackson's "Beat It" music video.

Walken, as always, is very effective in this film, playing a deranged crime lord that is detached from reality. For such a character, there is always a big chance of overplaying it but the good thing is, Walken doesn't overdo it, making Frank White so much more believable. Fishburne, as the low-life killer Jimmy Jump, does just the opposite, embellishing his character with all the attitude of a gangsta rapper. However, the combination of Walken's understated performance and Fishburne's larger-than-life rapper image works well on this film. Wesley Snipes and David Caruso give commendable performances but both Walken and Fishburne overshadow them convincingly.

As with any of Abel Ferrara's movies, "King of New York" should not be taken at face value. If you do, you will just be wasting your time. All the violence, drugs and debauchery on this film symbolize his style of filmmaking, nothing more. If you don't like such things, please give this film a miss, as it will again be a waste of time for you. So when it finally comes down to it, "King of New York" will either entrance you or make you pop the disc out and throw it down the gutter. I like it for a reason, and that is to be able to enjoy all genres of film regardless of what other people might say. Abel Ferrara may be trash to some but he can sure make a compelling B-movie in his own unique style.

Video:
I do not have Artisan's previous DVD release of this movie to compare with but I can safely guess that this Special Edition release is probably the definitive version in terms of video quality. The widescreen (anamorphically enhanced) version is shown in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, can be found on Disc 1 while the fullscreen pan and scan version is located on Disc 2. Overall, the remastering of the video has produced a beautiful transfer that is free from smudges and dirt. The colors are almost natural and nicely contrasted, with deep blacks. A very nice effort in cleaning up a 14-year old film that now looks as if it was only produced last year. Subtitle options include English and Spanish.

Audio:
On both the widescreen and full screen versions, two audio options, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Surround 2.0 are available for your listening pleasure. Listening to the discrete 5.1 mix, I find it very engaging and forceful when it needs to be and soothing at other times. Dialogue is clearly projected and the surround channels are utilized often. Again, like the video, the dynamic audio mix receives high marks as well.

Extras:
The special features are spread out over both discs.
On Disc 1, there are two audio commentaries--one by director Abel Ferrara and the other by producers Mary Kane and Randy Sabusawa, editor Anthony Redman and music composer Joe Delia. Ferrara's commentary is informative, amusing and also peppered with expletives. He starts of by stating that the only reason he is doing the commentary is because they offered him $5,000 to do it. At least this guy has no pretension about it! From his voice and the way he speaks, Ferrara comes across as a hip guy that somehow manages to come up with profound things to say. I can just imagine him getting stoned with the likes of Keith Richards. This is probably one of the more interesting audio commentaries I have had the pleasure to listen to in a while. Compared to the Ferrara commentary, the other people featured on the other commentary sound so subdued. However, they do have some wonderful insights into the film to contribute.

Next is a 47-minute documentary about Abel Ferrara, cheekily titled "The Long Career of Abel Ferrara". Presented in anamorphic video, this documentary features interviews with many of the people who have worked closely with Ferrara over the years. In it, many of them amusingly reminisce about the good old days when a Ferrara movie's budget was very tight and they only got paid a few hundred dollars each for their work. The only bizarre thing about this documentary is that the subject himself never appears on it. Ferrara's name gets mentioned in every other sentence but we never see him nor hear from him.

The last special feature on Disc 1 is the film's theatrical trailer.

Disc 2 is allocated to exploring the influence of Philadelphia gangsta rap artist Schoolly D. First is an untitled Schoolly D rap music video that also features Larry Fishburne. Next is a 42-minute featurette titled "The Adventures of Schoolly D: Snowboarder". This is an anamorphic presentation that talks about the origins of hip-hop and gangsta rap and how Schoolly D's music was used by Ferrara as a big influence behind this film. It also features a very long interview session with Schoolly D.

Last but not least are three TV Spots used to promote the movie.

Packaging:
A plastic transparent slip-on cover with the words "King Of New York" is included in the packaging for this 2-disc set.

Film Value:
Abel Ferrara is given almost-mystical status on this DVD. Ferrara's face never shows up on any of the extra features and we can count ourselves fortunate to even hear his voice on his highly entertaining audio commentary. Making him seem like a recluse that shuns any publicity only serves to heighten his cult status.

"King of New York" is one of Ferrara's more accessible films that might appeal to a larger audience. Be warned that it is very violent but at the same time, it has a gripping story to tell. For whatever reason that you might shun such movies, "King of New York" might still warrant at least a rental.

An interesting thing to take note is that a prequel to "King of New York" may be in the works. Currently titled "The Last Crew", Mark Wahlberg is rumored to play a young Frank White.