King Of New York – Special Edition (Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B- Film: B-
It has
been so long since Abel Ferrara’s King Of New York (1989) was issued on DVD that it was under
the Artisan name. They issued a double
DVD set of the film a few years ago, which you can read all about sat this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/1056/King+Of+New+York+-+Special+Edition
The film
is still of consistent interest and now as owned by Lionsgate, it arrives in
the Blu-ray format in a 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image that still
shows some of the prints age, but is the same nice, clean transfer used for
that DVD set a few years ago. The result
is more improvements than limits in the work of Director of Photography Bojan
Bazelli.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 AC-3 mix is an EX mix now and about the same as that DVD set, but
the theatrical analog SR (Spectral Recording) sound really sounds good in the
hoped for DTS mix here in DTS HD 6.1 matrixed audio. Not that it sounds like a brand new film, but
it is much more faithful to the SR mix than the Dolby versions have been. Extras are the same as that set as well.
Though
not perfect, most fans should be pretty happy with this upgrade, which is a
fine successor to all previous releases and is likely to remain that way for a
long time. With Walken’s terrific turn
in Hairspray, this will only gather
a whole new round of interest, the latest in many rounds to come.
- Nicholas Sheffo
