Listening to Quentin getting so amped up about Ferrara had me in stitches. But I totally agree. I love Ferrara, too. Love Scorsese, too. Love Tarantino, too.
Everyone is amazing in that movie. Even David Caruso is fking great and I usually find him insufferable but he crushed it here. I screened it for my friend who’s a big Scarface and gangster film fan and he’d never seen it and he was blown away.
Ferraro is more similar to Cassavetes and Jarmusch. And perhaps even Peckinpah. These are all intuitive filmmakers who are sort of unhinged, and not capable of (and not interested in) making fully formed films or 'perfect' films. Whereas Scorsese is more intellectual and too much of a proper film student. He can show you people, places, moments and cultures that are raw and have rough edges, but his films themselves are polished and have a 'finish'. Scorsese cannot make 'The Killing of a Chinese Bookie' or 'Bad Lieutenant'. Cassavetes and Ferraro cannot make 'Taxi Driver'.
I think this comment while very intelligent far underestimated the intellectualism inherent to independent and even exploitation cinema, and also the intuition of pensive directors like Scorsese. We don’t truly know their processes to speak so conclusively on them
It's obvious... All of the above what you mentioned is basically the whole point of independent cinema. Scorsese brought this to a new level and subverted the idea to combine the unhinged filmmaking of independent movies with more empathy for the audience. Therefore he's one of the greats to keep the aspiration in more mass appealing movie ideas. There's never enough praise for the whole New Hollywood era.
No, Cassavetes was far more subtle and restrained than Ferrera, as he didn't dabble excessively in needless T&A. Ferrera is more like Paul Verhoeven but without the sense of humor or cleverness.
@@Nathan-gd7xq Not a single human being knows it exists! Except for the fact that there's 4 of them in this thread right now. But yeah, LITERALLY NOBODY knows it exists!
Anyone else a fan of Ferrara’s late digital works??? It’s weird how he can go from something sleazy and grimy such as Bad Lieutenant and King of New York to something hazy and feverish like New Rose Hotel and The Blackout.
Yeah, he has never stopped pushing the limits and doing new things with digital. 4:44 is great, New Rose, The addiction, Blackout, zeroes and ones... I wonder what's the opinion of Quentin on Ferrara's arthouse movies.
King of New York. My high school days. Had a wide release in Chicago - but no publicity. Was gone in 2 weeks. But the VHS rental was off the hook popular. Saw "China Girl" when it was new as a teen on repeat, and wondered why more people weren't talking about it.
Funny that the rapper Notorious B.I.G was a fan since the 90s, and he called himself 'Black Frank White', it was because of him that ive discovered the film
LOVE King Of New York! Laurence Fishburne (cowboy Curtis from Pee Wee's Playhouse.) Set the standard and broke the mold for ALL black Gangsta's in every movie afterwards! "Am I Black Enough!"
Mr. Driller Killer himself. Abel Ferrara was in a league of his own. In many ways, Abel Ferrara represented much of the Bronx culture like Martin Scorsese did for Queens; each borough had a czar.
@@TheBadLieutenant yes exactly. So im curious, given your profile name you obviously like the BAD Lieutenant film. Did you ever see Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New orleans? Apparently the studio had the rights to the name or something, buts its a totally different story although the main protagonist is similar. But The lieutenant is played by Nic Cage and the film is directed by Werner Herzog, and its actually really really well done and dirty and funny and heartbreaking, like Ferraras Original work. You should check it out if you havent seen it. I also Loved Ferraras biopic of Pasolini with William Dafoe.
“Bad Lieutenant” and Keitels performance - you won’t forget it. I remember wanting to see “Driller Killer” for so long based on that nasty VHS cover with the drill into the forehead, but boy - was that annoying and bad.
3:55 i've only seen the rated R version of Bad Lieutenant which was not written by Nick St. John and i think its better than King Of New York, i'd like to hear Tarantino's opinion on the movie since he really likes Ferrara and Keite...
Back in the days of video tapes, John Carpenter was always the Director I looked out for first. Ferrara was in my top five. Addiction really got to me. Bad lieutenant was another with vivid memories. His films always pulled you in without you realising you had been pulled in.
Ferrara has a great sense of authenticity. Great use of location that you have rarely seen in cinema. Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral are fantastic films and just as good as Quentin. Besides he should be the one to talk about never rising above exploitation
@@roderickstockdale1678 I am always enchanted with Goodfellas when it comes on and it's a great film to watch with friends. I need to watch The Funeral again have not seen it in donkeys years
@@roderickstockdale1678 I see you likeThe Deer Hunter. Massive cult film in Serbia where I grew up. It has a sadness about it that we understand well. Cimino's Year Of The Dragon I love too he was great at his peak
@@aleksandarpesic1412 me too, I used to have the dvd and I say next to Angel Heart and Body Heat(I haven’t seen all of his films) that was one of his best performances.
King of New York is a masterpiece. Whenever I see any top ten movies lists online for mob or crime films that do not include at least one of the following films; King of New York, Millers Crossing, State of Grace, Sexy Beast or Gangster #1, I know the ton ten list is just a ripoff of another online list compiled by someone who doesn't watch cinema.
I actually prefer King of New York to Scarface. I think Scarface is grossly overrated and is easily one of Pacino's worst performances in my book. Christopher Walken actually gives off menacing and intimidating vibes as Frank White in KONY, whereas every time Pacino opens his mouth in Scarface, I can't help but end up laughing or cringing. Abel Ferrara is definitely a director who I wish had more of a higher profile outside of film buff circles, because his work deserves more attention. Bad Lieutenant, King of New York, The Addiction and The Funeral are some of all time favourites by him.
I think the cinematography of it is really good but the script drags it down to being just a decent film imo. With a better script it could have been a classic and not just a cult movie. I quite like some of the goofiness of it, it gives it personality, but there isn't much plot or character development at all, so you're just left with the style.
is it self infatuation or does he just like movies? Sometimes people can have a more laid back style and people think that's humbleness but he more measured person is really less humble beach they guard their words and how cool they look. Tarantino is such a spas that there's a humbleness , maybe the wrong word, but definitely a sincerity to it rather than self aggrandizing.
Say what you will about QT, but I couldn't agree with him more about Ms. 45! It's Abel Ferrara's best film and one of my Top 100 Favorite Films of All Time! RIP Zoe Lund
Ferrara mythologizes New York. His films are the stories gangsters tell one another, getting drunk in a bar. Scorsese makes films about the guys in the bar.
King Of New York is like watching a group of extremely talented high school students LARP as adults, without any of them having ever actually met any adults in real life
My biggest takeaway from King of New York was the cops going ahead and doing what the cops in New Jack City only considered doing. Plus, I liked Miami Vice episodes.
Bad Lieutenant has to be the most abusive film I have ever seen. For viewer and characters. Never left a cinema, feeling like I needed a long shower before. Stunning!
He says he was no Scorcese. Even Scorcese is not Scorcese anymore. Coppola isn't Coppola anymore. The Funeral was a great movie. Equal to the best of Tarantino at least. Tarantino was never at peak Scorcese either
Anybody who likes Bad Lieutenant should look into Copkiller/The Order of Death with Harvey Keitel and John Lydon as the two leads. It is an Italian movie shot in old NYC. I highly recommend that movie.
I said this on another video before about Bad Lieutenant, but I realize I can broaden this to several of his movies if not all. Abel is the best director at capturing the pleasure of sin for the viewer as if they are playing Grand Theft Auto, his movies sooo much fun and rewatchable.
I was introduced to Abel Ferra in 1987s China Girl his version of Romeo & Juliette Star crossed lovers of feuding families (The Italian Mafia and Chinese Triads) complete with tragic ending with no winners
Ferrara's exploitation sensibilities have always gotten in the way of my appreciation for him as much as everybody else does but I respect the shit out of him and will proudly add any film of his to my library. I'm currently waiting on the 4K remasters of BAD LIEUTENANT, Ms. 45, and KING OF NEW YORK to add to my Arrow remaster of THE ADDICTION.
@@Nyjetsfan1289 I remember when that film came out, and even though I wasn't a film culture nerd yet, I still became part of that seeker community that was trying to track down an NC-17 VHS copy. It took years to find one at a video store and a few years more before I could buy one. So for that reason, I refused (and continue to refuse) to sell my VHS copy.
If you've ever watched an interview with Abel Ferrara, especially a recent one, I don't think Ferrara would have much patience for Tarantino's personality.
I understand the obsession with film but what is up with the whole industry being obsessed with gratuitous violence? (Violence for the sake of violence) Ever since I woke up, I realized that making a good film does not have to have it.
if done right (like ferrara, unlike most others), it accentuates the drama. personally, i prefer his psychological films more, but he does violence with excellent style
Well-said. And despite their talents, both filmmakers struggles with making films outside of their aesthetic comfort zones. When De Palma tried to branch out with "Bonfire of the Vanities", he came up short because it wasn't a "Brian De Palma film." Same thing when Abel made "The Addiction" and "The Funeral."
Great comparison… both directors try way too hard to make their work appear edgy and subversive and the end result are films that are just painfully corny. Grittiness just does not work if it’s too on the nose, and I actually feel my nose being physically bludgeoned whenever I watch a movie by these guys. Both directors are overrated all to hell too. That being said, Blowout is a great movie.
Abel Ferrara ..I do remember watching 2 of his movies... -Bad lieutenant -The driller killer I loved them a lot..Bad Lieutenant got a remake with Nicholas Cage wich I also very much enjoyd... I do not know the movies Quentin discusses in here but I believe it is by this director.....
@@roderickstockdale1678 cuz most of the following for king of New York are idiots in the hip hop scene that know nothing about story telling, or good films. Also most people haven’t seen the funeral. Your also falling for the logical fallacy that popularity is quality - it isn’t.
@@YourService79oh yes he is. I can name at least 5-10 Abel movies that I would prefer over Tarantino best and not saying that Tarantino doesn’t have a good film or anything but Ferrara is more interesting
How have I never heard of these films? So many great gems here. What happened to film making? How do we go from these movies to junk like the marvels. It's astounding
Stuff like The Bad Lieutenant that is the sort of cinematic honesty one wants to see once a while. Now they try to forbid such stuff. It is rather odd that with HDR and stuff we got better quality than ever while there is also more forbidden than ever before.
