King of New York

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

Near Dark

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Bigelow and Eric Red, Near Dark is the story of a young farmhand who falls for a young woman only to learn she’s a vampire as he reluctantly becomes part of a vampire cult. The film explores the world of vampires from a newborn vampire’s perspective as he struggles with this new role. Starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Bill Paxton, Joshua John Miller, and Tim Thomerson. Near Dark is a visually-entrancing yet chilling film from Kathryn Bigelow.

At a small town in Oklahoma, a farmhand named Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) meets a beautiful young woman named Mae (Jenny Wright) one night as he takes her on a night around the town but she insists on going home. Caleb takes her home but wants to kiss her as they do only for Caleb to be bitten in the neck as he struggles to walk home to his family where he was suddenly abducted by a group of people in a motor home. Caleb learns that Mae is a vampire as she’s part of a group of vampires led by Jesse (Lance Henriksen) as it also consists of Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), an old man in a boy’s body named Homer (Joshua John Miller), and wild man named Severen (Bill Paxton) as they wonder whether to take Caleb in as he’s about to turn into a vampire.

Caleb tries to leave in order to return home only to realize that he needs blood as Mae gives him some of her own blood to feed on while everyone else kills people for feeding. Caleb reluctantly joins the band of drifting vampires as they keep moving from city to city to quench their appetite as they all attack a bar and burn it while Caleb almost kills a young man (James LeGros) he was trying to feed on but lets him go. This would eventually lead to trouble when the vampires stay at a motel as they’re ambushed by the police only for Caleb to save them. Just as Caleb is about to accepted, Homer comes across a young girl named Sarah (Marcie Leeds) as he tries to capture her as Caleb realizes its her sister as their father Loy (Tim Thomerson) had been trying to find Caleb. After the vampires decide to target Caleb’s family, Caleb decides to do something that would save his family from Jesse and the vampires.

The film is essentially the story of a bored farmhand from a small Oklahoma town who comes across a band of drifting vampires as he reluctantly becomes part of their group only to realize what they need to do to survive as he eventually becomes more unsure once his family is targeted. It’s a story that explores a man trying to deal with being a newborn vampire and all of its consequences as well as his feelings for this beautiful woman who is also a vampire. Yet, this woman is also reluctant about her role as she’s more willing to accept but she becomes more unsure once it involves that man’s family while the rest of the vampires are just looking for people to feed on no matter who they are.

The screenplay is a different take on the myth of the vampires by setting them in a modern time where they’re moving from place to place in order to evade the law. A lot of the film is told from the perspective of Caleb who is just this very simple farmhand who knows nothing about the world of vampires as he is forced to give into survival mode as well as realizing that he’s no longer human. Still, he wants to return home to his family as they would see him be abducted as they would play a key part in the film’s plot in their search for Caleb. This would lead to a climatic third act in which Caleb has to fight off Jesse and this band of vampires who are really unmerciful with anything they come across to.

Kathryn Bigelow’s direction is very stylish in terms of the presentation that she creates as she often sets her scenes at night where the look has this very entrancing visual style that is somewhat reminiscent of film noir. Particularly in setting moods that marks the arrival of the vampires and Caleb’s struggle in this new world where the vampires rule and can do whatever they want. For the daytime scenes, a lot of it is set inside whether it’s in a car or wherever they stay in order to hide from the sun. Bigelow maintains a sense of intimacy in those scenes while also creating some broad yet intense shots for scenes outside whether it’s day or night as includes some very explosive action sequences that is mixed with some dark humor. Notably as the climax is this great mix of action and suspense with a bit of the western mixed around. Overall, Bigelow creates a very exciting and engaging thriller that plays around the myth of the vampires.

Cinematographer Adam Greenberg does amazing work with the film‘s stylish photography to play out the dark mood of the film with amazing lighting schemes for many of the film‘s nighttime exterior scenes as well as police raid sequence in the day with all of those wholes as it‘s a real highlight of the film. Editor Howard E. Smith does superb work with the film‘s editing by employing lots of stylish cuts for the film‘s action and suspense scenes as well as transition wipes to help the film move at a brisk pace. Production designer Stephen Altman and art director Dian Perryman do fantastic work with the set pieces from the motor home the vampires drive in early in the film to the motel room during the police raid with all of its holes and such.

Costume designer Joseph A. Porro does some nice work with costumes as it plays to the different personalities the characters wear from the more leather-cowboy look of Severin to the more ragged look of the other vampires. Sound designer David Lewis Yewdall and sound editor R.J. Palmer do terrific work with the sound to convey the sense of horror that occurs as well as some of the film‘s intense action scenes. The film’s music score by Tangerine Dream is phenomenal for its electronic score to play out the dark mood of the film as it also features some guitars for some of the more intense scenes. The soundtrack features a wide of music from acts like John Parr, Jools Holland, the Cramps, and George Strait as most of it features in the film’s bar scene.

The casting by Karen Rea is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it features some small appearances by Theresa Randle as a woman in a truck, Roger Aaron Brown as a Cajun truck driver, and James LeGros as a teenage cowboy who is almost killed at the bar scene. Marcie Leeds is pretty good as Caleb’s adolescent sister Sarah who is pursued by Homer while Tim Thomerson is great as Caleb’s father Loy who goes on a search to track down his son’s abductors. Jenette Goldstein is excellent as low-key vicious Diamondhead who will always attack when unexpected while Joshua John Miller is superb as the devious childlike vampire Homer. Lance Henrikson is wonderful as the very chilling leader Jesse who ensures everything that vampires are supposed to do as he also deals with the very naïve Caleb.

Bill Paxton is amazing as the very wild Severen as Paxton brings everything to this crazed character who has no qualms about killing anybody while displaying a dark charm and sense of humor as it’s character that is truly unforgettable to watch as it’s also one of Paxton’s great performances. Jenny Wright is terrific as Mae where she brings an innocence to a character who is very dark as she goes into conflict about whether to help Caleb or the rest of the vampires. Finally, there’s Adrian Pasdar in a brilliant performance as Caleb where he displays a sense of naivete` as a man dealing with his new powers while pondering about what to do as a vampire as it’s really an engaging performance from Pasdar.

Near Dark is an outstanding vampire thriller from Kathryn Bigelow that features top-notch performances from Adrian Pasdar, Lance Henriksen, Jenny Wright, and Bill Paxton. The film is quite different from Bigelow’s more action-driven work yet it does have a lot of intensity that will entertain audiences. It’s also a film that plays true to what vampires are as it doesn’t feature mopey pussies who won’t kill or any kind of gooey love story that involves constipated werewolves. The bottom line is that Near Dark is a vampire film that is fun and action-packed that is geared to give audiences a good time as it comes from the wondrous mind of Kathryn Bigelow.

Kathryn Bigelow Films: The Loveless - Blue Steel - Point Break - Strange Days - The Weight of Water - K-19: The Widowmaker - The Hurt Locker - Zero Dark Thirty - The Auteurs #29: Kathryn Bigelow

© thevoid99 2012