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

Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel's frequent lawyer Jay Julien produced and appears in the film in a cameo.

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Goofs

In movie theater, the movie on screen is Nosferatu, but the scenes are not in the correct order.

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Quotes

Dennis Gilley: I heard a rumor about you.
Frank White: What's that?
Dennis Gilley: I heard you got AIDS getting dicked up your ass in prison. That's what I heard.
Frank White: I thought about you every time I jerked off, dickhead.

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Connections

References Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

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Soundtracks

"Piece of the Rock"
Words & Music / Joe Delia (as Delia) - Nicholas St. John (as St. John) - Abel Ferrara (as Ferrara)
Slymoon Pub. Co. BMI
(c) 1989

User Reviews

This Is One Mean Story

Now here's a film with a mean edge....very mean....almost too mean. If I didn't like Christopher Walken (and who doesn't?) I wouldn't have watched this low- life trash. But Walken makes the trash fashionable somehow. Plus, I always like looking at great nighttime shots of New York City.

A nice job of restoration was done on this latest two-disc DVD. The film finally looks good. This is stylishly filmed, too.

Story-wise, as mentioned, it's very rough, lots of f-words, and a simple story of a crime boss who is released from jail and is trying to reclaim his hold on the city's mob scene.

It's an interesting cast. Besides Walken is a trio of actors who wound up becoming stars: David Caruso (a TV star), Lawrence Fishburne and Wesley Snipes. All of them are nasty, too. Sometimes they make Walken look good in comparison. Unfortunately, two of those guys are cops and filmmakers love to make the cops into unlikable bad guys. They certainly are here.

So, if you're feeling ornery and want to take out some hostility without hurting anyone or anything, just flip this disc in your DVD and it should be what the doctor ordered. If you can relate to any of these people in this movie, call a minister, priest, rabbi or psychiatrist. You need help.