Tagarchief: Abel Ferrara

Gangs of New York Vs. King of New York

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Gangs of New York
Historisch epos van Martin Scorsese over kolonisatie in New York gedurende halverwege de 18de eeuw. Destijds waren de verwachtingen erg hoog en als gevolg viel de film wat tegen, maar een herevaluatie is op zijn plaats. Amerika is echt gebouwd op bloed en dat zie je hier in al zijn glorie. Briljant zijn de kostuums, de sets, het camerawerk en de legendarische vertolking van Bill the Butcher door Daniel Day Lewis.

King of New York
Een gangster film geschoten als vampierfilm. De psychopathische drugsbaas Frank White – briljante vertolking van Christopher Walken – neemt de macht over in New York. Een groep agenten die er niet voor terugdeinzen zelf te moorden zit achter hem aan. Donkere visie op de misdaad van filmmaker en kunstenaar Abel Ferrara met een uitstekend script en ditto cast.

Als je er maar één mag kijken, welke wordt het dan?
Beide zijn het net geen perfecte films, en hebben ze een paar dingen die niet goed werken. In ‘Gangs’ o.a. het optreden van Cameron Diaz en in ‘King’ is het einde niet optimaal. Toch zijn beide wel behoorlijk essentieel. Met het pistool op het hoofd dan maar ‘Gangs’ vanwege de geschiedenisles die je bij blijft.

The Funeral (1996)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘One family, one murder, too many lies’

Directed by:
Abel Ferrara

Written by:
Nicholas St. John

Cast:
Christopher Walken (Ray), Chris Penn (Chez), Annabella Sciorra (Jean), Isabella Rossellini (Clara), Vincent Gallo (Johnny), Benicio Del Toro (Gaspare), Gretchen Mol (Helen), John Ventimiglia (Sali), Paul Hipp (Ghouly), Victor Argo (Julius)

Abel Ferrara is an interesting director and The Funeral – his second gangster film after King of New York (1990) – is an a-typical, but interesting film that is set in the 1930’s. Christopher Walken plays Ray Tempio, boss of a mob clan. His young brother was killed and the body is brought to his house where relatives and associates gather for what will be a three day funeral.

Soon, his other brother Chez (Chris Penn) arrives, a hothead who’s mentally unstable. The brothers want to go after the killer and their suspect number one is gangster Gaspare (Benicio Del Toro).

Through flashbacks we learn more about the Tempios although it is hardly information overload. Ferrara and his regular screenwriter St. John are holding back! But first the positive points. The film is shot beautifully. From the images of mourning relations to the gangster nightlife that is portrayed, it all looks stunning. Also, performances are great all around. Two cast members deserve special mention. Chris Penn gives a career best performance as the craziest mobsters ever. And Annabella Sciorra is truly excellent as Ray’s wife Jean, who is openly critical of the gangster lifestyle.

What I am less thrilled about is the build-up. The movie ends with a dramatic act by Chez, but it is not really clear how he comes to this act, apart from the fact that he is crazy. We are not given enough pieces to work out this psychological puzzle. Same for the youth flashbacks from Ray. It is obvious that they have impacted him greatly, but exactly how remains elusive. Is the screenwriting the problem here? Or does Ferrara just enjoy leaving things a little vague? Judging by most of his films, it is the latter. Normally, this is good. A true artist knows as well what to leave out as what to put in. But this time he used the scissors too rigorously.

Rating:

Quote
JEAN: “They’re criminals, and there’s absolutely nothing romantic about it.”

Trivia
In 2009, Empire Magazine named The Funeral #16 in a poll of the ‘20 Greatest Gangster Movies You’ve Never Seen (Probably)’.

King of New York (1990)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Not everyone who runs a city is elected’

Directed by:
Abel Ferrara

Written by:
Nicholas St. John

Cast: Christopher Walken (Frank White), David Caruso (Dennis Gilley), Larry Fishburne (Jimmy Jump), 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)

The Godfather meets Black Caesar in Abel Ferrara’s violent 90’s gangster tale. Christopher Walken plays the disturbing and eccentric gang lord Frank White, who is characterized by a short fuse temper, a Robin Hood-like attitude and a pretty cool haircut.

When White is released from prison he starts effectively wiping out all his competitors whom he views as the real scum of New York because they take money from the poor and weak. He is different: he uses his drug money to finance schools and hospitals. For him, this easily justifies the killing of some vermin, but a small group of Irish cops look at the matter entirely differently. They hate the idea that a drug dealer can get away with murder and so they start a war with Frank and his gang.

Ferrara and his regular screenplay writer Nicholas St. John show the viewer that crime is dirty. There is nothing glamorous about King of New York, not even the sex and coke parties. In the world these characters live in, death and betrayal could come any time. Frank knows this. In one scene he expresses his desire to stay around for just two more years, so he can finish his charity work. Death could come soon and it is hardly a heroes’ death waiting for him. Still, he has the makings of a hero.

King of New York is easily Ferrara’s most accessible movie. There is hardly any complex subtext like in basically all of his other works, but it does contain some criticism on society as can be expected from an artist like Ferrara. Basically, it is a modern day morality tale, but the message is certainly delivered in an entertaining fashion. Apart from Walken’s excellent performance, many other cast members shine as well, most notably Larry Fishburne in scene stealing form. Also contains a fair amount of violent action.

Rating:

Quote:
LARRY WONG: “You know something Frank…this conversation made me realise how fucking crazy you really are.”

Trivia:
The work of real-life friends David Caruso and Wesley Snipes in this film helped them get casted in, respectively, NYPD Blue (1993) and New Jack City (1991) each of which launched both actors into stardom.

The Addiction

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: Abel Ferrara
Written by: Nicholas St. John
Cast: Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco

Year / Country: 1995, USA / Argentina
Running Time: 79 mins.

In Abel Ferrara’s take on the vampire genre, vampirism is a metaphor for drug addiction (and Aids). Together with regular collaborator Nicholas St. John, who wrote the screenplay, Ferrara explores the mean streets of New York once again. Amidst dope peddlers and junkies listening to Cypress Hill, the philosophy student Kathleen is bitten by the sardonic vampire Casanova (Annabella Sciorra).

Her turning into a hungry vampire is a path filled with suffering. While she is searching for relief from her addiction, she finds that her addiction is her only relief. In a memorable one-scene appearance, vampire Christopher Walken teaches here a few things about addictions (have you read ‘Naked Lunch’?). He practices abstinence and teaches Kathleen that like Tibetans, we can learn to survive on a little. But Kathleen must first go through a massive feeding frenzy at the end of the film before finally finding some relief through religion.

Besides being an unusual, but brilliantly effective genre film, this is also a work of art that deals with deeper questions. Most urgently it asks how we can resist evil. The movie features many references to historical acts of greater evil and – typical for Ferrara – deals with guilt, redemption and Catholicism. The black and white cinematography is beautiful and the cast, not in the least lead actress Lili Taylor, is impressive. But how much you will enjoy the final result will depend on your tolerance for philosophical and religious subject matter. Either way, this is one of Ferrara’s finest works to date.

Rating:

Biography: Abel Ferrara (1951, New York) is a New York artist and filmmaker. He started making amateur films on Super 8 in his teens before making his mark as independent film director with bloody underground films such as The Driller Killer. Ferrara has an independent way of working, uses low budgets, but is still able to attract Hollywood talent for his movies, such as Christopher Walken and Harvey Keitel. His raw, realistic style and controversial content has earned him a position as an important voice in American cult cinema.

Filmography (a selection): Nicky’s Film (1971, short) / 9 Lives of a Wet Pussy (1976) / Not Guilty: For Keith Richards (1977, short doc) / The Driller Killer (1979) / Ms. 45 (1981) / Fear City (1984) / Cat Chaser (1989) / King of New York (1990) / Bad Lieutenant (1992) / Body Snatchers (1993) / The Addiction (1995) / The Funeral (1996) / The Blackout (1997) / New Rose Hotel (1998) / ‘R Xmas (2001) / Mary (2005) / Go Go Tales (2007) / Chelsea on the Rocks (2008, doc) / Napoli, Napoli, Napoli (2009) / Welcome to New York (2014) / Pasolini (2014) / Alive in France (2017, doc) / Piazza Vittorio (2017, doc) / The Projectionist (2019, doc) / Tommaso (2019) / Siberia (2019)