Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Welcome to New York Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 13, 2014

Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Abel Ferrara's "Welcome to New York" (2014) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Spirit Entertainment. The only supplemental feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In English and French, with optional English subtitles for the French dialog. Region-B "locked".

Monster

Abel Ferrara’s latest film opens up with a statement clarifying that it was inspired by a court case and that the characters portrayed in it are fictional. The statement refers to the highly publicized Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape case. (Strauss-Kahn, a prominent member of the French Socialist Party and a former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, was accused of raping a hotel maid in New York City in 2011. A settlement between Strauss-Kahn and the maid was later on reached out of court).

In the explicit prologue, powerful banking official and sex addict Devereaux (Gerard Depardieu, Going Places, Maitresse) arrives in New York where a group of men and women greet him in an expensive hotel room. During the next twelve hours they drink, take drugs and have sex. Before Devereaux leaves the hotel, he sexually assaults one of its maids (Pamela Afesi).

The film switches gears when the maid contacts the local authorities and Devereaux is arrested shortly after he boards a flight to Paris. Initially Devereaux claims diplomatic immunity, but later on changes his mind and calls his wife, Simone (Jacqueline Bisset, Day for Night, Bullitt), who gathers a team of legal experts to handle his case. A few days after she arrives in New York, she rents a secluded apartment and then her lawyers arrange that Devereaux is released on bail.

The rest of the film chronicles Simone and Devereaux’s tense discussions and the legal developments before his eventual acquittal.

The film is fast and raw, never even remotely interested in being politically correct. It makes one feel very uncomfortable and weak – precisely as people with unlimited power like Devereaux do in the real world. The film also promotes the idea that many of us are willing to tolerate or be abused by people like Devereaux so long as we are rewarded, either with cash or something else we desire.

Ferrara could not have chosen a better actor to play Devereaux. Depardieu, a somewhat controversial figure in recent years, is astonishing as the cynical monster. During the graphic prologue, for instance, there are a couple of scenes where his heavy breathing alone is utterly disturbing. (It would have been great to have an interview with Depardieu or Ferrara to hear how these scenes were shot because they are definitely not easy to stomach). Throughout the rest of the film he also genuinely looks like a man who is completely unaware that he is very seriously sick.

Bisset also does not disappoint as the wealthy, loyal and devastated Simone, who has been working hard to make sure that Devereaux will soon be the next president of France. Her anger and sadness are completely authentic. (Initially, Isabelle Adjani had agreed to play Simone, but she was replaced during the pre-production process).

Ferrara shot Welcome to New York with his regular cameraman Ken Kelsch. Unsurprisingly, the entire film has that very unique cold but stylish look many of Ferrara’s best films do. (Bad Lieutenant, The Blackout, New Rose Hotel).

Spirit Entertainment’s Blu-ray release of Welcome to New York features two cuts of the film: The original Theatrical Version, which runs at approximately 125 minutes (02.05.21), and a shorter Alternate Version, which runs at approximately 110 minutes (01.49.30).

Welcome to New York Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Abel Ferrara's Welcome to New York arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Spirit Entertainment.

Shot digitally, the film has the appropriate clean and very smooth look. Detail and clarity are outstanding, with the daylight footage in particular looking very impressive (see screencaptures #2 and 6). The darker footage from the hotel, the prison and the expensive house also boasts wonderful depth (the framing is also very good). Colors are lush and solid. Image stability is outstanding. Lastly, there are no encoding anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a fantastic technical presentation of Welcome to New York which is guaranteed to please fans of the American director and his work. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Welcome to New York Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0 (with small portions of French). For the record, Spirit Entertainment have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. Please note that the English subtitles are only for the French dialog.

The film does not have a prominent music score. There are no sound effects either. Unsurprisingly, there is no elaborate surround movement. The dialog is exceptionally clean, stable, and very easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report in this review.

Welcome to New York Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Welcome to New York. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Alternate Version - included on this release are the original Theatrical Version (02.05.21) of the film as well as a shorter Alternate Version (01.49.39). The Alternate Version is also presented in 1080p, with optional English subtitles for the French dialog.

Welcome to New York Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is very unfortunate that the work of American auteur Abel Ferrara is still largely ignored in his home country. I personally cannot think of a single reason why at least one of his films isn't part of the Criterion Collection. Ferrara's latest film, Welcome to New York, offers a fascinating glimpse into the soul of a very powerful and very sick man played brilliantly by the great Gerard Depardieu. I think that it is the best film Ferrara has done in years, in many ways rivaling the brilliance of his cult film Bad Lieutenant. Do not miss it. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.