Tagarchief: King of New York

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.

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.