King of New York

"Not everyone who runs a city is elected."

1990 1h 43m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 834

ThrillerCrime

Synopsis

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A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.

“Not everyone who runs a city is elected.”

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Cast

Christopher Walken
Frank White
David Caruso
Dennis Gilley
Laurence Fishburne
Jimmy Jump
Victor Argo
Roy Bishop
Wesley Snipes
Thomas Flanigan
Janet Julian
Jennifer
Joey Chin
Larry Wong
Giancarlo Esposito
Lance

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Abel Ferrara
Writers: Nicholas St. John
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

36 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Abel Ferrara, shot by Bojan Bazelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Delia. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Anthony Redman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Christopher Walken and David Caruso and Laurence Fishburne carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Not everyone who runs a city is elected.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Abel Ferrara directs. Bojan Bazelli behind the camera. Joe Delia scores. Anthony Redman cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
236 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Directed by Abel Ferrara, shot by Bojan Bazelli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Joe Delia. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Anthony Redman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Christopher Walken and David Caruso and Laurence Fishburne carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Not everyone who runs a city is elected.".
9IMDB entry: tt0099939 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "new york city", "gangster", "release from prison", "hope".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli
Original score: Joe Delia
Editing: Anthony Redman
Production design: Alex Tavoularis
Costume design: Carol Ramsey
Makeup / hair: Ron Abrams
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $5,300,000
Box office: $2,554,712
Return: 48% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: King of New York (1990)

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Abel Ferrara

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-07-07
★ 8/10
Stylish and smouldering. Frank White, a drug lord of New York, is released from prison and plans to make a more positive mark on the city. But after reuniting with his loyal and violence hungry gang, he finds the odds are very much stacked up against him. Not only has New York changed for the worse, being run by incompetent pretenders to his crown, but the police force are also after his head - dead or alive! First time viewers to this picture should not go into it expecting some Scarface type gangster movie, I made that mistake almost 17 years ago and came out the cinema totally cheesed off! Revisiting the film now has opened up a whole new ream of delights that when put together have created a simmering and brutal piece of work. What director Abel Ferrara has managed to do here is portray a fable of how a leopard never changes its spots - even though it wants too. Frank White is here a victim of his own past doings, with his reputation on the wane and the authorities with long and unforgiving memories. What hits the most (outside of some brilliant acting) is Abel Ferrara's bleak yet gorgeous vision of a sin city Big Apple, the characters are all one step away from a death, something that we the audience hope comes swift and nasty, all of which is cloaked in this plink plink lighted vision of the underworld. Ferrara chooses to pace his picture to give us a sense of pervading doom, it's quite a knack and means the viewers have to hang on in there to get to the wonderful, and dare I say it, bleakly appropriate conclusion. Christopher Walken is Frank White and gives one of his best career performances, all scary eyes and dialogue spurting precision, he pours out grit and emotion to garner sympathy where he perhaps really shouldn't be getting it. Larry Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes, Janet Julian and Steve Buscemi fill out the cast list, with Fishburne and his manic Jimmy Jump character practically walking off with the movie. So all in all it's a visual delight and a story that is very good on the ears, with the violence perfectly harsh to flesh out the grim nature of this pot boiling crime picture. So, those in need of a pick me up should probably steer well clear then. 8/10
tmdb154355192021-04-24
★ 8/10
Incredibly acted and beautifully stylized. Really enjoyed this entry in the 90s crime era, one of the best in my opinion.
r96sk2022-03-10
★ 6/10
Shoulda loved it, didn't. The violent nature of <em>'King of New York'</em> 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.