king of new york Tagged Articles at Cinematical

As a fresh 35mm print of Charlie Chaplin's quintessential 1947 thriller Monsieur Verdoux begins circulating through revival houses around the country, it seems like a good time to remind people that while the late actor is mainly known as a star of the silent screen, he definitely didn't die with it. Although the greatest slapstick artist of all time initially rejected the development of sound film, mocking it with hilariously exaggerated voices in City Lights, he eventually adopted it after realizing that resistance was futile. However, he refused to simply throw in a few lines of dialogue to accompany his beloved tramp shtick, choosing instead to take his career in a fresh direction. While Chaplin made many sound films over the course of several decades, only two of them really qualify as classic talkies (except for Limelight, which deserves a category of its own). Late flops like A King of New York don't really hold together, but Chaplin's initial forays into the world of sound film display his talent as a composer of distinctive prose.

His first work of this era, The Great Dictator, remains a masterpiece that broadened the potential of his tramp character with a modified Prince and the Pauper tale applied to World War II, and Chaplin doing double duty playing both a Jewish barber and an exaggerated Adolf Hitler (or "Hinkel," rather). Monsieur Verdoux, in which he plays a frustrated man whose losses during the Great Depression lead to a twisted scheme where he marries, murders and robs rich women, represented something else altogether: Chaplin's only brooding melodrama, the occasional laughs are almost incidental.

Oh Abel Ferrara, you crazy so-and-so. How I've loved your masterful, yet often flawed, visions of the dark side in films like King of New York, The Addiction and, of course, Bad Lieutenant. I even thought your attempt at Sci-Fi with Body Snatchers was, in many ways, superior to the earlier versions. Plus, the film had that super-cute Gabrielle Anwar in it so that didn't hurt either. She's so much more pleasant to look at than Harvey Keitel's junk -- so kudos on that casting decision.

Ferarra's movies have shown me the darker side of life and through his eyes I've gained a deeper appreciation for what makes the world the way it is -- warts and all. After all this exploration of the seedy underbelly, how was I to know that for all these years, what he really wanted to do was get away from all the "darker side of life" crap and make a screwball comedy? That's something I really didn't see coming. But apparently, according to Production Weekly, its true because as of Monday, Ferrara began principal photography on the film Go Go Tales -- which is, you guessed it, a screwball comedy.

The film, which Ferrara also co-wrote with Scott Pardo, tells the story of one night at Ray Ruby's Paradise, a classy go-go club/ cabaret in Manhattan where dreamers come to dream and try to make their mark in society. It's the home of the world's most beautiful and talented strippers, who work at the club honing their skills and waiting for their shot at super-stardom. Joining Ferarra on the project as actors in the film are Willem Dafoe as club owner Ray Ruby, Bob Hoskins, Matthew Modine and the lovely and talented Asia Argento. Man, as much as I like Ferrara and respect his talent, he just doesn't quite fit as the director of a comedy. That said, I like the man's previous films, this story, and the cast -- so put it all together and it might just add up to something. Besides, Abel Ferrara and a bevy of hot strippers should at least pique your curiosity, don't you think?

The film will shoot for a month at Rome's Cinecitta Studios and then will move to New York in January.

Though it seems impossible, Abel Ferrara's King of New York was released more than 15 years ago. No matter how old it is, however, it remains an outrageous, hypnotic, insane piece of celluloid (those are all good things, by the way). And now Ferrara has decided it's time to return to Frank White's (Christopher Walken's) world - in the form of a prequel. The film, entitled The Last Crew, takes place in the 1970s, during the days when New York City was a dangerous, scary place. And, because somebody got some bad information, the Carter administration turns to one Frank White to clean things up, giving him a "special agreement...which essentially gives him a license to kill." AWESOME.

Though there's no word yet on a cast, I still think this is fantastic news. Sequels often suck - agreed. But they suck much less often when the original director (particularly if he's Abel Ferrara) returns to the story, and when it's obvious that the movie isn't just being seen as a guaranteed box office, regardless of quality. For that reason, then, it's great news that King of New York made only about $2.5 million on its original release. So why fund it? No idea - but I'm hoping it has something to do with a solid story and great screenplay. Hoping? No, let's make that praying.

The Last Crew will start shooting in New York in March.