American Gangster 2 Disc Unrated Extended Edition

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

Beyond American Gangster on DVD

Great Crime and Gangster Films

More from Denzel Washington

More from Russell Crowe

Stills from American Gangster (Click for larger image)

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A compelling crime story that never glamorizes crime and let's us see its horrible effects
While there is a real grit to this film, it is never sensationalistic and does not glorify crime. This is the story of two real life people, Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts. Frank Lucas grew up in North Carolina and fled to New York to avoid trouble with the law. On the streets of Harlem and became the right hand man of a gangster who ruled Harlem under the Italian mafia, Bumpy Johnson. After Bumpy died, Frank rethought his position in life and what he wanted to do about it.

What he decided to do was become the main supplier of Heroin in New York and New Jersey. He hatched a scheme to go to Vietnam and Thailand and from there into the mountain jungles to buy uncut heroin direct and cut out all the middlemen in the drug trade. How he got it back to the states is one of the interesting plot points of the movie and if you were alive during those years you probably remember the news stories after he got busted.

Along the way, he brings his family up from North Carolina and they build their own drug business that is so effective (the Blue Magic brand heroin they sell is twice as potent at half the price) that the Mafia works out a deal to buy wholesale from him! Yes, he is ruthless. Yes, we see the squalor of what his drugs do to people. Yes, we see the degradation of the women who work to cut and package his dope and have to work naked so they can't steal anything. We briefly see the brothels, but the way they are shown nothing could be less sexy. It is all just so sad and filthy. Unlike the Godfather films, this movie doesn't try to pretend there is nobility and doesn't separate us from where Frank's millions come from. However, Frank separates himself. We see scenes of him at Church with his mother, of them holding hands and praying around their Thanksgiving Day meal, and so on. Frank views himself as just another business man moving a commodity that people want and are going to buy with or without him. So, he rationalizes, why not cash in.

Pursuing Frank is Detective Richie Roberts. Remember, this was the time of the movie "Prince of the City" and the police force was notoriously corrupt. This was especially true of the drug squads. Richie will not take. He just wants to be an honest cop and this confuses and enrages the crooked cops, but gets him on a team trying to actually go after the big drug dealers. The death of his former partner who got into heroin gives him a lead to the Blue Magic brand. You see, the junkies weren't used to the stuff being so potent and there were many deaths from it. The movie's main plot is how Richie learns about Frank and finally brings him down. A nice twist in the film that was also a part of real life is that Richie was also going to law school and passed the bar. So, when it came time to prosecute Frank, Richie did it.

The extras disk has a feature that shows the real Richie and Frank and how they are still friends today. Richie eventually became a defense attorney and worked to defend Frank and get him out of jail after serving 15 years instead of the 70 he was sentenced to.

An interesting and honest film that I found quite compelling. Frank is played by Denzel Washington and Richie is played by Russell Crowe. They both do superb work.

5 Stars American Gangster - Awesome and Tragic (Spoiler Free Review)
American Gangster 2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition

In American Gangster Ridley Scott has created the perfect storm of an American movie masterpiece. An amazing group of actors, headlined by Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, produces a very convincing period piece of 1970s New Jersey and New York and the crime culture that existed there. It's hard to feel anything but shame watchig this movie. This movie is both believable and tragic, and it startles me that neither Crowe nor Washington received nominations for two incredible performances.

The Story and the Script

The story is supposed to be based on the real life exploits of Frank Lucas. Movies like this usually exaggerate. The fact that this movie is so believable makes it all the more tragic. There are no black and white characters and we are left to choose between murdering drug pushers and crooked cops.

The writing and the story structure are both excellent. The plot is developed slowly and masterfully. While there is less shooting and action than one would expect from such a tale, the movie is filled with drama and suspense.

Cinematography

They have managed to create a period piece here that is beautiful, gritty, real and romanticized. The framing of the actors and the skylines are beautiful. Much of the scenery and shots are darkly lit. This is most often used in the scenes with the police in their shadowy research rooms, clearly to juxtapose them against the Lucas empire, almost always shown in the light.

The first disk in the unrated edition is in a beautiful widescreen. Don't know why they list this as full-screen, perhaps because there is a full screen version available on the other side. The

Acting and Direction

I don't know whether it's award winning acting or directing that makes the end result so good, but I would be willing to guess that it's both. Denzel is steady and appears to be taking on a similar persona in his recent films. Crowe is more fantastic than even his normal performance, portraying the troubled police investigator caught between a crime ridden New York / New Jersey and the even more criminal Special Investigative Unit.

All the acting is great, and this movie could easily have won for best ensemble cast. Josh Brolin is solid in a limited though well executed part. The directing is textbook mastery.

Bottom line, this movie should have gotten nominated for best actor, best supporting actor, best direction and best picture. It probably should have one a few of those categories. Michael Clayton, Eastern Promises? Give me a break.

The nominations for art direction and for Ruby Dee as best supporting actress in a very limited role were not enough compared to the strength of this movie.

Features and Extras

The unrated extended edition has an entire disk of special features. The making-of extra is not just a featurette, it's a feature-length documentary. You get an in-depth look into every aspect of the film's creation.

There are also three in depth "case-files" on film research, script adaptation and police techniques.

The deleted scenes include an alternate opening sequence. Finally, the theatrical trailer includes writer and director feature commentary. A very nice set of extras indeed.

Conclusion

This is absolutely a masterful , one of the best this year. This DVD needs to be added to your collection.

Enjoy!

3 Stars Its ok.
I think for me I went in believing this was going to be more than it was.

What it was to me is a long story that had no climax,it was a straight line all through it.No ups and downs just story…

3 Stars A must see for Ridley Scott fans…
but not for other more casual film goers…I enjoyed the film but do not believe it to be amongst Scott's best works. The acting was fine, direction fine, dialogue OK…but the story tried to encompass too much…a big storyline arc has worked for Scott in other films (Gladiator) but not here…we get to see too little of Frank Lucas's interaction with his family and the Harlem community and we see too little of Crowe's characters interaction with his fellow police officers…in both cases THESE are the most interesting parts of the film…not the chase of Lucas by the drug squad…That said…the last 1/2 hour of the film is EXCELLENT…once the drugs are found in the coffins and the warrant is issued for Lucas's arrest the pace picks up and we get to see the interaction between Washington and Crowe on screen which makes the film worth viewing for that alone…

1 Star Over-hyped, Tedious Mess
The mere thought of an EXTENDED version of "American Gangster" makes me want to run. Why would a movie viewer subject themselves to adding more tediousness to an already tedious film? As with any Denzel movie, the acting is great, but… the story is really, really unfocused. Yes, it's based on a true story, but movies and books are supposed to tell a coherent, focused tale, and "American Gangster" very simply doesn't.

Plot threads are built up, but never pay off. Many scenes seem pointless and nearly every single one seems over-long. Also, it appears that every other scene of the film could be titled "Frank Lucas (Denzel) does a gangster thing to shock you." It's just that. Furthermore, the scary thing about that is that when I saw this movie in the theatre, the audience cheered every time he shot someone or set someone on fire. That's more of a fault of our society than the movie, though the latter does seem to glorify Frank Lucas and put him in a very morally ambiguous area. The fact that most people took scenes that were likely put in to be shocking and disgusting as "cool" left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

Again, though… my distaste paled in comparison to my boredom. Could it have BEEN any longer?

I can't believe this dreck was made by the same man behind Blade Runner and, one of my favorite movies, Gladiator. I would never, never watch this again, nor could I recommend it to any serious film fan.

2/10

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