Release Date: February 19, 2008 Studio: Universal Pictures Director: Ridley Scott Screenwriter: Steve Zaillian Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba
Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, RZA, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, Ted
Levine, Common Genre: Crime, Drama
Two-disc
set with unrated extended
version with 18 additional
minutes of footage, and the
original theatrical version.
Review: 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...more
Extras: Commentary
with director Ridley Scott
and writer Steven Zaillian,
alternate ending, "Fallen
Empire: Making American
Gangster" featurette
(includes "Tru Blu: The Real
Story," "Killer Threads,"
"Crime War," "Rhythm of the
Streets," and "Into the
Arena: Ali vs. Frazier"),
"Case Files" (including
"Setting Up the Takedown,"
"Script Meeting," and "Drug
Test").
A
three-disc collector's
addition adds "Hip Hop
Infusion," music videos,
"BET Special: The Making of
American Gangster,"
"Dateline NBC: American
Gangster First Look,"
digital copy of the unrated
extended movie for PCs and a
32-page collectible book.
(Universal).
American Gangster Release Date: November 2, 2007 Studio: Universal Pictures Director: Ridley Scott Screenwriter: Steve Zaillian Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba
Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, RZA, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, Ted
Levine, Common Genre: Crime, Drama MPAA Rating: R (for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity
and sexuality) Official Website: AmericanGangster.net
Plot Summary: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Brian Grazer, Steve
Zaillian and Ridley Scott team to tell the true juggernaut success story of a
cult hero from the streets of 1970s Harlem in "American Gangster."
Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas (Oscar® winner Washington), the quiet driver
to one of the inner city's leading black crime bosses. But when his boss
suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his
own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity
and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade,
flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all
of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city's mainline
corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars.
Richie Roberts (Oscar® winner Crowe) is an outcast cop close enough to the
streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes
someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to
suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene.
Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from
their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The
destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a
confrontation where only one of them can come out on top.
Washington ("Training Day") and Crowe ("Gladiator") lead a spectacular cast of
accomplished and rising stars--including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, RZA, John Ortiz, John Hawkes and Ted Levine in this
blistering tale of a true American entrepreneur directed by Oscar® nominee
Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") and produced by Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer
("A Beautiful Mind") and Scott from a screenplay by Academy Award® winner Steve
Zaillian ("Schindler's List").
EN 5 Second Review:
A modern masterpiece from Ridley Scott.
Review by Peter Veugelaers, EntertainmentNutz.com
Circa
1970s Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas spearheads an illegal drug racquet
after his boss dies. An honest cop, who is going through a child custody
battle, almost single-handedly puts the pressure on to see Lucas
arrested. Meanwhile corrupt officers are making money through Lucas’s
drug syndicate.
Forcefully and powerfully makes Lucas into a violent, gentlemanly,
charming family-man and vulnerable crook without judging him. Denzel
Washington, in the role, carries Lucas strongly and profoundly.
The
opening scene depicts the violent and lurid reality in the crime game.
By the end, there is a change.
There are elements of his character celebrating “holy water” as a
blessing and cleansing and the hymn Amazing Grace features in a pivotal
moment. It asks the question about the weakness in his character: what
happens to a man motivated to make his life count when he is on the
wrong side of the law? Is there a second chance? If there is, what will
he do with a second chance if it comes to him? Is he too far gone? Can
we trust him to keep life on the straight and narrow? Will he always be
a man with whom we associate material pursuits illegally gained? It
appears anything could be possible except for the second chance.
Striking performances from Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin,
Armand Assante and Ruby Dee, and well crafted, albeit occasionally
repetitious, storytelling based on a screenplay by Steven Zillian, make
the directorial stylishness of Ridley Scott (Gladiator,
Hannibal, Black Hawk Down) seem invisible.
Call
it the black Scarface or the Harlem Godfather or just one
hell of an exciting movie, but the fact-based, 1970s-era
American Gangster is already looking like a major awards contender Peter Travers: Rolling Stone Denzel Washington looms like a
colossus as notorious drug lord Frank Lucas, and in the still, watchful
center of his volcanic performance you'll find the measure of a
dangerous man....more
What
should have been a clash of two opposing moral universes
instead comes off as a wan buddy flick Dana Stevens: Slate
Ridley Scott's epic about Harlem crime boss Frank Lucas,
never reconciles its desire to be the black Scarface—a
bloody, balls-out fantasy of crime as a form of ethnic
empowerment—with its aspiration to be something weightier...more
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EN 5 Second Review:
A modern masterpiece from Ridley Scott.
What
should have been a clash of two opposing moral universes
instead comes off as a wan buddy flick