American Gangster
Includes both the 158 minute Theatrical Version and the 177 minute Unrated Extended Edition on one disc!
Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) in this powerful, epic story. Armed with ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honor, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation. American Gangster is "a brutal and brilliant film" (Pete Hammond, Maxim).
Please note that French audio is only offered on the Theatrical Version.
Member Reviews
Great gangster story - expected more energy - Curly_MM
This was a good movie with foundations in a true story which was interesting and integral to the identity of parts of the US. I had expected a little more intensity and energy, it kind of felt like things were down played because there were so many important details to fit in.
Still definitely worth watching.Good Film That is Never Able to Reach That Next Level - nw_kiff
American Gangster features Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington as a drug agent and drug kingpin respectively. With these two Academy Award winning actors, you'd expect the film to deliver fireworks. But after watching "American Gangster", I just felt indifferent. The performances are solid, and the direction is very capable. The problem seems to be in the story, which never delivers much of a sense of conflict or any real sense of danger for the lead characters. Mind you, if they were to do that it would conflict with the actual events. In lies the problem; "American Gangster" is another film that you can file as one that stays so faithful to the true events that it doesn't provide satisfying drama and conflict, much like "Zodiac". The ending to the film also seems to hit a totally wrong note and doesn't fit the tone of the movie at all. If you are interested in this period of history and/or Frank Lucas, and finding out how he smuggled heroin into the United States, then you will enjoy this film. Those expecting an exciting cop/gangster cat-and-mouse film will be left disappointed.True Story - True Contradictions - ZetaC
Uneven as it is unsettling, American Gangster does a fair job of sketching out the life of New York drug kingpin, Frank Lucas, played with understated intensity by Denzel Washington. If you have seen the PBS documentary that was released almost simultaneously with this film, you will appreciate that the director, cast and technical crew have done a superb job of capturing the chaos and corruption that washed over the streets of New York city in the late 60's and into the self-indulgent 70's. The irony and contradictions are thick and poignant. America's war to preserve democracy in Viet Nam becomes the catalyst to open the door to Asian heroin entering the USA. Frank Lucas uses his intense loyalty and unbending work ethic to create a dystopian version of the American dream. Intensely family oriented at one moment and ruthlessly brutal in another, Lucas embodies the contradictions of his place and times. The hostile interactions between Det. Richie Roberts, deftly portrayed by Russell Crowe, and the corrupt New York City Special Drug Enforcement officers bring to mind films such a "Serpico" and "Princes of the City", especially when we watch Roberts' partner descend into a heroin-fueled spiral of self-destruction. Even the mention of the "French Connection" heroin and the presence of Italian "Godfathers" remind us of other films that have dealt with this era and issues. That those films are all 20 years old underscores the ultimate irony - that it took this long to tell Lucas' story - the story of the first truly 'home grown' American gangster. The film is technically brilliant, albeit long. And the ending tries to cover too much ground too quickly while the first two acts gather momentum too slowly. Even so, it is a film that deserves recognition for what it does well. I suggest making a festival of it. Watch the other films I've mentioned alongside this one and see the holes get filled in while the human contradictions remain.
Member Reviews
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Great gangster story - expected more energy - Curly_MM
This was a good movie with foundations in a true story which was interesting and integral to the identity of parts of the US. I had expected a little more intensity and energy, it kind of felt like things were down played because there were so many important ...Good Film That is Never Able to Reach That Next Level - nw_kiff
American Gangster features Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington as a drug agent and drug kingpin respectively. With these two Academy Award winning actors, you'd expect the film to deliver fireworks. But after watching "American Gangster", I just felt indifferent. ...True Story - True Contradictions - ZetaC
Uneven as it is unsettling, American Gangster does a fair job of sketching out the life of New York drug kingpin, Frank Lucas, played with understated intensity by Denzel Washington. If you have seen the PBS documentary that was released almost simultaneously ...