King of New York (Special Edition)

I didn't know much about this film until now. I'd heard about it, vaguely, and I'm aware of Director Abel Ferrara's reputation as a bit of a crazed maverick, running rough-shod over convention and happily straddling a variety of genres in a completely unpredictable way. To a degree, some of that applies to 'King of New York'. Though the publicity states 'Where Scarface left off…King of New York begins', it's actually not quite as straightforward as that.

Apparently the idea of the film came out of considering the perfect role for charismatic actor Peter Walken, who combines melancholy and menace in a way that no one can match. The role of Frank White was conjured up by Ferarra and then written to life by Nicholas St.John, a long time collaborator.

Frank White (Walken) is released from jail and meets up with his old partner Jimmy Jump (Larry Fishburne) in order to re-establish his empire and influence. It's not long before he gathers about him a huge entourage of gangsters and dames (one of them is his long-time squeeze, Jennifer, a Park Avenue lawyer).



Frank is a little unpredictable as well as being coldly pragmatic when removing obstacles to his business aspirations. He thinks nothing of murdering a whole gang to get their slice of the pie.

Curiously (and in common with other famous movie gangsters, usually played by Jimmy Cagney) it seems he has a social conscience. He wants to help the poor community that he is operating in; to keep a hospital running that's threatened with closure. It's a world view not shared by his equally brutal comrades.



Wesley Snipes is superbly cast as an upbeat, but frighteningly off-kilter, 'gangsta', cutting down anyone who stands in his way - much like his role (not yet played) in the 'Blade' franchise. A constant theme of 'King' is that, a little like Dennis Hopper in 'Blue Velvet', all the key characters are frighteningly unpredictable. Frank may be the king but his sidekicks share this dark trait which results in brutal violence that often seems the result of an almost random whim.



Then there's the police. They're left standing on the sidelines as Frank delivers his extreme justice with impunity - and some of the men 'ain't gonna take it no more'. Worthy of mention is a very youthful looking David Caruso who's principles no longer allow him to sit quietly, watching Frank progress without challenge. For a few moments you almost believe that maybe 'good' will win as Caruso's young cop decides to take Frank on.





PICTURE
This is a pretty decent 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer that almost looks like it may have been PAL mastered. It's certainly acceptable. There are some interesting visual effects that, according to the commentary, were achieved with lights rather than by time in Post. One example is the use of blue light which does bring a certain, almost electric tension to the scene.





AUDIO
There's a choice of Dolby 2.0 stereo and 5.1. I used the 5.1 which was fine though with very little happening in the rears other than some almost random effects. It had a nice full sound though.




SPECIAL FEATURES

Abel Ferrara Commentary
Sitting with Mark Rance, the man responsible for the documentary contained on this disc, Ferrara sounds a little oiled - with an occasional growling slur giving the game away. Nonetheless, it's an interesting journey with Ferrara protesting that the movie has in no way been influenced by real-life. This is a movie influenced only by other movies. Also - stick with it. He even drunkenly sings a song over the closing credits, so that's something to look forward to!

Filmmaker Commentary
Composer Joe Delia, producer Mary Kane, editor Anthony Redman and casting director Randy Sabusawa deliver a more traditional, straight-forward commentary - far more informative but as it's pretty standard stuff, far less entertaining than Ferrara's.

Interview with producer Augusto Caminito (20.00)
An interesting interview with the movie's producer, who kind of goes over the same ground as the commentaries, claiming that, contrary to popular opinion, Ferrara was easy to work with and was a perfect Gent most the time. Which is nice.

A Short Film About the Long Career of Abel Ferrara (47:00)
This is a very nice extra with loads of interviews and anecdotes covering the man's career up to 2001. 'King of New York' does get a decent amount of time allotted. No sign of the big man himself though.

The Adventures of Schoolly D: Snowboarder (42:11)
WTF?!! Other than the fact that two of his tracks are featured in the film, there seems to be no reason to include this lengthy fly on the wall piece featuring Jesse B. Weaver, Jr, aka gangsta rapper Schoolly D. And yes Schooly- we DO know what you're saying. You don't need to keep asking at the end of every damned sentence. Skip this unless you're a fan of the man.

Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty (80:00)
This feature length outing put me very much in mind of that 'Boondock Saints' documentary. It's essentially 24 hours in the life of Ferrara and seems almost surreal. Genius or Madman? You decide. This is actually an episode of the French TV series Cinéma du notre temps. Accompanying the man as he hits the town, gets thrown out of places, invited into others; working, playing, scheming, you're left marveling at the man's energy. And you'll need some yourself to endure the full eighty minutes.

Hollywood Superstars: Christopher Walken (26:00)
In stark contrast to the previous piece, here's a US equivalent; a Hollywood Superstars TV episode featuring Walken using a mix of interviews and documentary style footage. A relevant addition, if a little bit schmaltzy.




OVERALL
I'm not a huge fan of gangster films, particularly when they're explicitly violent. However, I enjoyed 'King of New York' precisely because it adds a layer of psychological complexity to what can be a very predictable genre. Walken is superbly cast (he should be - the role was written for him), and the film still seems incredibly contemporary and fresh, despite it being some eighteen years old.

For fans of the movie you couldn't expect a better edition than this, absolutely crammed with extras (albeit some a little tenuous) and apparently it comes in an attractive steelbook case too. A really fine effort.