The Movie:

It is 1968 and the former Harlem kingpin has passed away, giving rise to several competing factions of criminals who fight for control of the local drug industry. Frank Lucas quickly rises to the top with his goldmine idea of buying heroine from a pure source in East Asia, where crooked U.S. military personnel are able to smuggle it into the United States. Close on his heels is detective Richie Roberts, a seemingly honest cop who forms a special investigation unit to track down the ruthless Lucas.

10/10

Click Here to read Mike Massie's Theatrical Review!!!

Special Features:

The crown jewel of Universal’s 2007 slate, Ridley Scott’s American Gangster gets the deluxe DVD treatment with a 2-Disc Unrated Extended Edition. Cram packed with lots of goodies, a trademark of Scott’s films on DVD, American Gangster blasts its way home in a set that includes both the original theatrical cut and a new, never before seen version with eighteen minutes of exclusive DVD footage and a whole new ending.

With the dramatic shot of Denzel Washington walking out of jail as a free man after an extended stay in prison, the last few moments of the theatrical cut of American Gangster were extremely effective. Interestingly enough though, this final moment was far from the end, in fact it is the beginning of another fantastic scene between Washington and Crowe. Visually replicating their first encounter, Richie is again waiting for Lucas, smugly leaning against his car. It’s a nice touch, but it is easy to see why the scene was snipped from the theatrical release. The new ending only serves to reinforce the camaraderie and respect these two men share for one another, making the well acted scene rather repetitious.

While the Extended Edition doesn’t exactly live up to the hype of Scott’s other Director’s Cuts available on DVD, American Gangster comes equipped with yet another fantastic commentary from the legendary filmmaker. As insightful as ever, Scott is a director that gets straight to the point, and like his filmmaking style he doesn’t hold back. As American Gangster producer Brian Grazer affectionately described him, Scott is an “information tank” and he doesn’t make exceptions for audiences that might not be as familiar with the technical side of filmmaking. Take for example his quick rundown of film’s chemical developing process. The director explains how they used certain chemicals to crush blacks and increase highlights in order to create a far greater contrast. While this might be a dream conversation for a cinematography buff, it is a foreign language to the average moviegoer.

“Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster” is a fantastic, feature length documentary that covers the background of the project, including its false start, clips of the real life Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts and a wealth of behind the scenes information. Covering the careful eye that went into recreating the look, wardrobe and music of the early seventies, “Fallen Empire” is a fantastic companion piece to Scott’s outstanding drama.

Also included on the disc are “Case Files”, an otherwise cutesy name for production featurettes. While Ridley learning how to test for the purity of cocaine is a fun little segment, showing just how thorough the filmmaker is, the Script Meeting and Setting Up the Takedown provide invaluable footage of a master at work.

9/10

Overall:

One of 2007’s best feature films receives an outstanding DVD treatment worthy of being in any cinema-buff’s movie collection. The well rounded package only helps solidify the fact that American Gangster is a classic in the making.

-Joe Russo