King of New York (1990) | Extreme Control | Video Essay

Abel Ferrara’s King of New York released in 1990, is a work that is considered by many to be one of the best films in the crime genre. Abel Ferrara has often said that he made little money from King of New York as the films success came later on the video rental market. But King of New York's notoriety and reputation as a stone cold classic among film fans helped to get Abel Ferrara to where he is today in his career. A place where he is able to make even more personal films of an experimental nature. Abel Ferrara has said that King of New York could be considered as a reflection of the times that it was made and was influenced by the new millionaire gangsters that were born from the 1980’s drug trade that were gone from the New York City scene as quickly as they arrived. It is Abel Ferrara's unique style that helped to capture a very certain time in the history of New York City.

In this Video essay we will explore King of New York and the films production history as well as retrospectively looking at Abel Ferrara's other works such as The Driller Killer, Mulberry St., Chelsea on the Rocks, The Addiction and later works like Siberia and Zeros and Ones, to help explore Abel Ferrara's filmmaking techniques and look at how King of New York fits into the career of of renowned filmmaker Abel Ferrara.

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