Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
King of New York
Christopher Walken is the dogged drug-lord determined to keep his empire together, in Abel Ferrara's brutally gritty crime thriller.
Director: Abel Ferrara
Overview
After being released from prison, drug-lord Frank White (Christopher Walken) faces a fight to keep his empire together. He decides to go for the jugular and employ the most brutal tactics to retain his prominence. But his unstable approach to business management threatens to take down the whole venture.
An enfant terrible of the video-nasty era (Driller Killer, Ms. 45) who seemed to quieten as the '80s progressed, Ferrara returned to prominence with this convincingly budgeted crime saga as the nineties began. Following it up with his legendary Bad Lieutenant, Ferrarra firmly re-established himself as NYC's grittiest filmmaker. The film also marked something of a turning point for Christopher Walken. Having carved a niche as a character actor largely confined to oddball supporting turns, his lead role here also showcased his suitability for playing psychotic criminals with a certain glint-eyed glee. Walken is himself supported here by a superb cast including Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Victor Argo, Wesley Snipes and Steve Buscemi.
Related
The Apprentices The Apprentices
Comedy 1995 94 mins Director: Pierre Salvadori
Pierre Salvadori's cult 1995 comedy, starring François Cluzet and Guillaume Depardieu as two young adults searching for love and success.
Ossessione Ossessione
Crime 1943 140 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of James M Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice is an electrifying tale of the seductive and destructive power of human sexuality.
Hyena Hyena
Crime 2015 112 mins Director: Gerard Johnson
In this stylish, dark crime thriller, a policeman’s complex web of underworld relationships is threatened by an internal affairs investigator.
Project A Project A
Action and Adventure 1983 106 mins Director: Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan’s rip-roaring action-adventure about a coastguard hot on the trail of a ruthless band of pirates in late 19th century Hong Kong.
Beasts Clawing at Straws Beasts Clawing at Straws
Crime 2022 109 mins Director: Kim Yong-hoon
The lives of ten strangers collide when a cleaner finds a bag stuffed with money in this slick, jet-black comedy that unspools like a Korean Pulp Fiction. Starring Academy Award winner Yuh-Jung Youn (Minari).
A Bittersweet Life A Bittersweet Life
Action and Adventure 2005 120 mins Director: Kim Jee-woon and Doo Hong Jung
A hitman becomes the target in this ultra-stylish neo noir from Kim Jee-woon.
Immoral Tales Immoral Tales
Anthology 1974 103 mins Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk presents four stories of sexual taboos throughout the ages, in his highly controversial classic of 1970s erotic cinema.
Tokyo Story Tokyo Story
Drama 1953 136 mins Director: Yasujirō Ozu
A constant fixture in critics' polls, Yasujirō Ozu's most enduring masterpiece is a beautifully nuanced exploration of filial duty, expectation and regret.
Dogtooth Dogtooth
Drama 2009 93 mins Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos' scary, witty tale of a dysfunctional Greek family is original, ingenious and sadly relevant as a study of parent-child relationships
Victim Victim
Crime 1961 100 mins Director: Basil Dearden
This thought-provoking classic stars Dirk Bogarde as a homosexual lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer.
Love and Death on Long Island Love and Death on Long Island
Comedy 1998 89 mins Director: Richard Kwietniowski
John Hurt stars in Richard Kwietniowski’s comedy of fame and obsession about an older man (Hurt) who becomes infatuated with a young Hollywood actor (Jason Priestley), and proceeds to track him down.
Belle de Jour Belle de Jour
Drama 1967 100 mins Director: Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel's provocative classic about a bored and neglected housewife (Catherine Deneuve) risks her reputation to take up a daring new hobby.
Fear City Fear City
Crime 1984 97 mins Director: Abel Ferrara
Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith and Billy Dee Williams star in this tough crime thriller about a talent agent who takes the law into his own hands when his strippers are targeted by a serial killer.
Bad Lieutenant Bad Lieutenant
Crime 1992 96 mins Director: Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara's disturbing character study of a corrupt N.Y.C. cop and his slide into insanity, starring Harvey Keitel in a career-best performance.
Power Alley Power Alley
Drama 2023 100 mins Director: Lillah Halla
Queer sisterhood and collective power lie at the heart of this arresting Brazilian debut, in which a promising volleyball player faces an unwanted pregnancy.
A Real Job A Real Job
Comedy 2023 101 mins Director: Thomas Lilti
A young, inexperienced substitute teacher is quickly confronted with the trials and tribulations of his job, in this wry tribute to the teaching profession.
All to Play For All to Play For
Drama 2023 112 mins Director: Delphine Deloget
A single mother fights to reclaim her children from foster care, in Delphine Deloget's powerful indictment of the French legal system.
The Apprentices The Apprentices
Comedy 1995 94 mins Director: Pierre Salvadori
Pierre Salvadori's cult 1995 comedy, starring François Cluzet and Guillaume Depardieu as two young adults searching for love and success.
The Dreamer The Dreamer
Romance 2023 95 mins Director: Anaïs Tellenne
An heiress returns to her uninhabited family manor to be confronted with the one-eyed caretaker who resides there, in the dreamlike take on La Belle et la Bête.
Through the Night Through the Night
Drama 2023 109 mins Director: Delphine Girard
Part gripping thriller, part psychological study, Delphine Girard's debut feature about consent and modern society's attitudes to sexual violence.