A slow burning, yet entirely gripping, mobster film,
American Gangster pits Denzel Washingtons Frank Lucas against Russell Crowes law enforcer Richie Roberts. Spread over a necessarily prolonged running time, their story is then brutally, expertly, told.
And while American Gangster isnt in the league of prime Scorsese and Coppolla classics (such as Goodfellas and The Godfather), its the nearest weve come in quite some time to something of that ilk. Its all based on a true story, which does mean you need to forgive it some of its obvious narrative conventions, yet this also lends it a gravitas that the film eagerly makes the most of.
Its great too to see British director Ridley Scott tackling meatier material again. This is the man, after all, who gave us Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, and he duly delivers with American Gangster. His finest work it isnt, but an engrossing, explosive and hard-as-nails drama it absolutely is.
Whats more, American Gangster is powered by two of the finest leading man working in Hollywood right now, and its terrific to see Washington and Crowe on top form here. And while in cinematic terms its hardly a film that treads new ground, its nonetheless a proper, grown-up and engrossing movie, and a very good one at that. --Jon Foster
Extended Edition
American Gangster
Russel Crowe, Denzel Washington, A Film by Ridley Scott
Covertext
Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott in this powerful epic story. Armed with the ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honour, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion-dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation.
Original: American Gangster (USA, 2007)
Regie/Director: Ridley Scott
Drehbuch/Script: Steven Zaillian
Produktion/Production: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott
Musik/Music: Marc Streitenfeld
Kamera/Camera: Harris Savides
Schnitt/Cut: Pietro Scalia
Schauspieler/Actors: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Ted Levine, Cuba Gooding junior, Josh Brolin, Carla Gugino, Joe Morton, Common, T.I., Idris Elba, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lymari Nadal, Ruby Dee, Roger Guenveur Smith, John Hawkes, Yul Vazquez, Malcolm Goodwin, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Skyler Fortgang, John Ortiz, Armand Assante, Fab 5 Freddy, Robert Diggs, Kevin Corrigan, Jon Polito
Format: DVD, Video
Studio/Label: Universal
DVD-Erscheinungstermin/Released: 2008
Laufzeit/Running Time: Theatrical Film Runtime: 2hrs 30mins approx, Extended Version Film Runtime: 2hrs 49mins approx
Bild/Picture Format: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, Colour
Ton/Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5:1 Surround
Sprache/Language: English, Hungarian
Untertitel/Subtitle: English SDH, Hungarian, Arabic, Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish
Ländercode/Regional Code: 2,4,5 PAL
Bestell-Nr./Catalog#: 825 506 8
This DVD is copy-protected