American Gangster Extended Edition [2007] - Universal Pictures UK

Harlem Globetrotter

"American Gangster" is an entertaining film based on a true story about how a black New York gangster,played by Denzil Washington, who controls a large drug empire is brought to justice by a determined, incorruptable cop played by Russell Crowe. Washington builds his trade upon exclusive access to a South East Asian source and links with the US military who assist with his shipments. His rise seemingly goes unnoticed until he falls under the attention of Crowe's team. It is refreshing to watch a non Italian mafia based gangster film and Crowe and Washington act their leading roles well, although at times Washington seems to lack the nastiness and menace one might expect to find in a ruthless drug lord.The film is gripping to watch and the plot develops well building to a dramatic climax. There are a few brutal scenes , but overall "American Gangster" is a good quality ,intelligent drama.

Wow!

Simply outstanding film. Brilliantly acted, not only by Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe, but some excellent support, particualry in Josh Brolin. An amazing story, a real must for any film fan.

Over Hyped and Terrible

For those expecting a film in the Mafia footprints of Goodfellas, Casino and The Godfather trilogy prepare to be bitterly disappointed. A disjointed film with poor character development, stilted dialogue and unbelievable manufactured plots. For example how does Lucas have Army connections in Vietnam who are happy to ship huge amounts of heroin without any questions or visible financial inducements? How can he just call up these contacts at the drop of a hat from a phonebooth without any reference to the time differences? These silly scenes just add to the overall mish mash quality of the film. Add to this overly dark cinematography and hard to hear dialogue, that needs constant adjustment to the volume and brightness and that leads to heavier and heavier use of the rewind button to actually grasp what is being said.

Ridley Scott - go and have a lie down and wonder where it all went wrong.........

american gangster- rubbish

I got this video via a recommendation, was disappointed, thought it was very slow, and only started to get interesting about half an hour before the end, to sum it up a load of rubbish,only consolation, i got it for a fiver from amazon, and didnt pay full price.

The Heat In Harlem

Based on the true story of Frank Lucas this rise-and-fall movie suffers from following a formula that we think of as fictional. But truth is not stranger than, it is pretty much exactly the same as, fiction.

Our hero, the driver of a dead Harlem gangster, finds an ingenious way to exploit the Vietnam War to import better quality drugs cheaper. Samuel Smiles would have been proud of him. He then uses his family to run the business as if North Carolina was a province of the mezzogiorno. He deals with crooked cops and fellow gangsters in one of two ways; he makes a deal or he clips them. Behind the scenes is Russell Crowe the incorruptible ex-cop and now a fed who works to bring down Frank.

So far it sounds like Serpico meets The French Connection and The Godfather, and one wonders how much these fictional treatments were affected by the real events portrayed in this film. The result is a competent gritty crime film but one that yields few surprises.