King of New York (1990) on Netflix
Frank White leaves Sing Sing on parole and his crew greets him in the city. He wants control of the city's drug trade and the profits for a South Bronx hospital.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb6.9/1049,899 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes73%
Trailer
Plot summary
Raye and Melanie, two of Frank White's bodyguards, ride with him into Manhattan after his parole from Sing Sing. His crew, among them Jimmy Jump and Test Tube, is waiting at the Plaza Hotel with a briefcase of money, and they welcome him home. At dinner the lawyer Joey Dalesio hears Frank call himself reformed and say he wants to be elected mayor, then Frank has Dalesio approach the Mafia boss Arty Clay, who refuses to meet him. When a city councilman says the budget cannot keep a South Bronx hospital open, Frank promises to fund it. Detectives Roy Bishop, Dennis Gilley and Thomas Flanigan take Frank away for questioning.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about King of New York (1990)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Then-owner Donald Trump let Abel Ferrara shoot at the Plaza Hotel at no charge, on one condition: that Christopher Walken pose for a photograph with Ivana Trump, who was a fan of the actor.
- The film initially got an X rating from the MPAA and was only reduced to an R after an appeal.
- The film fed hip-hop: The Notorious B.I.G. sometimes called himself "The Black Frank White" and "The King Of New York" after Walken's character, and Pop Smoke compared himself to that character, including in his 2020 song "Christopher Walking".
- Because of the film's controversial subject matter, Ferrara had trouble finding an American studio willing to back it, and it ended up financed entirely by the Italian companies Reteitalia and Scena International.
