Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951 in The Bronx) is an American movie screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer (1979), Ms. 45 (1981), King of New York (1990), and Bad Lieutenant (1992).
Ferrara was born in the Bronx to an Italian-American family. He was raised Catholic, which had a later effect on much of his work. At 15, he moved to Peekskill in Westchester, New York where he attended high school with Nicholas St. John, who has written most of his films. He attended the film conservatory at SUNY Purchase, where he directed several movies, which are all available on "The Short Films of Abel Ferrara" collection. Soon finding himself out of work, he directed a pornography film as Jimmy Laine, his alias.
Ferrarra first drew a cult audience with his notable grindhouse movie The Driller Killer (1979), an urban slasher in the mold of Taxi Driver (1976), about an artist (played by Ferrara himself) who goes on a killing spree with a drill in hand. Strangely enough, the film attracted attention and retains something of a cult audience to this day. He followed it with the even more exploitive Ms. 45 (1981), a "rape revenge" film starring Zoe Tamerlis, who later scripted "Bad Lieutenant". Critics surprisingly praised the latter film for its depiction of a gritty New York City and as an enjoyable exploitation flick. Due to the buzz around the two movies, Ferrara was hired to direct a big-budget version of his oeuvre called Fear City (1984). It starred Tom Berenger, Melanie Griffith, Billy Dee Williams, Rae Dawn Chong, and Maria Conchita Alonso. True to form, it depicted a seedy Times Square strip club, where a "kung fu slasher" stalks and murders the girls after work. Berenger portrayed a disgraced boxer who has to use his fighting skills to defeat the killer. Fear City got shelved and went straight to video and is one of Ferrara's weakest efforts.
Ferrara then worked on two Michael Mann-produced television series, directing the 2-hour pilot for the cult classic Crime Story (aired 18 September 1986), starring Dennis Farina, along with two episodes of the popular series Miami Vice: "The Home Invaders" (aired 15 March 1985, in season 1) and "The Dutch Oven" (aired 25 October 1985, in season 2). In the pilot for the short-lived but highly-regarded Crime Story series, Ferrara's work includes a spectacular gunfight scene captured in a single sweeping crane shot, recalling the work of Howard Hawks or Sam Peckinpah.
Following his television work, Ferrara directed two feature films: China Girl (1987), a modern re-telling of West Side Story as a gang war between the Chinese tong and the Italian mafia; and Cat Chaser (1989), starring Peter Weller. China Girl brought Ferrara back to his heart, New York City. Cat Chaser did not fare as well, though based on a gritty Elmore Leonard novel.
Next, Ferrara created one of his most well-known films, King of New York (1990), starring Christopher Walken as gangster Frank White, who runs a group of black drug dealers, including one played by Laurence Fishburne. The cast also included Wesley Snipes and David Caruso. A highly-stylized, modern-day Robin Hood tale, this was Ferrara's most expensive film to date.Since then, it has become a cult classic, thanks to VHS and DVD. A favorite film of rappers, The Notorious B.I.G. adopted an alias of "Frank White" in homage to it. As with most of Ferrara's films, the screenplay was penned by Nicholas St. John.
Ferrara next directed Harvey Keitel in an acclaimed performance as the eponymous Bad Lieutenant (1992). Keitel plays a foul-mouthed, sex-addicted drug user who wrestles with guilt and eventually seeks redemption in a Catholic church. The script was written by Ms. 45 star Zoe Tamerlis (born Zoe Lund, she wrestled with drug addiction herself, and died from an overdose in 1999). Bad Lieutenant became on of the first films to receive an NC-17 rating. Although distributed among arthouse theaters with the NC-17 rating, the film was later cut to an R-rating for distribution in video outlets like Blockbuster. Both Ferrara and Keitel were nominated for Spirit Awards and despite its controversial content, the film was lauded by critics, including Roger Ebert.
Once again the subject of praise, Ferrara was hired for two big-budget projects: a second remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Dangerous Game, starring Keitel and Madonna. After production of the latter film, Madonna broke with film business norms by criticizing Dangerous Game in the media. Perhaps Madonna hurt ticket sales, but the film seemed destined to receive mostly negative reviews in any case. Body Snatchers, on the hand, received praise from Roger Ebert and other critics as an effective horror movie. But after its premiere at Cannes -- where it was nominated for the Golden Palm -- Body Snatchers received only a limited theatrical release from its Warner Bros studio distributor.
In the mid-nineties, Ferrara returned to independent filmmaking, directing two well-received movies: The Addiction (1995), and The Funeral (1996). The Addiction, photographed in ominous black-and-white, starred Lili Taylor as an NYU philosophy student who succumbs to a vampire as she studies the problem of evil, represented by the most violent events of the 20th century. The Funeral featured an all-star cast of Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Benicio del Toro, Vincent Gallo, and others. Both were met with favorable receptions by critics, and were particularly praised for the edgy cinematography of Ken Kelsch. Ferrara was nominated again by the Spirits for "Best Director" for The Funeral, which was also nominated for the Golden Lion at Venice, where it won another award. The Berlin Film Festival nominated The Addiction for Best Film, and that year Ferrara won a Best Filmmaker award from the Gotham Awards.
After making The Blackout (1997) with Matthew Modine and Dennis Hopper, he contributed to the omnibus HBO-television movie Subway Stories. Ferrara then made New Rose Hotel (1998), which reunited him with Christopher Walken. Also starring Willem Dafoe, it was nominated at Venice for the Golden Lion and won two of their awards.
Ferrara returned three years later with 'R Xmas (2001), which starred Drea de Matteo and Ice-T. It drew mixed reviews, but is considered a return to form by fans of the director. After recording two commentaries for Driller Killer and King of New York, he finally made Mary (2005). The religious epic starred Forrest Whittaker, Marion Cotillard, Juliette Binoche, Heather Graham, Stefania Rocca and Matthew Modine. The multi-plot film concerns an actress (Binoche) who stars in a Passion of the Christ-like movie about Jesus, where she plays Mary Magdalene, with whom she subsequently becomes obsessed. Ferrara received some of his most enthusiastic buzz in years for Mary, which premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 2005. It swept the awards ceremony, garnering the Grand Jury Prize, SIGNIS Award, and two others. It was also nominated for the highest achievement, the Golden Lion. It was Ferrara's third nomination. Despite much positive attention, the critics who attended the festival divided sharply down the middle regarding its merits. It was also seen at the Toronto Film Festival, but has so far not been released on US DVD. In 2007, he directed a comedy with Modine, Bob Hoskins, and Willem Dafoe called Go Go Tales.
The director has recently completed a documentary called Chelsea on the Rocks (which will premiere out of competition at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival), before he starts a long-awaited prequel to King of New York called Pericle il Nero. Actor Michael Pitt will play a young Frank White; and rapper Nelly, the role originated by Laurence Fishburne.
In 2007, Abel Ferrara's films and career became the subject of new book of film criticism, written by the Paris-based scholar Nicole Brenez, and translated by Adrian Martin. The book, simply titled Abel Ferrara, is published by the University of Illinois Press for the 'Contemporary Film Directors' series edited by film scholar James Naremore. In the quarterly magazine Cineaste (summer 2008 issue), reviewer Steve Erickson praises the book for Brenez' enthusiastic look at Ferrara's ouvre, and for her theoretical and analytical sophistication in reading the films of Abel Ferrara.
