American Gangster [Unrated Extended/Rated Versions]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Director Ridley Scott spins this yarn concerning a Harlem drug kingpin (Denzel Washington) who smuggles heroin into the country by hiding it in the bodies of U.S. soldiers killed during battle in Vietnam. There was a time when no one noticed reserved driver Frank Lucas (Washington), but when the criminal kingpin he was charged with transporting through the city streets suddenly dies, Lucas seizes the opportunity to build his own criminal empire. In the following months, Lucas solidifies his status as Harlem's most innovative drug dealer by delivering a product that is purer than the competitors' and cheaper, as well. When innovative businessman Lukas attempts to go semi-legit by becoming one of the Manhattan borough's biggest civil supporters, however, street-savvy outcast cop Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe) begins to sense a sizable shift in the hierarchy of the drug underworld. But Roberts is one of the few honest detectives operating within a corrupt system, and as he sets out to investigate the case, crooked detective Trupo (Josh Brolin) does everything in his power to compromise the integrity of his idealistic counterpart. Upon clearing all of the usual Mafia-connected suspects, Roberts begins to believe that a previously unknown black power player has come out of the woodwork to dominate the local drug trade. While Roberts and Lucas may be operating on opposite sides of the law, the one thing that both men have in common is a strict code of ethics that separates them from their opportunistic colleagues. Now, as a confrontation between the two men becomes inevitable and the fate of each becomes inexorably tied to the other, it gradually becomes apparent that only one of them will emerge from the conflict victorious. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Color
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Unrated Extended Version
  • Original Extended Version
  • Includes Feature Commentary with Director Ridley Scott and Writer Steven Zaillian

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Art Direction - 2007 (Arthur Max, Beth A. Rubino)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2007 (Ruby Dee)

• African American Film Critics

•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 2007 (Ruby Dee)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2007

• Art Directors Guild

•     Nominated Best Art Direction in a Period Film - 2007 (Arthur Max)

• Austin Film Critics

•     Nominated Best Picture - 2007

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 2007 (Harris Savides)
•     Nominated Best Editing - 2007 (Pietro Scalia)
•     Nominated Best Music - 2007 (Marc Streitenfeld)
•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 2007 (Steven Zaillian)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 2007 (Ridley Scott, Brian Grazer)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Nominated Best Picture - 2007

• Golden Satellite Award

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 2007 (Denzel Washington)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 2007 (Ruby Dee)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Director - 2007 (Ridley Scott)
•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama - 2007 (Denzel Washington)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 2007

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 2007 (Ruby Dee)
•     Nominated Best Ensemble Cast - 2007

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Denzel Washington - Frank Lucas
       Russell Crowe - Richie Roberts
       Chiwetel Ejiofor - Huey Lucas
       Cuba Gooding, Jr. - Nicky Barnes
       Josh Brolin - Det. Trupo
       Ted Levine - Lou Toback
       Armand Assante - Dominic Cattano
       Clarence Williams III - Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson
       John Ortiz - Javier J. Rivera
       John Hawkes - Freddie Spearman
       RZA - Moses Jones
       Lymari Nadal - Eva
       Yul Vazquez - Alfonse Abruzzo
       Ruby Dee - Mama Lucas
       Idris Elba - Tango
       Carla Gugino - Laurie Roberts
       Joe Morton - Charlie Williams
       Common - Turner Lucas
       Jon Polito - Rossi
       Kevin Corrigan - Campizi
       Roger Guenveur Smith - Nate
       Malcolm Goodwin - Jimmy Zee
       Ric Young - Chinese General
       Roger Bart - U.S. Attorney
       Tip "T.I." Harris - Stevie Lucas
       KaDee Strickland - Richie's Attorney
       Ruben Santiago - Hudson - Doc
       Norman Reedus - Detective in Morgue
       Albert Jones - Terrence Lucas

• Director:

  Ridley Scott

• Producer:

  Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott

• Screenwriter:

  Steven Zaillian

• Cinematographer:

  Harris Savides

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Kathy Nelson

• Composer (Music Score):

  Marc Streitenfeld

• Editor:

  Pietro Scalia

• Production Designer:

  Arthur Max

• Art Director:

  Nicholas Lundy

• Co-producer:

  Jonathan Filley, Sarah Bowen

• Executive Producer:

  Nicholas Pileggi, Steven Zaillian, Branko Lustig, James Whitaker, Karen Kehela Sherwood, Michael Costigan

• Set Decorator:

  Leslie Rollins, Beth A. Rubino

• Costume Designer:

  Janty Yates

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  William Sarokin

• First Assistant Director:

  Darin John Rivetti

• Casting:

  Avy Kaufman

• Second Unit Director:

  Alexander Witt

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Bob Beemer

• Supervising Sound Editor:

  Per Hallberg

• Re-Recording Mixer:

  Michael Minkler

REVIEW:

• The difference between early Ridley Scott, like The Duellists and Alien and late-period Ridley Scott, like Black Rain and Hannibal, is the difference between "stylish" and "slick." In the former, the look of a film -- the photography, the art direction, the costuming -- is as much the subject of the film as whatever the story happens to be. In the latter, all the emphasis on surface things only underscores the fact that there is nothing going on at the heart of the films. American Gangster is a welcome return to the "stylish" Ridley Scott. Unlike Matchstick Men or Black Hawk Down, American Gangster feels like an impersonal work for the director, and in this case that is a very good thing. Scott allows his remarkably gifted collaborators -- cinematographer Harris Savides, editor Pietro Scalia, and screenwriter Steven Zaillian -- to do what they do best and simply uses his own skills to keep everything moving along in a solid, professional way.
  
  Though they are kept apart for the vast majority of the film's 160-minute running time, Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe carry their respective sections of the flick with movie-star ease. As larger-than-life criminal mastermind Frank Lucas, Washington gets to utilize his formidable charm while only once falling into the overacting that afflicts him on occasion when playing outright bad guys. As the ethically pure cop out to bring Frank down, Crowe offers his nearly patented brand of brooding physicality. There is nothing new about these characters, or in the film as a whole, but the solidly structured story draws parallels between the two men -- playing up the old "bad guy isn't so bad" and the "good guy isn't so good" themes that might seem incredibly tired in the hands of lesser actors and filmmakers. An end-of-film decision by Frank softens the film a great deal; this is, after all, Hollywood product, and it would be unacceptable to not like both the leads, but seeing as nothing that has come before indicates anyone was aiming for art, this twist can be forgiven. American Gangster is nothing more or less than product, sure to satisfy those who need a genre fix. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi