Editor Reviews:

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

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

Beyond American Gangster on DVD

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Rating : - American Gangster
The Black Godfather in a manner of speaking. This is based on a true story and it is gritty and great. Good job casting and directing and production is amazing. Sets and costumes will take you from 1960s to 1990s. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe give stand out performances as a gangster and a clean cop. You will see Denzel's character rise from a driver that respects his boss to an all powerful leader. You will see as he goes from twenty thousand to over two-hundred and fifty million. He brings his large family from South Carolina and sets them all up in the business. Although it may seem a little long in parts it is a good drama. If you enjoy movies like "The Godfather" or "Donnie Brasco", you will probably enjoy this movie. Good quality DVD with decent replayability.