Carlito's Way: Rise To Power

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power is a 2005 prequel to Brian De Palma's 1993 film Carlito's Way, based on the novel Carlito's Way by Edwin Torres. The previous film was based on the Torres novel After Hours, but was retitled to avoid it being confused with Martin Scorsese's 1985 film of the same name. The film was written and directed by Michael Bregman, who produced the first film. His father, Martin Bregman, produced both films. The film was released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles one day prior to being released on DVD.

Carlito's Way: Rise to Power stars Jay Hernandez as Carlito Brigante, the character played by Al Pacino in the first film, and chronicles Brigante's rise as a heroin drug czar in 1960s Harlem, New York. The film also features Mario Van Peebles, Michael Joseph Kelly, Luis Guzmán as Nacho Reyes (Guzmán being the only actor to appear in both Carlito's Way films, although as different characters), Jaclyn DeSantis, Sean Combs, Burt Young, and Domenick Lombardozzi.