Cult director Abel Ferrara is one of the kings of neo-noir. He got his start in gritty low-budget films in the 1970s, including the grindhouse classic The Driller Killer. He followed it up with Ms. 45, a cult revenge flick, before transitioning to more serious crime dramas in the 1990s, particularly Bad Lieutenant and King of New York. These movies explore complicated characters living outside the law, with career-best performances from stars Harvey Keitel and Christopher Walken.
In addition, Ferrara has dabbled in sci-fi (Body Snatchers), a vampire film (The Addiction), and several documentaries. His work is defined by provocative subject matter, with a particular focus on morality and religion, alongside tons of violence, and harsh urban settings. He has remained an independent filmmaker at heart throughout his career. While not always flawless, his work is never boring. As a result, he has been praised by many directors, including Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Edgar Wright.
'Fear City' (1984) - IMDb: 5.7/10
Fear City centers on a cop (Billy Dee Williams) and former boxer (Tom Berenger) looking into the murders of several exotic dancers. It's one of Ferrara's earlier movies, and far from his best. He does a good job with the action and visuals, but the story doesn't have the complexity or moral ambiguity of his later movies.
Nevertheless, Ferrara still succeeds in delivering '80s trashy goodness, including an abundance of over-the-top fight scenes. There's even a serial killer who's a martial arts master. The right kind of exploitation fan will kick out of it.
'Pasolini' (2014) - IMDb: 5.9/10
Willem Dafoe stars in this biopic about Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini, one of Ferrara's biggest influences. Pasolini is probably most famous for his art horror Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Pasolini tells a fictionalized version of the director's life from the end of filming Salò up to his murder in 1975.
"[Pasolini] is an expression of freedom, an expression of the individual. He is part of the tradition and at the same time he created a tradition," Ferrara says. "Pasolini was a good guy in the true sense of the word. He treated people right; he lived with compassion; he lived all his life with energy and a desire to write, to paint, to act, to direct, to create."
'Body Snatchers' (1993) - IMDb: 6.0/10
Body Snatchers is Ferrara's loose remake of the 1956 classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It takes place on an army base in Alabama, where clones replace the personnel as part of a massive conspiracy. Steve (Terry Kinney), an EPA agent sent to the base, seeks to find out more alongside his teenage daughter (Gabrielle Anwar). At just 87 minutes, Body Snatchers is a lean, well-made sci-fi romp with some interesting themes around conformity and freedom.
Ferrara was driven to make the movie because of his love for the original story by author Jack Finney. "It’s just a beautiful work of fiction, man," he has said. "[It's about the] spirituality of the writer. Him trying to come to terms with the possibility that the world could possibly blow up in his face."
'Napoli, Napoli, Napoli' (2009) - IMDb: 6.2/10
Napoli, Napoli, Napoli is one of three documentaries Ferrara has made, the others being Chelsea on the Rocks and Sportin' Life. It explores the seedier side of Naples, Italy's third-largest city. Ferrara interviews various locals, especially several inmates at a women's prison. They talk about their lives before and after their incarceration. The interviews are interspersed with fictional scenes.
The film makes for an interesting exploration of the causes of urban decay and crime. Ferrara makes connections between the city's current problems and its history and tries to draw lessons that apply to the world as a whole. Not to mention, it ends off with a bizarre but fascinating rap by the director himself, recounting what he has learned in the course of making the doc.
'China Girl' (1987) - IMDb: 6.2/10
China Girl is Ferrara's neo-noir take on Romeo and Juliet. It follows the relationship between Tony (Richard Panebianco) and Tye (Sari Chang), whose brothers are members of rival gangs. As usual, Ferrara's mastery of screen violence is very much on display here. The movie is also lightning-paced, breezing by at just 89 minutes.
In addition, Ferrara succeeds in delivering a distinctive, neon-lit vision of New York's Little Italy and Chinatown. Tarantino gushed about the film on an episode of The Rewatchables podcast, naming it as one of his favorite movies from 1987.
'The Addiction' (1995) - IMDb: 6.4/10
The Addiction centers on philosophy student Kathleen (Lili Taylor) who is bitten by a vampire and begins craving blood. She meets Peina (Christopher Walken), an older vampire who says that he has conquered his blood addiction and offers to help her do the same.
"He’s addicted to everything, not just drugs. He’s addicted to alcohol, to gambling, to casual sex. Power. The power of the badge," Ferrara has said, speaking about Walken's character. It's one of three collaborations between Ferrara and Walken. "[Walken's] giving, intelligent, he’s committed to his work, committed to his craft," Ferrara says. "He brings himself to everything he does, and that gives things a whole new life."
'The Funeral' (1996) - IMDb: 6.6/10
The Funeral is a melancholy gangster movie about a New York crime family in the 1930s. Using the funeral of one of the brothers as a framing device, the story jumps backward and forward in time to tell their story. The two remaining brothers embark on a quest for vengeance.
The cast includes several notable '90s crime actors: Walken, Benicio Del Toro, Chris Penn, and Vincent Gallo. Supposedly, the shoot was rather raucous. "Abel Ferrara was on so much crack when I did The Funeral," Gallo has said. "He was never on set. He was in my room trying to pick-pocket me."
'Ms. 45' (1981) - IMDb: 6.8/10
Ms. 45 is one of Ferrara's biggest cult films. It's a revenge thriller about Thana (played by frequent collaborator Zoë Tamerlis), a mute woman who is raped twice in one day. She is traumatized, and embarks on a killing spree, offing several men.
Ms. 45 has since become an influential exploitation classic, whose echoes live on in movies like Kill Bill. It succeeds thanks to Tamerlis's excellent performance. "The movie is her, and embodies her," Ferrara says. "The beautiful thing about a film is that it captures one moment in time, and that film captures her as a 17-year-old Columbia student."
'King of New York' (1990) - IMDb: 6.9/10
Walken gives a menacing performance here as a drug lord recently released from prison. He's trying to reestablish his power in the city, while also going legit. Other drug dealers threaten to undermine him, and a crew of shady cops is hellbent on sending him back to jail.
It's one of the grittiest, grimiest crime movies of the early '90s. "King of New York made Scarface look like Mary Poppins," Ferrara has joked. The director filmed it in the heart of New York to give the movie an authentic feel. “We shot that so deep in Brooklyn you needed a passport to get there," he has said. "Everyone takes the subway, and you just hope they don’t get lost or mugged on the way."
'Bad Lieutenant' (1992) - IMDb: 7.0/10
Ferrara's finest film is this gritty drama about sin and redemption. Harvey Keitel stars as the titular crooked cop. He's violent, drug-addicted, and unstable. After robbers break into a church and rape a nun, Keitel sets out to deliver some vigilante justice. He catches the criminals, takes them prisoner, and then speaks to the nun they assaulted. To his shock, the woman tells him that she has already forgiven her attackers. This triggers a spiritual crisis within Keitel's character.
Keitel gives one of the darkest and most complex performances of his career. His commitment to the role is truly impressive. He nails the character's internal grappling with what remains of his conscience. The result is a sophisticated exploration of several weighty themes: religion, justice, and whether real forgiveness is possible. Unsurprisingly, Scorsese adored Bad Lieutenant and ranked it among his five favorite films of the 1990s.