Abel Ferrara, Ranked

1. The Addiction (1995)
2. Dangerous Game (1993)
3. Body Snatchers (1993)
4. Ms. 45 (1981)
5. King of New York (1990)
6. Bad Lieutenant (1992)
7. The Funeral (1996)

Ferrara's greatest films made during the 90s highlight the intensity, the vigour, the existential crises of his central character(s) in a style unlike anything I've ever seen before. Ferrara was interested in how an individual's morality could either erode or remain intact when faced with a completely nihilistic society. His subjects - that of low-lifes such as prostitutes and gangsters, cease being mere caricatures of manipulation and transform into living parables of the human nature. He was able to elicit the best performance from Madonna in Dangerous Game, a film about voyeurism and media influence, without exploiting her character. Ms. 45 gave vigilantism a feministic flavour, as opposed to the pure male spectacle in Travis Bickle's Taxi Driver, while The Addiction used vampiricism as a metaphor for a discourse on free will. So much for being accused as a director of cheap B-grade movies, this director was capable of rewriting the sub-genre film in ways Hollywood could never dreamt about.

Good call, a name ive not heard of much round here. Of his films ive only seen Bad Lieutenant and the infamous Driller Killer so obviously Bad lieutenant is my no.1.

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Too weird to live, and too rare to die.

From the films I've seen, my all time favourite from him is this one:


The Funeral

then it's:

2.



3.



4.



5.



6.




Don't think I've seen any of his other films yet.

Also my favourite Ferrara. Great film.

I've only seen Ms. 45, which was great. I've gotta see more from this guy.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Body Snatchers (1993)

"Where you gonna go, where you gonna run, where you gonna hide?"

Body Snatchers, the third film loosely based on its predecessors, is arguably the bleakest (read: satisfying) of its counterparts helmed by one of the most promising auteurs of the time, Abel Ferrara. Under his skilful artistic direction, the film manages to break free from the typical constraints of a low budget horror schlock to become a shockingly nihilistic overview of humanity. That human nature is fettered by its emotional baggage, and perhaps we as pathetic creatures would do better if we weren't so blinded by emotional attachment, is Ferrara's subversive statement. A chilling masterpiece that has solidified Ferrara's reputation as a radical and uncompromising auteur.

I've seen Body Snatchers but I don't think I realized it was Abel Ferrara. Really good movie. I'm a fan of his; The Funeral being my favorite out of his movies that I've seen.

the only one i've seen is ms .45, which i loved. really want to see bad lieutenant and the funeral.

"I was raised a Catholic and when you're raised a Catholic they don't teach you to think for yourself...you're taught not to think too deeply about things." - Abel Ferrara

A lot of his films are informed by his religious (or lack thereof) sensibilities. Watch Harvey Keitel facing a crisis of faith in Bad Lieutenant. I'm speechless.

Amazing movie. Probably my favourite Keitel performance.