King of New York [Blu-ray]

It's imperfection is what makes it so great. It's a raw, visceral viewing experience. Christopher Walken exudes charisma and intelligence as Frank White, the man steals every scene and gives in my opinion a career best performance, as you find yourself routing for a person you should hate, because unlike the law enforcement pursing him, Frank White has and believes in a code.

for its time great black americans white americans all cught up in the drug wars a film well beyond its time.

Sorry... best title I could come up with.One of these days, I should review a genuine DNR disaster (hey, I hear 'Predator''s going pretty cheap these days). Sadly, Arrow's latest release, 'King of New York', features a visible, well handled grain structure and plenty of detail, meaning I can't complain too much. While medium shots convey a pleasant enough level of fine detail, most close-ups are absolutely striking. Add in a real sense of depth, and Walken's remorseless visage has never looked so unnerving.Colours also impress. Skin tones never look glaringly unnatural, while blood splatters the walls with rich enthusiasm. One scene, set in a dingy nightclub and lit entirely in blue, would be a prime contender for colour bleeding, but the picture remains stable throughout.It's funny... the pasty blacks of 'Demons' came under heavy fire, but Arrow appear to have done a complete 180 here. Deep, dark, inky etc. with nary a compression artefact to be found, 'King' is mightily impressive in this department. I wouldn't completely rule out black crush, but I also wouldn't bother looking for any.Nor should you go searching for edge enhancement, because there's virtually none of that either. This is a clean, natural-looking transfer that easily bests any previous releases.Audio wise, the film's Stereo track is perfect. Strong, clear and precise - it's a faithful presentation of how 'King' was always meant to be heard. One or two lines of dialogue are barely comprehendible, but that's no fault of the disc (and can be easily rectified via the quick application of subtitles).The 5.1 DTS-HD track is... another story, however. I read a few horror stories concerning earlier DVD versions featuring terrible audio, and it seems as though that infamous mix has made a return. It's a mess - the exact opposite of the stereo track, and it's almost as though there's one of those industrial-sized hand dryers you find in public toilets blowing throughout the whole thing. Worryingly, this is the disc's default track, so remember to switch it over before starting the film.But barring the 5.1 misfire, I'd go out on a limb and state that 'King' is by far Arrow's best presentation to date. A pat on the back to all involved, and for the love of all that is cute and fluffy, PLEASE don't mess up 'Zombie Flesh Eaters'.Onto the extra features, and it's almost all about Ferrara. There's a brand new interview with the man himself that runs for almost thirty minutes. This one is particularly revealing. He takes a gruff and sincere look back at a period of filmmaking that clearly doesn't exist anymore. And amidst all the factoids and anecdotes, you can even devise a fatal drinking game around how often Ferrara says "you know".`A Short Film about the Long Career of Abel Ferrara' is a lengthy documentary in which his past collaborators discuss their work with the independent director, while `Abel Ferrara: Not Guilty' is a feature length doco that presents Abel at his most... Ferrariest.Ferrara also pops up on one of the two featured audio commentaries. His chat track is surly to the extreme (telling us outright that he's been paid five thousand dollars to record it), but certainly an entertaining listen (he gets very excited during Steve Buscemi's brief appearances). Meanwhile, the second commentary is a chatty and enjoyable affair with several key crew members.An interview with producer Augusto Caminito is the only other totally Abel-free extra. This is a relaxed account of 'King''s development that reveals its Italian connections, and the often memorable experiences had while working with Ferrara and Walken.Then there're the obligatory trailers, a neat little booklet, and some excellent new artwork by Tom "The Dude Designs" Hodge that looks especially great on this very purple SteelBook edition.VerdictAgain, if we ignore the 5.1 track, this has got to be Arrow's best work. Hardcore fans will be ecstatic when they pop 'King of New York' in, and once done with the film, there's a meaty selection of extras to plough through.It helps that the film is great, too.

Love this film. Good underrated gangster flick. Christopher Walken plays Frank White who comes out of prison to claim what is his in the drug underworld and wipe out the competition . Good cast including Laurence Fishbourne his crazy trigger happy right hand man, Giancarlo Esposito and Steve Buscemi who have little roles and The cops Wesley Snipes, David Caruso and Victor Argo who are determined to take Frank down. Solid movie and great dvd and picture quality. Came on time to.

This US release is the one to buy as it contains DVD extras and the picture quality is great. The UK special edition release had a really poor audio sound quality but here it's fine. As for the film itself it's a total classic with a brilliant Christopher Walken as Frank White just released from prison who sets out on reclaiming his position as the king by disposing of all rivals. Abel Ferrara is one of my all time favorite directors and his direction here is first class as always. It's atmospheric, highly stylish and full of energy (there's also a bit of sleaze). The film looks great and there's plenty of action too as well as a great cast. Lawrence Fishburn really shines as Walken's right hand man and David Caruso and Victor Argo are memorable also. The film isn't a chore to watch like some long winded gangster films as it's quite short and definitely should be in any film fans collection.

Excellent film,great cast but many continuity errors,particularly the carvhase inthe rain

A drug baron helping a hospital - there's ironic, but this was neither serious nor amusing, so it kinda fell flat.Walken was brillianct as was to be expected, Snipes, a little OTT, but the rest was comic-book stuff. Note Steve Buscemi in a tiny role.."Didn't he do well" in later years! The "Bad Cop" wanted a good slap.I really wanted to enjoy this, but sadly, not one to watch again. It could have so nearly been right up there..If you want comic-book baddies, watch "The Crow", if you want serious, try "Black Mass" or "A History of Violence".., in fact there is so much out there...Can't win em all..

to have arrow video released this classic urban saga in a steelbook edition truly blows my mind. The artwork just by itself is a conversation piece among friends who really enjoy this movie. Arrow Videos is embarking on something truly special with their stable of titles they are putting out for the avid collector out there like myself with each and every one of their releases its a major event. My props goes out to Arrrow Videos truly the best distrub co out period nuff said Tracy Sumlar

super fan de ce film depuis mon adolescence ; très belle Edition collector

Bien mais je m'attendais à mieux

Sto riscoprendo la filmografia di un regista tanto talentuoso quanto discontinuo quale Abel Ferrara.Questo King of New York fa sicuramente parte dei suoi capolavori. Uno splendido noir metropolitano con un sontuoso Christopher Walken a giganteggiare in un cast di ottimo livello.

SEHR SCHÖNES UND INFORMATIVES MEDIABOOK MIT BLU RAY + DVD , SEHR GUTER QUALITÄT AUF BLU RAY, ALLES IN BESTER ORDNUNG , GERNE MAL WIEDER !

The movie arrived just as it was scheduled to.😊