Directed by Abel Ferrara and written by Nicholas St. John, King of New York is the story of a drug lord who has returned from prison to wipe out all of his competitors and become a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts much to the dismay of his competitors and the NYPD. The film is about a man who saw what his empire has become as he decides to make some changes but also take in some new extremes to get rid of his competitors. Starring Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo, Steve Buscemi, and Giancarlo Esposito. King of New York is an evocative and intense film from Abel Ferrara.
The film revolves around a drug lord who has just been released from prison to find that the drug trade and its culture has gotten ugly forcing him to get rid of other dealers and use the money he makes from selling drugs to help the poor in New York City. It’s a simple scenario that definitely recalls the idea of Robin Hood yet the character of Frank White (Christopher Walken) is not really a Robin Hood character. He kills people and he does what he can to ensure that New York City can prosper and give hope to people in the ghettos and other poor areas so they can live good and decent lives. Nicholas St. John’s screenplay opens with White in his prison cell walking out as he is ready to be released while a couple of dealers are being killed with one of them from White’s henchman Jimmy Jump (Laurence Fishburne) doing the job as he hadn’t seen White in years. Though White doesn’t reveal his intentions as it relates to crime lords and such, he does see what New York City has become and realizes that so much can be done without trying to destroy things and act as a businessman by making money off of drugs to fund things such as children’s hospitals and to help the poor.
By getting rid of his competitors including those who have done more harm than good to those in their home turf, White does believe he is trying to do good though some of his actions through murder and intimidation says otherwise. Most notably the NYPD who still hold a grudge towards White as they see him as a criminal as they try to go after his associates. Yet, it is two of the cops in Dennis Gilley (David Caruso) and Thomas Flanigan (Wesley Snipes) who believe that they should take the law into their own hands much to the dismay of Roy Bishop (Victor Argo) who thinks they’re getting themselves into some serious trouble.
Abel Ferrara’s direction is stylish in some of the compositions he creates yet he also would use New York City and its various locations as characters in the film including the Plaza Hotel where White and his gang would stay. While there are some unique wide and medium shots to get a scope of the locations including some key suspenseful moments late in the film, much of Ferrara’s direction emphasizes more on characters and their settings. Even in the usage of medium shots and close-ups with some shots that involve multiple characters as it play into a world that is unruly and in total despair. Ferrara’s direction for the dramatic moments are simple as it include some long gazing shots of White looking at his city and hoping to make some changes along with a visit to a children’s hospital that is in dire need of repairs where he hopes to help that place and ensure that those kids will be fine. It’s among these small moments in the film that showcase White’s intentions despite his methods where he does kill off some rivals and such in very violent means.
The violence is intense as well as some confrontational scenes where a notable one where a few thugs try to rob White and end up working for him as they would prove their loyalty to him. While what White and his crew do other gang members were violent, it is nothing compared to what Gilley and Flanigan would do to try and stop him as they would prove to be even worse than what White did. Even in the film’s third act where the two cops would show how extreme they can be yet it would come at a great price where Ferrara shows the fallacy of not just White’s intentions but also the police and their inability to see the world and what it was becoming. Even as it play into White seeing that the idea of change is much harder to do when those in power try to be involved and not get any reward. Overall, Ferrara crafts an intoxicating yet intense film about a drug lord who uses his power to try and help the unfortunate in New York City.
Cinematographer Bojan Bazelli does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of dreamy and low-key lights for many of the exterior scenes at night as well as a low-key yet sunny look for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Anthony Redman does excellent work with the editing as it has some stylish rhythmic cuts to play into the action and some of the dark humor while much of it is straightforward. Production designer Alex Tavoularis, with set decorator Sonja Roth and art director Stephanie Ziemer, does fantastic work with the look of some of the interiors in the places including a few interiors in some of the places in the city.
Costume designer Carol Ramsey does terrific work with the costumes from the stylish black suit that White wears along with the street clothes that Jump wears. Sound editor Greg Sheldon does superb work with the sound in the way gunfire is presented as well as the sound of a few parties and other places in the city. The film’s music by Joe Delia is wonderful for its somber ambient-based synthesizer score that play into some of the film’s melancholic moments while the music soundtrack mainly features hip-hop tracks featuring cuts from Schooly-D and Party Posse as well as a jazz cut from Freddy Jackson.
The casting by Randy Sabusawa is terrific as it feature some notable small roles from Harold Perrineau as a young thug who robs White only to end up working for him, Frank Gio as the Italian crime boss Arty Clay, Ernest Abuba as a dealer named King Tito, Gerard Murphy as a young cop named Mulligan, Alonna Shaw as Mulligan’s bride, Ariane and Pete Hamill as themselves who are dinner guests at a restaurant where White visits them, Joey Chin as a triad leader in Larry Wong, Carrie Nygren as a lover of White in Melanie, Roger Guenveur Smith as a local politician, Theresa Randle as one of White’s female companions/henchwomen in Raye, Steve Buscemi as a drug tester in Test Tube, Freddy Jackson as himself performing for a benefit dinner, Giancarlo Esposito as a henchman in Lance, Janet Julian as White’s attorney/former lover in Jennifer, and Paul Calderon as a handler of White in Joey Dalesio who serves as a mediator between White and other dealers only to later put White into trouble.
Wesley Snipes and David Caruso are fantastic in their respective roles as the detectives Thomas Flanigan and Dennis Gilley as two young detectives who decide to take the law into their own hands with Flanigan having issues with White’s henchman Jump and Gilley taking the lead believing that White is disrespecting the law. Victor Argo is brilliant as Roy Bishop as a detective who is a more by-the-book figure that wants to bring White down the right way while trying to understand what White is trying to do as he would eventually face him in a way that he feels is ideal to him. Laurence Fishburne is excellent as White’s henchman Jimmy Jump as a man who does a lot of the killing but is also someone who understands what White is trying to do where he also wants to help out other people where Fishburne displays a lot of charm and energy into his performance. Finally, there’s Christopher Walken in a magnificent performance as Frank White as a drug lord who has been released from prison as he sees what his city has become as it’s a performance that has elements of charisma but also in some restraint as he tries to change the city and do good as it’s one of Walken’s great performances.
King of New York is a phenomenal film from Abel Ferrara that features a tremendous performance from Christopher Walken. Along with its ensemble cast, eerie visuals, study of law and order, and an exhilarating music soundtrack. It’s a film that doesn’t play into the many tropes expected in a crime drama as it’s more of a study of a man trying to use his knowledge of the criminal underworld and to create change in the hope that he can help the unfortunate in New York City. In the end, King of New York is a spectacular film from Abel Ferrara.
Abel Ferrara Films: (9 Lives of a Wet Pussy) – (The Driller Killer) – (Ms. 45) – (Fear City) – (The Gladiator (1986 TV film)) – (China Girl) – (The Loner) – (Cat Chaser) – (Bad Lieutenant) – (Body Snatchers (1993 film)) – (Dangerous Game) – (The Addiction (1995 film)) – (The Funeral (1996 film)) – (The Blackout (1997 film)) – (New Rose Hotel) – (‘R Xmas) – (Mary (2005 film)) – (Go Go Tales) – (Chelsea on the Rocks) – (Napoli, Napoli, Napoli) – (4:44 Last Day on Earth) – (Welcome to New York) – (Pasolini) – (Tomasso)
© thevoid99 2019
Based on the novel by Robert Daley, Year of the Dragon is the story of a troubled New York City police captain who goes on a personal war against the organized world of Chinese triad gangs. Directed by Michael Cimino and screenplay by Cimino and Oliver Stone, the film is a look into the world of gangs and culture clash as a former Vietnam War veteran turned police captain deals with his own prejudices and the rise of a Chinese crime lord. Starring Mickey Rourke, John Lone, Ariane Koizumi, and Raymond J. Barry. Year of the Dragon is a hard-hitting yet wild film from Michael Cimino.
Set in the Chinatown section in New York City, the film is about a police captain who goes to war with the Chinese triad gang in the hope he can end the chaos that is emerging in the section following the death of a revered triad leader. Yet, Captain Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) is a former Vietnam veteran with some very racist attitudes towards Asians as he wants to hit triads very hard as he also deals with the rising triad boss Joey Tai (John Lone). Tai wants to change things in the way the triads deal with other business ventures as he finds a formidable opponent in Captain White. Tai’s ambitions would eventually alienate the triad elders while Captain White’s determination would also drive away those he cared for such as his wife Connie (Caroline Kava) where he would engage into an affair with the Chinese-American news reporter Tracy Tzu (Ariane Koizumi). It’s not just a film about ambition as well as a new world order taking out the old rules but it’s also a film where a man’s obsession has him lose sight of the good things in the world.
The film’s screenplay by Michael Cimino and Oliver Stone isn’t afraid to be controversial as some of its dialogue includes some very racist words about Asians and other races. Particularly as it Captain White is a man who is a very flawed individual as he often neglects his wife in a marriage that becomes very rocky while he is also very arrogant and confrontational towards his superiors. In some ways, White is a guy that seems to have a death wish about stopping every bad Chinese triad member and everyone till there is no more only to drive away the people who care about him. Once he is confronted by people who work for him or those who care about him, there is a side of White that is very sensitive as he tries to come to terms with his flaws and wants to do what is right. It’s part of the script’s brilliance to showcase this conflict in White as he wants to hold on to those he cares but he also wants to fight the never-ending battle against corruption and evil.
Then there’s Joey Tai as he is a young man with ambition as he realizes that the old ways of the Chinese triads are becoming dated as he wants to expand and evolve much to the dismay of his uncles who have become overwhelmed with the emerging chaos in Chinatown as young gang members kill with no remorse. For Tai, it’s a chance to have the Chinese be the new leaders of the crime underworld and no longer take a backseat to the Italians who often treated the triads as second-class citizens. There is a bit of mutual respect between Tai and White as they’re two men who are very uncompromising in everything they do. They don’t care for rules or what it takes to get things done yet they both stand for different ideas as White is a man of the law and Tai is on the other side where a collision is going to happen. It’s a film that moves back-and-forth into these two men where neither would budge forcing those who had been at their side to watch from the sidelines. Even as those that White had often criticized would fight back with some strong words about not what the Chinese brought to the world but also how they’ve managed to survive no matter what troubles they’ve encountered including prejudice.
Cimino’s direction is truly mesmerizing not just for the use of the 2:35:1 widescreen aspect ratio to capture every attention to detail in the frame. It’s also a film that doesn’t pull punches in terms of its violence and action as it has elements of gangster films and crime dramas of the past. Particularly in the look of its main characters as White sort of models himself as a detective of the 1940s but with the ruggedness of the 1970s while Tai is a man that recalls a more classical look but with a more modern attitude. While it is set largely in New York City, much of the film is shot in Wilmington, North Carolina as it dresses the Chinatown section as a colorful yet troubled world that is teetering on the edge of collapse. Much of Cimino’s compositions includes a lot of medium shots yet he manages to fill in a lot of coverage with the aspect ratio to play into the action and drama.
Some of which include some gazing tracking shot and some dolly shots to play into the drama such as this hypnotic scene where Tracy looks at New York City from her window as she walking slowly to look at the morning view. Some of the scenes set in Thailand has Cimino employ some wide shots that recall some of the epic-scale filmmaking of the 1960s to display Tai’s ambition. The direction gets more intense in the third act when White and Tai go head on as it includes this very gripping climax where the two men finally go to war as it recalls bits of the western and the gangster film all rolled into one. Overall, Cimino crafts a very visceral yet unflinching film about a cop’s ruthless obsession to stop an ambitious man’s rise to the top of the world.
Cinematographer Alex Thomson does excellent work with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the lush look of red in some of the interior scenes set in Chinatown along with exotic lights for the scenes in Tracy‘s apartment while a lot of the exterior scenes set in New York are grimy as Thomson‘s work is among one of the film‘s highlights. Editor Francoise Bonnot, with additional work from Noelle Boisson, does brilliant work with the editing with its unpredictable rhythms to play into some of the film‘s action and violent scenes while keeping things more simple for its dramatic moments. Production designer Wolf Kroeger and art director Victoria Paul do amazing work with the set pieces from some of the look of Chinatown as well as Tracy’s apartment plus some of the places like a restaurant and other places in the film.
Costume designer Marietta Ciriello does fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes the men wear along with the stylish look of Tracy to showcase her somewhat-posh persona. Sound editor James J. Klinger does superb work with the sound from the way some of the crowd scenes are captured to the sound effects of gunplay and such that occurs in the film. The film’s music by David Mansfield is incredible for its eerie orchestral pieces along with some plaintive and somber themes that also include some intense, Asian-based score cuts while the music soundtrack includes a few classical pieces and some Chinese pop songs.
The casting by Joanna Merlin is phenomenal as it features some notable small roles from Eddie Jones as the police captain that White replaces, Leonard Termo as White’s associate during the investigation, Mark Hammer as the police commissioner, Paul Scaglione as an aging Mafia boss, Mei Sheng Fan as a Thai crime boss that Tai meets, Ming C. Lee as the triad boss that is assassinated early in the film, and Joey Chin as the wild assassin Ronnie Yung. Victor Wong is terrific as Tai’s uncle Harry who becomes the new leader only to step down out for Joey as he becomes overwhelmed with the chaos that is emerging. Dennis Dun is excellent as the Chinese rookie cop Herbert Kwong as this young man who reluctantly works for White while having this great monologue about the Chinese and their contributions to the world as a way to put White in his place. Caroline Kava is wonderful as White’s long-suffering wife Connie who becomes frustrated with being neglected as well as his obsession to fight as she ponders about the state of their marriage.
Raymond J. Barry is superb as White’s superior/friend Bukowski as he tries to maintain some peace between the police and the triad as well as to get White to see some sense over the chaos he’s created. Ariane Koizumi is pretty good as news reporter Tracy Tzu as this ambitious woman that covers the chaos of what is happening as she engages into an affair with White while being frustrated over his attitude. John Lone is brilliant as Joey Tai as this ambitious and ruthless young triad boss who wants to create a new world order for the Chinese triad while doing what it takes to survive. Finally, there’s Mickey Rourke in a tremendous performance as Captain Stanley White as this flawed yet determined man who wants to take down the crime underworld at any cost as it’s a performance that is full of charm, wit, and humor as well as be extremely intense and terrifying as Rourke’s scenes with Lone are just exciting to watch.
Year of the Dragon is a remarkable film from Michael Cimino. Thanks to the top-notch performances of Mickey Rourke and John Lone as well as Alex Thomson’s fluid camera work and the hypnotic score of David Mansfield. The film is definitely one of Cimino’s finest films in his otherwise troubled career as it includes a smart and unflinching script co-written with Oliver Stone. It’s also a film that explores the world of prejudices, ambition, and obsession as it isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. In the end, Year of the Dragon is an incredible film from Michael Cimino.
Michael Cimino Films: Thunderbolt and Lightfoot - The Deer Hunter - Heaven’s Gate - The Sicilian - Desperate Hours (1990 film) - The Sunchaser - To Each His Own Cinema-No Translation Needed - The Auteurs #35: Michael Cimino
© thevoid99 2014
