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MOVIES / ON DVD / AMERICAN GANGSTER
American Gangster

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American Gangster (2007)

79%
76%
90%
N/A
N/A
N/A
79 %
Reviews Counted: 196 Fresh: 155  Rotten:41 Average Rating: 7/10
 
Consensus: American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 37 mins

Theatrical Release: Nov 2, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $130,127,620

Synopsis: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Brian Grazer and Ridley Scott team to tell the true juggernaut success story of a cult figure from the streets of 1970s Harlem in American Gangster. Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas (Oscar® winner Washington), the quiet driver to one of the inner city's... Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Brian Grazer and Ridley Scott team to tell the true juggernaut success story of a cult figure from the streets of 1970s Harlem in American Gangster. Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas (Oscar® winner Washington), the quiet driver to one of the inner city's leading black crime bosses. But when his boss suddenly dies, Frank exploits the opening in the power structure to build his own empire and create his own version of the American Dream. Through ingenuity and a strict business ethic, he comes to rule the inner-city drug trade, flooding the streets with a purer product at a better price. Lucas outplays all of the leading crime syndicates and becomes not only one of the city's mainline corrupters, but part of its circle of legit civic superstars. Richie Roberts (Oscar® winner Crowe) is an outcast cop close enough to the streets to feel a shift of control in the drug underworld. Roberts believes someone is climbing the rungs above the known Mafia families and starts to suspect that a black power player has come from nowhere to dominate the scene. Both Lucas and Roberts share a rigorous ethical code that sets them apart from their own colleagues, making them lone figures on opposite sides of the law. The destinies of these two men will become intertwined as they approach a confrontation where only one of them can come out on top. Washington (Training Day) and Crowe (Gladiator) lead a spectacular cast of accomplished and rising stars--Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Ted Levine, Armand Assante, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, RZA, Common and T.I.--in this blistering tale of a true American entrepreneur directed by Oscar® nominee Ridley Scott (Gladiator) and produced by Academy Award® winner Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind) and Scott from a screenplay by Academy Award® winner Steven Zaillian (Schindler's List). -- © Universal Pictures [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chjwetel Ejiofor, Carla Gugino

Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: Steve Zallian
Producer: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott
Composer: Marc Streitenfeld

DVD Info

Release:

Feb 19, 2008

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Snap Case
  • 2-Disc Set
  • Disc 1: AMERICAN GANSTER: Unrated Extended
  • Feature 1: AMERICAN GANGSTER - 2 Hours 38 Minutes
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
  • Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Ridley Scott - Director; Steven Zaillian - Writer
  • Feature 2: AMERICAN GANGSTER - 2 Hours 57 Minutes
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround - English
  • Subtitles - English (SDH), French, Spanish - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Ridley Scott - Director; Steven Zaillian - Writer
  • Disc 2: Bonus Disc
  • Alternate Opening
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. Case Files: Script Meeting
  • 2. Case Files: Heroin Test Show & Tell
  • 3. Case Files: Setting Up the Takedown
  • 4. Frank and Eva's Wedding
  • Making of - 1. Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster - Tru-Blu: The Real Story
  • 2. Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster - Killer Threads: Costumes
  • 3. Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster - Crime War: Production
  • 4. Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster - Into the Arena: Ali vs. Frazier
  • 5. Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster - Rhythm of the Street: Sound, Music and Editing
  • Featurette - 1. Case Files: Script Meeting
  • 2. Case Files: Heroin Test Show & Tell
  • 3. Case Files: Setting Up the Takedown

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image
3/5

If it were not for some adept performances, American Gangster could almost be a particularly brutal made for TV movie.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/22/08
Chris Laverty
Mansized
Ratings Image
4/5

Washington may have not wanted to glorify the Harlem drug dealer, but with his superb acting skills he has created one of the coolest gangsters since Tony Montana.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/08
Adam Tobias
Watertown Daily Times
Ratings Image
2/5

Telling a true story doesn't excuse a filmmaker from making his movie stand out from the many others that have traversed similar ground.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/01/08
Alonso Duralde
MSNBC
Ratings Image
B-

It feels familiar, even Washington's performance of real-life Frank Lucas feels like something we've seen before.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/04/08
Jeff Bayer
Daily Herald (IL)
Ratings Image
6/10

It isn't that American Gangster is an empirically bad film or is even unenjoyable. But don't be surprised if, when you walk out of the theater, you forget the film ever existed.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/28/08
Brandon Fibbs
Colorado Springs Gazette
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Inflated talk of American Gangster as a modern masterpiece--or even an Oscar-worthy picture--ignores the fact that there's not a single memorable setpiece in the film.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/19/08
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews
Ratings Image
4/5

Best of all, there are top-flight performances from both Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe who create interesting, rounded characters out of potential clichés.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/12/08
David Stratton
At the Movies
Ratings Image
4/5

Um filme envolvente que representa mais um alto na carreira repleta de baixos do instável Ridley Scott.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/25/08
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image
3/5

Un policial de ritmo tenso y constante, que contrasta a dos personalidades bastante similares a ambos lados de la ley, mientras se deslizan críticas hacia la corrupción política, policial y militar que permite la existencia del narcotráfico.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/20/08
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
Ratings Image
3/4

American Gangster delivers fine drama, gripping performances and a dizzy morality tale. But it should have been oh, so much better.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/19/08
Christian Toto
Washington Times
Ratings Image
3/4

This initially hokey 70's-TV-style production determinedly matures into a motion picture with cinematic impact. Happily, climax/resolution detour from others in the genre.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/18/08
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card
Ratings Image
2.5/4

Ridley Scott forgets that editing is an art form as well

Full Review | comment Comment
01/14/08
Larry Ratliff
San Antonio Express-News
Ratings Image
4.5/5

anabionei maestrika to gkangksteriko drama palaias kopis, aporriptontas tis spasmodikes eksarseis bias ki ekrikseon, alla horis na krybei ta akonismena dontia poy deihnei sto dolofoniko tis ksekinima, poy ksekatharizei akribos ti eidoys gangster einai o A

Full Review | comment Comment
01/14/08
Joseph Proimakis
Movies for the Masses
Ratings Image
N/A

Washington towers above everything in this impressive, tough and long crime drama, convincingly putting his stamp on the elegant man whose callousness alternates with chivalry

Full Review | comment Comment
01/08/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Ratings Image
41/100

With all of the bulk, but none of the substance, of your average epic production, American Gangster lumbers across the screen with such obviousness that it is almost shocking.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/07/08
Jeremy Heilman
MovieMartyr.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
01/04/08
Sydney Morning Herald
Ratings Image
B+

Familiar territory, movingly if not memorably explored.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/02/08
Bruce Bennett
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Ratings Image
4/4

"Alcanza el ideal de todo filme ambicioso: entretiene los sentidos y estimula las neuronas."

Full Review | comment Comment
12/18/07
Flavio J. Arosemena
Doncinema.com
Ratings Image
3.5/4

When the two get together, the fireworks fly and you realize you are seeing two of the best, EVER, at the top of their game.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/15/07
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review
Ratings Image
8/10

To Ridley Scott, Frank Lucas is less Superfly and more David Glass.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/28/07
Stephen Himes
Film Snobs
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