Cheap King of New York (Special Edition) (DVD) (Christopher Walken, David Caruso) (Abel Ferrara) Price

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Customer Reviews of King of New York (Special Edition)

The Godfather meets Robin Hood
Abel Ferrara's "King of New York" is a dynamite film that pulls no punches; its "in your face" style hits you head on. The "King" is Frank White, played with cold-blooded aplomb by Christopher Walken, a paroled gangster with ice in his veins who wants to be the baddest of the bad-... drug lords in the city. He'll win respect and the backing of social bigwigs by rescuing a city hospital from privatization, but his real interest is the bottom line supplied by the lucrative drug trade. To this end, he's ready, willing and able to wipe out the competition from Italian, Latino and Chinese interests. Frank is as white as his surname but his henchman are almost all black. Out to get Frank and stop his criminal interests are a group of New York's Finest who, in their zeal to fight fire with fire, come across as being almost as bad as the thugs they want to put away. There are some really excellent performances in this film; besides Walken, the standouts are Laurence Fishburne as White's right-hand man Jimmy Jump, David Caruso as the overzealous cop who destroys himself trying to destroy White, and Wesley Snipes, as the black cop who is scorned by White's black thugs as a traitor and a wannabe; even his name, Flanigan, emphasizes this. I especially liked Teresa Randle as White's sometime girl friend, Raye, as beautiful as she is deadly with a machine gun. There is plenty of violence in this film, blood and bullets flying all over the place, and Ferrara's direction, the cinematography, and the terrific score (check out Schooly D's "Am I Black Enough?") underline the dark tone of the film. It's not a film for everyone, but if you're into a movie that shows the gritty underbelly of New York to chilling effect, this movie may be for you.

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A worthy film though not really up on the classic scale.
Okay, the only reason why I really bought this movie is cause it said on the front of the box: "WHERE 'SCARFACE'LEFT OFF...'KING OF NEW YORK' BEGINS..." This made me say, "Oh, my God! I gotta get this!" (I said that because Scarface is my favorite movie). When I watched this movie, it was off to a great start! 5 minutes into the movie there was a big shootout and the movie seemed to have had a great score to it! But then, as it got deeper into the movie, I began to notice that this movie really isn't going anywhere. It's plot is indefinable since it doesn't really have one. And they didn't play the score anymore! Overall, it was a good shoot-em-up and had great performances by Christopher Walken and Larry Fishburne. But I wouldn't rank it up with the classic gangster flicks like GoodFellas, Scarface, The Godfather Trilogy and so on. If I were you, I would still buy it!

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The best gangster film you've probably never seen
Ranking up there with Scarface and even Goodfellas, King of New York is one of the best gangster films ever made, thanks largely in part to the magnetic and explosive performance by Christopher Walken. Walken is Frank White, a ruthless kingpin freshly released from prison who vows to use his connections and money for charitable means. On his trail however, are three cops (David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, and Victor Argo) who, by any means necessary, vow to bring Frank down. Profane, action packed, and filled with unforgettable performances (Walken, Caruso, and Laurence Fishburne are incredible), Abel Ferrara's King of New York is hypnotic from it's first frame to final shot, and the action scenes are pulled off better than most major budget pictures. This new Special Edition from Lion's Gate/Artisan includes a nice amount of extras to tide fans of the film over, and the commentary by director Ferrara must be heard to be believed.