Discuss King of New York
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My Favorite Christopher Walken Film
posted by northcoastSTAFFMOD on April 23, 2017 at 12:28 PM
. . . that I have seen-- and by no means have I seen them all; I think that might be impossible, as Walken has a reputation for almost never saying no to an offered role and has been in something like a gazillion films.
I first saw King of New York around 1991, shortly after its initial release, as part of a double-billing late at night on the Showtime network, the other film being Ms. 45.
I was impressed by the cinematography in King of New York as much for the story and action; I thought it was just one well-put together film, all around.
Of course, there are some elements which make it unintentionally humorous and preposterous, but I think these just add to the film.
For one thing, you have to overlook the extremely unrealistic (though not impossible) factor of a white guy (Walken) leading a mostly black street gang. And, as the film critic Leonard Maltin alluded to in one of his reviews, one has to wonder about the idea of these gang members freely coming and going from New York's Plaza Hotel, where Walken-- as the gang leader Frank White -- has set up his headquarters.
All in all, a great, underappreciated film.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on April 23, 2017 at 3:57 PM
Indeed. The silliest part of the film for me, touching on this, was when Frank did that song-and-dance move and the black guys chimed in with him. Cringe
Reply by A-Dubya
on September 24, 2018 at 10:38 PM
Agreed, I loved this one. It is violent as hell, savage, yet has a charm to me. Larry Fishburne was off the hook with his portrayal of Jimmy Jump. My favorite scene is when the guys get bailed out of jail, and they stand in front of the building taunting the cops. Hilarious stuff. "Go get some flowers for your witness. Get some cheap flowers!"
The drive by at the cemetery by Frank White was also so gangsta, and bad-ass.
Reply by tmdb53400018
on September 25, 2018 at 7:44 PM
Yeah, Jimmy was a one-of-a-kind performance. Sometimes, when I think of this film, I think of that moment where he charged a cop's car with his car and messed the cop up bad -- just before impact, Jimmy lets out this nutty cry or shriek. He was like a black Joker.