King of New York (1990)

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.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John

Stars:

Christopher Walken, David Caruso, Laurence Fishburne

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Frank White
David Caruso	...	Dennis Gilley
Laurence Fishburne	...	Jimmy Jump (as Larry Fishburne)
Victor Argo	...	Roy Bishop
Wesley Snipes	...	Thomas Flanigan
Janet Julian	...	Jennifer
Joey Chin	...	Larry Wong
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Lance
Paul Calderon	...	Joey Dalesio
Steve Buscemi	...	Test Tube
Theresa Randle	...	Raye
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Blood (as Leonard Lee Thomas)
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Tanner (as Roger Smith)
Carrie Nygren	...	Melanie
Ernest Abuba	...	King Tito

Storyline

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

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | prison | drug lord | hospital | detective | 

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Taglines:

Not everyone who runs a city is elected.

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

X

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Italy USA UK

Language:

Spanish English

Release Date:

28 September 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

El rey de New York

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$2,554,476 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reteitalia, Scena International, Caminito

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The interior scenes in which Wesley Snipes and 'David Caruso' are seen driving around during the final car chase were actually shot in a warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn with rubber hoses placed on top of the roof of the car to make it look as if it was raining for continuity.

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Goofs

During the car chase, the damage on the cop car's rear passenger side door appears and disappears several times.

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Quotes

King Tito: [after Jump and Test-Tube have "paid" for a shipment of cocaine with a suitcase full of... tampons!] What the fuck is this!
Jump: [pulling a pair of semi-autos from his jacket] They're for the bullet holes, Bitch!
[He blows Tito away]

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Connections

References Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Strivin'"
Written by Lavaba / T. Lewis
Performed by Party Posse
Courtesy of Jive Records
Published by Zomba Enterprises Inc. ASCAP/Willesden Music Inc. BMI

User Reviews

King of the Genre

Do you like Christopher Walken movies? The good, the deep psychological studies, the creepy pseudo-underworld /misfit characters that have unfortunately typecast one of America's greatest and multi-talented contemporary actors?

Do you like Abel Ferrara movies? The down in the muck, inner-city examinations of the seedier motivations and lifestyles-the side of life many of us would like to ignore, but are intrigued by nonetheless?

Low budget and a lot of conjones are trademarks of Ferrara's films (Fear City, The Addiction, The Funeral) and this is no exception, but the term stylish is defined here..You see, you hear, you FEEL the environment-the nasty low morality hustlers of the five burroughs………….Much congrats to Alex Tovoularis' production design.

King of New York may not be as famous as Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant in the world of the cinema-geek, but maybe it should be.

Joe Delia's haunting soundtrack is a perfect compliment to Bojan Bazelli's moody visuals-Walken's confrontation scene of the old-style Mafiosos is as classic as it is intense.

Man, do I love this movie.