Carlito's Way (1993)

A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of NYC.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Edwin Torres (novels), David Koepp (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Carlito 'Charlie' Brigante
Sean Penn	...	David Kleinfeld
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Gail
John Leguizamo	...	Benny Blanco
Ingrid Rogers	...	Steffie
Luis Guzmán	...	Pachanga (as Luis Guzman)
James Rebhorn	...	Dist. Atty. Norwalk
Joseph Siravo	...	Vincent 'Vinnie' Taglialucci
Viggo Mortensen	...	Lalin
Richard Foronjy	...	Pete Amadesso
Jorge Porcel	...	Saso (Ron)
Frank Minucci	...	Tony Taglialucci
Adrian Pasdar	...	Frankie Taglialucci
John Ortiz	...	Guajiro (as John Augstin Ortiz)
Ángel Salazar	...	Walberto

Storyline

A Puerto Rican ex-con pledges to stay away from his former drug dealing ways but finds himself being dragged back by his past connections and the naive machinations of his lawyer and best friend. Hoping to raise enough money to get away from New York, Carlito Brigante takes on the job of running a nightclub, renews an affair with a dancer but old associates and old instincts suck him back into a world of violence and mistrust.

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Plot Keywords:

prison | drugs | puerto rican | violence | dancer | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, drug content, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

10 November 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Atrapado por su pasado

Filming Locations:

Dock Lane, Kings Point, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,112,190 (UK) (14 January 1994)

Gross:

£2,122,432 (UK) (4 February 1994)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Epic Productions, Bregman/Baer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

144 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The exterior of the hospital where Carlito visits his bedridden attorney is the same one where Vito Corleone is taken in The Godfather, also starring Al Pacino.

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Goofs

Set in 1975, the movie soundtrack contains songs that weren't released at that time such as: "Disco Inferno" (1976) and "Got to be Real" (1978).

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Quotes

David Kleinfeld: Hey Louie... Louie, your fuckin' chick's givin' you a handjob right in front of everybody. I got guests here, for christsake. People are eating.
Louie: Take it easy, Dave.
David Kleinfeld: No-you take it easy. You got any manners? You wanna fuck her, fuck her like a normal human being - take her in the bedroom.

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Equilibrium (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Mi Gente"
Written by Johnny Pacheco
Performed by Hector Lavoe
Courtesy of Sonido, Inc.

User Reviews

Way underrated

Carlito's Way is an extrememely underated Al Pacino movie. This film is probubly the best crime story ive seen, next to Goodfellas(1990), Pacino gives another superb performance as well as the rest of the cast. The story in Carlito's Way is extremely compelling and can be very sad at times. Unlike Pacino's similar film Scarface(1983), Carlito's Way is not just a blood bath without much of a story. I dont know why this film fizzled at the box office and failed to recieve any academy award nominations because it sure deserved to. 9 out of 10.