King of New York

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1:39

King of New York

R

1990

1h 44m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

71%

Tomatometer

31 Reviews

77%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A crime lord plots to take control of New York's underground drug economy and distribute the profits to the poor.

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Critics Consensus

King of New York covers familiar narrative ground with impressive style -- and leaves plenty of room for its talented cast to deliver gripping performances.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Complementing Walken's bravura turn are equally flamboyant performances by David Caruso as the young Irish cop out to destroy Walken, and Larry Fishburne as Walken's slightly crazy aide-de-camp.

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

Jun 24, 2006

A film which, despite splendid location work, lurches sloppily and messily from kill to kill, orgy to orgy, coke to crack, clich to clich.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

May 4, 2006

B+

Deliciously indecent.

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Bill Brownstein

Montreal Gazette

Sep 18, 2026

It ain't pretty and it ain't poetry.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jul 23, 2025

5/5

…King of New York’s grim fantasy clicks because it reflects a time when the battle between law and disorder was taken directly to the streets, with Christopher Walken bestriding the bloodshed like a kingpin colossus in Abel Ferrara's brisk crime drama….

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Jan 6, 2025

3.5/4

...a progressively engrossing piece of work that benefits from its remarkably captivating central performance...

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Troy R

@Grim16 Oct 5, 2026

Cool to see known actors as younger roles. Story was ok, nothing amazing but decent. Unfortunately the movies doesnt age well in my opinion. And its got that very 90s movie thing where the sound design is all over the place. As well as the 90s everyone shooting crazy shooting scene type stuff, which can be fun, but gets old quick in the movie.

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William L

@RT70826415 Aug 16, 2026

Abel Ferrera’s King of New York is very gritty, tough, and has many memorable moments. All star cast with many actors taking their characters the distance. Very memorable performances by Christopher Walken, Lawrence Fishburne, and David Caruso. Very solid flick, worth the watch!

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Bruce F

@MoralMaster Jul 26, 2026

Good definitely worth watching has a little 90s corny bits has some definite top tear actors and good chemistry not in my top 100 but im glad I watched it

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Stoner J.

@Stoner May 18, 2026

As most of the hood movies of the late 80s, early 90s, the actors aren’t believable in their roles. Larry Fishburne in particular is the biggest over actor I’ve ever seen in a movie. It has a good ending though. Deep Cover is much better.

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A B

@Wilbur130 May 13, 2026

A really dumb 1980ish shoot ‘em up with long, boring film work, bad dialogue and bad writing. And I usually like Christopher Walken. Avoid

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PJ N

@RT83107588 Apr 18, 2026

Frank White dancing to Schoolly D all-time great 10 seconds of film. Fishburne cackling under the bridge. Instant memes. Cops didn't qual criminals in bravura here and presence.

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Abel Ferrara

Director

Christopher Walken

Frank White

David Caruso

Dennis Gilley

Laurence Fishburne

Jimmy Jump

Victor Argo

Roy Bishop

Wesley Snipes

Thomas Flanigan

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Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara’s Mary

King of New York: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

A crime lord plots to take control of New York's underground drug economy and distribute the profits to the poor.

Director: Abel Ferrara
Producer: August Caminito, Mary Kane
Distributor: Artisan Entertainment, Live Video, Image Entertainment Inc.
Production Co: The Rank Organization [gb], Caminito, Scena International, Reteitalia
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 28, 1990, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 23, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.6M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR, Surround, Stereo

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