- Polish Release, cover may contain Polish text/markings. The disk DOES NOT have English audio and subtitles.
Prequel to the 1993 feature, starring Jay Hernandez as the Hispanic gangster Carlito Brigante. In 1960s New York, Calito is building himself up as the king of heroin dealers in Spanish Harlem. But as he enters further into a dark and dangerous world, Carlito soon learns that on the streets the only way to survive is by staying loyal to your friends. From . The success of Brian De Palma's Carlito's Way ensures that the straight-to-DVD release of Carlito's Way: Rise to Power will attract an eager audience among fans of urban gangland melodramas. A stellar cast provides adequate compensation as this tame, relatively bloodless prequel trots out every clich in the book, qualifying as the 21st-century equivalent of a Warner Bros. gangster programmer from the 1930s. The well-chosen cast of new and familiar faces is caught up in a standard plot of territorial tension in Harlem between the blacks led by Hollywood Nicky (Sean Combs, adding a touch of blingy humour), the old-school Mafia led by Artie Sr. (Burt Young), and the caught-in-the-middle Puerto Ricans who are gaining control as Carlito (Jay Hernandez, in the role Al Pacino originated) and his cross-cultural gang rises to power after his recent release from prison with cellmates and partners-in-crime Earl (Mario Van Peebles) and Rocco (Michael Kelly). They're a tight trio in a climate of mistrust and deception, and Earl's hot-headed brother (Mtume Grant) sets off a series of events that force Carlito to invent a clever alliance that raises the body count while ensuring his long-term status as a dude-you-don't-mess-with. It's fun, for what it's worth (and fans of De Palma's film will enjoy connecting events from one film to the other), but there's not a shred of originality in script or direction by Michael Scott Bregman, whose father Martin produced Carlito's Way. Still, there's something to be said for a gang picture that never promises more than it can deliver. On those terms, and with enough violence and strip-joint nudity to satisfy its generic prerequisites, Rise to Power is definitely worth a look. --Jeff Shannon Synopsis An all-star cast is featured in this remake of Carlito's Way, originally a Brian dePalma film starring Sean Penn and Al Pacino. Set in Spanish Harlem, this version stars Jay Hernandez, in a star-making performance, as Carlito, who is on a comet-like ascent to the top of a successful crime ring. But being a kingpin takes a lot of support and the loyalty of a posse of complicated and violent friends, played by seasoned actors Mario Van Peebles, Luis Guzman, and the multi-talented P.Diddy, who proved his fine acting chops in the Broadway play, A Raisin in the Sun.