Product Description

Academy Award® winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) for an epic story as powerful as it is true. Armed with ruthless street-wise 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 multi-million dollar empire it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation. American Gangster is "a brutal and brilliant film" (Pete Hammond Maxim.System Requirements:Running Time: 174 minutes Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CRIME & CRIMINALS Rating: NR UPC: 025193228024 Manufacturer No: 61032280

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #426 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
• Released on: 2008-02-19
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 174 minutes

Amazon.com
Ridley Scott puts on his "sweeping saga" gameface again, this time not for the sci-fi vistas of Blade Runner or the ancient world of Gladiator but for an urban epic. American Gangster gives the story of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a real-life Harlem crime lord who built an empire on Southeast Asian heroin in the 1970s. Running parallel to Lucas's somewhat standard story is the investigation led by a persistent New Jersey cop, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). Roberts is a more interesting character than Lucas--too honest for his own good, unlucky in his personal life--and this kind of character, easily patronized by others, fits Crowe like a polyester shirt. Scott's tendency to hit his points square on the noggin is much in evidence here, including the typecasting of the supporting roles and the predictable Serpico atmosphere of the whole thing. (And speaking of supporting actors, the film needs more Chiwetel Ejiofor, whose role as a Lucas sidekick feels cut down.) It succeeds as a kind of chewy entertainment, fueled by the presence of two big stars working their muscles. Both Washington and Crowe look pretty brawny here. --Robert Horton

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Customer Reviews

Don't mess with Denzel
Great gangster movie. A nice departure from usual organized crime films about italian families or the modern day rap star gang bangers. Denzel Washington is a fabulous actor. He consumes the leading role of Frank Lucas, a man from Carolina that is tutored under a crime boss in Harlem for 15 years. After his mentor passes away, he fights to maintain the "kingdom" that was established. He revolutionizes the way that his "type" of business is conducted. Being a true story, I'm glad they didn't only glamourize the gangster lifestyle. They show the way that the drug trade affects the everyday people, including showing junkies passed out on filthy floors while Frank and his family eat Thanksgiving dinner. There's a certain morality to the story once you reach the end of the film. I've loved every movie I've seen where Washington plays the heel.

Very good, but not great
Very strong acting and directing. But this movie is way too long and it lacks that extra something that makes a film great. So I highly recommend it, but don't expect a film that compares with The Godfather, Godfather II, or Good Fellas.

American Progress during Vietnam War
Film based on the real character, black gangster from NYC area who was distributing Blue Magic drug in late 60s and early 70s. It is a story of a man driven to succeed in the only trade he knew, at any price. He uses Italian Mafia tactics and employs his immediate family and cousins to help him with distribution. The genius of his channel distribution is that he has arranged for drug delivery via MP transport between military bases on the US east coast and Vietnam where the war was fought. As he pushes competition away with his superior products and takes away cut from the middle man that happens to be NYC Special Investigation Unit, he starts building enemies, slowly but surely. The moral of the story is that this man, Frank Lucas, no matter how ruthless is the picture perfect of the American Dream. He works hard, he is driven and dermined and has his goal. He becomes someone that white people have to recon with. But at the end, his empire is like a house of cards where he takes NYC police department, his family and himself down to the dungeons. His wealth and success are not saving him from the justice system where he spends 15 years of his life before he can be free again. Wonderful cast and a great story. Many of the support actors are from HBOs shows like "Deadwood" and "Wire", they look worn out, raw and full of supressed anger - fantastic characters. Great movie.