This film — based on Carlito’s Way and After Hours, novels by Edwin Torres — starts off in a courtroom with an epic speech by sworn-reformed Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) to the judge who convicted him for dealing heroin five years ago. The diatribe sets up the story for us, and explains that Carlito’s lawyer, David Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) was able to get him off on a technicality.
What becomes obvious as the story unfolds is that David most likely sprung Carlito to have an accomplice in his own perilous criminal venture, a fact that he never shared with the retired career criminal. As Carlito tries and fails to keep his nose clean, he reconnects with old love Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), a ballerina and part-time topless dancer.
John Leguizamo appears as Benny Blanco from the Bronx — a pimp-rolling, garishly styled, up-and-coming gangster in the making — a role which he claims informed his acting style in a way that he carried with him into other projects.
Featuring a cameo by Viggo Mortensen, lifetime bit-parter Luis Guzman, Silver Linings Playbook‘s John Ortiz, and the late Rick Aviles, the bandwidth required to play these enigmatic characters would cure any aspiring actor’s hankering for meatier roles. With a screenplay that reportedly Brian De Palma “didn’t even want to read… I didn’t want to return to this terrain again,” one could venture to say that gangster films were experiencing a renaissance.
The 1993 Al Pacino classic, Carlito’s Way is getting a special 4K Blu-ray release on Sept. 26, 2023 with special features, including:
4K dual format limited edition content
- Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Obviously Creative
- Double-sided fold-out poster featuring newly-commissioned artwork by Tom Ralston and Obviously Creative
- Seven double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and original production notes
Disc 1: Feature (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)
- 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray (2160p) presentation in High Dynamic Range
- Original stereo, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS-X audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand-new audio commentary by Matt Zoller Seitz, author of The Wes Anderson Collection and The Soprano Sessions
- Brand-new audio commentary by Dr. Douglas Keesey, author of Brian De Palma’s Split-Screen: A Life in Film
Disc 2: Features and extras (Blu-ray)
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
- Original stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary by Matt Zoller Seitz
- Brand new audio commentary by Dr Douglas Keesey
- Carlito and the Judge, a brand new interview with Judge Edwin Torres, author of the novels Carlito’s Way and After Hours on which the screenplay for Carlito’s Way is based
- Cutting Carlito’s Way, a brand new interview with editors Bill Pankow and Kristina Boden
- De Palma’s Way, a brand new appreciation by film critic David Edelstein
- All the Stitches in the World: The Locations of Carlito’s Way, a brand new look at the New York locations of Carlito’s Way and how they look today
- De Palma on Carlito’s Way, an archival interview with director Brian De Palma
- The Making of Carlito’s Way, an archival documentary on the making of the film, produced for the original DVD release
- Deleted scenes
- Original promotional featurette
- Theatrical teaser and trailer
- Image gallery
Sure to scintillate any hardcore cineaste, De Palma fan, or Pacino aficionado, the price as of this writing for the 2-disc set is $39.99.