American Gangster (2007)

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers (WGA):

Steven Zaillian (written by)
Mark Jacobson (article)

Release Date:

2 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

There are two sides to the American dream.

Plot:

In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East.

Plot Keywords:

Drug Trafficking | Mob Boss | Italian American | Crime Boss | Interracial Marriage

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Denzel Washington	...	Frank Lucas
Russell Crowe	...	Det. Richie Roberts
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Huey Lucas
Josh Brolin	...	Detective Trupo
Lymari Nadal	...	Eva
Ted Levine	...	Det. Lou Toback
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Nate
John Hawkes	...	Det. Freddie Spearman
RZA	...	Moses Jones
Yul Vazquez	...	Alphonse Abruzzo
Malcolm Goodwin	...	Jimmy Zee
Ruby Dee	...	Mama Lucas
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Doc
Carla Gugino	...	Laurie Roberts
Skyler Fortgang	...	Michael Roberts

Also Known As:

The Return of Superfly (USA) (working title)
Tru Blu (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality.

Runtime:

157 min | USA:176 min (unrated version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS | SDDS

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIB | Singapore:M18 | Argentina:16 | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | Brazil:16 | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Portugal:M/16 | Taiwan:R-18 (original rating) | Germany:16 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Japan:R-15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Norway:15 | France:U (with warning) | Finland:K-15 | Malaysia:18PL | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | USA:R (certificate #43495)

Filming Locations:

Briarcliff Manor, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

When this project was canceled by Universal, actors Denzel Washington and Benicio Del Toro received their salaries nonetheless. A pay-or-play deal was stipulated in both of their contracts that Universal would pay Washington $20 million and Del Toro $5 million regardless of whether the film was made or not. Once this project was green-lit by Universal a second time, under Ridley Scott's direction, Washington returned to the project without an upfront fee. He also received half of his $20 million salary for the previous year's Inside Man (2006), another Imagine Entertainment production.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the first courtroom scene, when Richie is speaking with his attorney, the camera angle alternates between a wide shot of both and one of Richie from behind his attorney. In the wide shot, his arm is straight across the bench behind her, while in the shot from her back, his arm is hanging behind the bench. This alternation between shots occurs many times.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bumpy Johnson: Happy Thanksgiving!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Drillbit Taylor (2008)

Soundtrack:

Checkin' Up On My Baby

A great homage to the American cinema of the seventies and a paradoxical appraisal of American black culture

By the time The French Connection hit the screens in the early seventies, blaxploitation movie was at its peak. At the same time, as this movie implies, a black drug dealer, Frank Lucas, was making a fortune. This movie is, in more than one ways, a tribute to the amazing American movie era of the seventies and a recognition of the situation of American black people in the same period when they were strong enough to fight for their rights but still had no place in the movies to make their point. Frank Lucas is a character who, by completely separating himself from the Italian Mafia and going directly to the source, manages to build a drug empire around Harlem. And who else to see the law is respected but the good old NYPD, only the drug squad is over its head in corruption and abuse. It's up to one guy (Russell Crowe) to set the record straight, make sure the streets are clean, and, what's more important, make sure the police is clean.

This is essentially the whole plot, there are many twists and subplots that keep everything going and give the characters depth. It's true that most of this is not original. The references to The French Connection are explicit in the plot, camera work (see the dynamics that brought Friedkin's movie its well-deserved fame), characters etc. But I think that the critics who said the movie was unoriginal are missing the point. Given that the whole thing starts from the premise of a true story it was only natural that nothing would be "original". But originality can also mean the way a story is told, and I can hardly believe that this amazing package of a story was delivered by Ridley Scott. Everything is very well balanced, the movie may seem baffling at times but nothing is left to chance and every shot in this long movie has a point to make. The dialogues are very well-written and seem quite natural. The "don't look at the camera in order to appear life-like" strategy that backfired in movies such as United 93 works perfectly here. Long continuous shots (sometimes filmed with a hand-held camera) are alternated with montages giving the movie a lot of spunk; the overall editing is very good. The music could have been better but I think the reality effect this movie is trying to produce is enhanced by a more discrete soundtrack. The acting is fine, Denzel is top notch and Crowe is much more refined in his acting than the 1997 LA Confidential cop.

I think that this movie tries, and succeeds, in being an homage to American cinema of the seventies and at the same time making a point about the black community (which was the subject of abuse in The French Connection). By choosing what is regarded as a black icon of Hollywood to play the part of the paradoxically progressive Frank Lucas, Hollywood is finally beginning to learn to be politically correct without rubbing your face into it. The movie clearly shows that drugs were the only solution for a discriminated against person living in a country that was fighting an absurd war. It also clearly shows the overwhelming corruption of the system and the consequences of abuse of power when being an American gangster was more honorable than being an American "cop". Great job for Ridley Scott, I wouldn't have put my money on it but it all worked out in the end...!