Carlitos Way
Action, Crime, Drama
Universal Studios  (1993) 144 mins R

7.8 (40,614 votes)
Carlito “Charlie” Brigante (Al Pacino) is a one-time Puerto Rican heroin kingpin whose shady lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld (Sean Penn) has just gained him early release from a long prison sentence on a legal technicality. Rather than returning to his old life, Carlito decides to try and play it straight: he buys an upscale nightclub, hooks up with old flame Gail (Penelope Ann Miller), and makes plans to earn enough money for the two of them to escape the mean streets of New York for a new life in the Bahamas. His old ways, and old associations, come back to haunt him, though: the sleazy dealings of his friend and attorney put him in the cross-hairs of both the law and the Italian mob; his old associate, Lalin (Viggo Mortensen) is sent in to try and set him up for a fall; and an up-and-coming young drug lord named Benny Blanco “from the Bronx” (John Leguizamo) is out to make his bones at Carlito...

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Cast and Crew
Al Pacino  ......  Carlito Brigante
Sean Penn  ......  David Kleinfeld
Penelope Ann Miller  ......  Gail
John Leguizamo  ......  Benny Blanco
Ingrid Rogers  ......  Steffie
James Rebhorn  ......  Dist. Atty. Norwalk
Director  .....  Brian De Palma
Producer  .....  Martin Bregman; Michael Bregman; Willi Bär
Writer  .....  David Koepp; Edwin Torres
Notes
Goofs:
Continuity: In the final shootout scene, Carlito shoots one gangster on the escalator and you see the bullets hit and the blood spurt out. In the immediate next scene the gangster is going down the escalator without a mark on his shirt but blood smeared on the back of the escalator. (more)

Trivia:
In 1989, film producer Elliott Kastner filed a lawsuit against Pacino for allegedly backing out of a deal to star in a film as Carlito with Marlon Brando as Kleinfeld. The suit was eventually dropped. (more)

Filming Locations:
4th Avenue Subway Station, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA (more)

Quotes:
[boat trip night]
Carlito: [voice over] Already I had a bad feeling about the boat trip night as soon as I saw Dave. He was all coked up so much that his nostrils were red and swolen. Bad start man, bad start.
(more)

Awards:
Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 win (more)