King of New York is a 1990 crime film, starring Christopher Walken, Laurence Fishburne, David Caruso, Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo, Steve Buscemi and Giancarlo Esposito. It was directed by independent filmmaker Abel Ferrara and written by his long-time partner and close friend Nicholas St. John.

The production and costs of the film was financed through mainly Italian interests, including Silvio Berlusconi. Reteitalia Spa produced the feature.

Upon its release, the film proved to be extremely polarizing, with many critics enjoying it, and others despising it. During its premiere at the New York Film Festival, for example, many members of the audience (including Ferrara’s own wife) walked out of the theatre. At the question-and-answer session that Ferrara held after the screening, the first question asked was: “This film is an abomination. Why aren’t you giving the proceeds to some drug rehab program?” The next day, Larry Fishburne and Nicholas St. John were actually booed off the stage. The film, which originally ran for 118 minutes, had to be edited down to 106 minutes to receive an R rating (it originally was Rated X). It made only $2 million (U.S.) in its very narrow theatrical release and was soon pulled from theaters.

Since then, however, the film has achieved cult film status and is extremely popular among fans of gangsta rap. This may be because much of its soundtrack, including the title song, was provided by Schoolly D, a famous rapper often called the “Godfather of Gangsta Rap.” It has also become popular with fans of Christopher Walken, many of whom rate his performance as Frank White as one of his best. The Notorious B.I.G. referred to himself as “the black Frank White” on his album Ready to Die.