Ferrara. Abel Ferrara is synonymous with New York City street cinema- gritty, violent -yes, but films that are also extremely moody, atmospheric as well—not just blunt force. His best work came in the early 1990’s – the one-two punch of King of New York and Bad Lieutenant in 1990 and 1992 at the cusp of the renaissance for the American Indie movement. Ferrara never crossed over like Soderbergh, Tarantino, Linklater or Spike Lee either commercially or artistically– but good or bad, never makes uninteresting films either. His strength for the purposes of this list are those two films—but I think also what separates him from some others yet to be named is his dedication to making Ferrara films- he’s never become a hired hand or compromised either. That commitment and the roughness or pulpiness of his material (and surrounding controversy) makes me think of him as sort of a De Palma-lite, but with less technical abilities and a heavier emphasis on morality.
Best film: Bad Lieutenant. I’m open to the idea of King of New York being closer than I give it credit for- I’m overdue for a rewatch—but Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant is a no holds barred, bare-knuckled allegory and meditation on sin, sacrifice and redemption. It’s a haunting film. Harvey Keitel’s raw performance is unforgettable as well—there isn’t another performance from anybody out there quite like it.
total archiveable films: 4
top 100 films: 0
top 500 films: 0
top 100 films of the decade: 1 (Bad Lieutenant)
most overrated: Ferrara doesn’t have one. Bad Lieutenant is the only film that lands in the TSPDT consensus top 1000 and it lands at #972—so it’s a little underrated. On the 1001-2000 list we have New Rose Hotel, Addition, and King of New York. I haven’t seen New Rose Hotel or Addiction yet sadly.
most underrated : Bad Lieutenant– it doesn’t make my top 500 but it’s not far off- so I’m at least 300 slots higher than the consensus at #972.
gem I want to spotlight : King of New York. Walken’s icy stare is a perfect for this moody dark film covered in dark natural lighting (looks like a 1970’s film more than a 1990 film) and gorgeous blue day for night.
stylistic innovations/traits:
- Violent, edgy, controversial (almost always a NC-17 controversy with Ferrara films it seems—and finding screengrabs for this page his a little tricky- haha) seedy films set in New York city
- Darky lit, natural lighting matching the evil that exists in his world
- Moral tales, allegories, often sin and redemption, sacrifice
- Uncompromising (he most admired Pasolini and that makes sense)
top 10
- Bad Lieutenant
- King of New York
- The Funeral
- Ms .45
By year and grades
| 1981- Ms. 45 | R |
| 1990- King of New York | R |
| 1992- Bad Lieutenant | MS |
| 1996-The Funeral | R |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
Almost Ferrara’s whole filmography is available to stream on The Criterion Channel this month.
Apparently, Pasolini’s Salo or the 120 Days of Sodom is one of Abel Ferrara’s favourite movies. He puts it in his top 10 for the Sight & Sound list in 2022 I think.
There is a lot of pornography influence with Ferrara. He started his career making these movies. I think the structure of Bad Lieutenant and Dangerous Game is why the two films work and makes a satisfying experience. The character arcs sort of. If they were without this structure it just becomes disgusting and filthy. These films thread a thin line between genius and madness. And ultimately succeeds. But I’m also a bit wary about watching some of his other films because of the madness part. I think Ferrara has actually said somewhere the maker of Bad Lieutenant needed to do drugs to make the movie. They were often working without permits as well I believe. It’s real guerilla style filmmaking.
I really liked/admired Ferrara’s Dangerous Game. It’s very similar in structure to Bad Lieutenant even though it’s a different genre. Bad Lieutenant is sort of a plotless character study while this one is sort of a relationship drama with a plot. Characters self destructing and the circumstances get more and more vicious as the film goes deeper. It’s not for the faint of heart. Both end with a character death. This film also shows Madonna was very serious about the craft of acting and filmmaking. Her taking on this challenging role without much of a commercial and awards viability is inspiring. Which is not the case with most musician turned actors. She doesn’t need to do this. I did feel the Madonna and James Russo characters lacked characterization. But that doesn’t matter because the focus is on the Harvey Keitel character. Ferrara is never about beautiful photography (mood and atmosphere is his trademark) but there is an inspired ultra wide angle shot in this film. The night scenes in the movie within the movie are so well lit. Should be a case study in lighting. Harvey Keitel’s relationship with his family here is the exact opposite of that of Bad Lieutenant. Here he is trying to balance out his personal and professional life. Kindness and compassion towards his son and wife. While he is completely broken in Bad Lieutenant. Bad Lieutenant kind of feels like a sequel to this film actually. It’s another direct director surrogate role for him like Mean Streets. I did feel Dangerous Game was technically better than Bad Lieutenant. A worthy and extremely underrated follow-up to Bad Lieutenant between Keitel and Ferrara. Just like Holy Smoke! between Keitel and Campion (as a follow-up to The Piano). Very different styles between the two filmmakers (Not just the massive location change). And it’s a credit to the range of Keitel he is at home with both these directors.
Are his recent films (Siberia, Zeros and Ones, Padre Pio) as bad as they say they are?
@Malith- Padre Pio is rough
Welcome to New York sounds like another depraved protagonist in an Abel Ferrara film like Bad Lieutenant with a ‘brave’ performance from his lead actor. I think this is the last film Ferrara shot in his native US.
Have you seen Ferrara’s The Addiction(1995) starring Lili Taylor? It is probably his most acclaimed film not included here.
@Lionel- I have – yes, been quite a while on this one
I’ve now seen 12 Ferrara films so I’m done with his film for a while. His career path is really surprising, moving into very experimental cinema as he got older and changed from Catholicism to Buddhism. I also think every time he makes a film it is at least interesting. His filmography isn’t the best but there is some depth and he’s been putting out decent (and interesting) films for a few decades now. Four of these films are with Willem Dafoe and they have more together I didn’t get to.
Bad Lieutenant (1992) – HR/MS (leaning HR)
King of New York (1990) – HR
The Addiction (1995) – HR
Ms. 45 (1981) – R/HR (leaning R)
Pasolini (2014) – R
4:44 Last Day on Earth (2011) – R
Siberia (2020) – R
Zeros and Ones (2021) – R
New Rose Hotel (1998) – 5/10, not in archives.
Dangeous Game (1993) – 5/10, not in archives
The Funeral (1996) – 4/10, not in archives.
A couple of the R’s are just fringy but I still find plenty to admire in them.
He also pulled off one of my favourite shots of 2020, a stunner with sun reflecting in a cave in a surrealistic sequence.
@Harry- 12 Ferrara films crossed off your list is more than me. Impressive!
Have you seen the body snatchers (1993)?
@Janith- I have not yet. Good?