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American Gangster
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American Gangster (2007) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 104 | slideshow) Videos (see all 15)
American Gangster (2007) -- American Gangster Trailer
American Gangster (2007) -- Clip: Frank lectures Huey about being too flashy
American Gangster (2007) -- Interview: Ridley Scott "On the contrast between the two characters"
American Gangster (2007) -- In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East.
American Gangster (2007) -- Clip: Frank threatens Richie

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   97,721 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Writers (WGA):
Steven Zaillian (written by)
Mark Jacobson (article)
Contact:
View company contact information for American Gangster on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
2 November 2007 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama more
Tagline:
There are two sides to the American dream.
Plot:
In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country from the Far East. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 28 nominations more
User Comments:
A cops and gangsters classic! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Return of Superfly (USA) (working title)
Tru Blu (USA) (original script title)
Gánster americano (Argentina) (Mexico) (Peru) (Uruguay) [es]
Ameerika gangster (Estonia) [et]
American Gangster (Germany) [de]
American Gangster (Greece) [el]
American Gangster (France) [fr]
Americký gangster (Slovakia) [sk]
Americký gangster (Czech Republic) [cs]
Americki gangster (Croatia) [hr]
Americki gangster (Serbia) [sr]
Amerikai gengszter (Hungary) [hu]
Amerikan gangsteri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Gangster américain (Canada: French title) [fr]
O Gângster (Brazil) [pt]
more
MPAA:
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality.
Runtime:
157 min | USA:176 min (unrated version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
SDDS | DTS | Dolby Digital
Certification:
UK:18 | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Ireland:16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #43495) | Finland:K-15 | Taiwan:R-18 (original rating) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | Japan:R-15 | France:U (with warning) | Hong Kong:IIB | Malaysia:18PL | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Brazil:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Peru:14 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Australia:MA | Iceland:16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
James Gandolfini was offered the role of Detective Trupo, but turned it down. more
Goofs:
Continuity: During the chase of the Bronco after the $20,000 drug purchase inner-vehicle shots of Roberts show a Torino name plate on the dash board although exterior shots of the chase show them in a Cadilac. more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Bumpy Johnson: Happy Thanksgiving!
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "The Oprah Winfrey Show: And the Nominees Are..." (2008) more
Soundtrack:
No Shoes more

FAQ

Who did Frank kill in the opening scene?
How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
Is this movie based on a novel?
more
212 out of 315 people found the following comment useful:-
A cops and gangsters classic!, 26 October 2007
10/10
Author: JR . from Canada

Starting off, this probably shouldn't be grouped in as a mob film. For one, Crowe's character is as much the lead as Denzel, this is a cops catching the criminal movie. But also, there's not much mob, it's Frank Lucas at the top and everyone else trying to attach to him, he's one man and that is made very clear.

American Gangster works on numerous levels. It's in part a portrait of late 60s-early 70s Harlem and America, full of drugs and desperation and weakness, where the strong rise above the rest and the cops are dirtier than the rats. As a crime thriller it's entertaining and at 2 hours 37 minutes, never loses interest. But, maybe most surprisingly, it's also a superb character drama and study. Literally every character who steps on screen is compelling, has depth to them, has their motivations, and is tossed into conflict. For example there's a scene early on where Crowe's character Richie and his partner are searching a parked car and find a very large amount of unmarked money in the trunk. Without giving away more, it and the following scenes lead to some surprising moral and character statements by Scott. Richie's morals vs everyone else the temptation of the streets is commonly laid on him throughout the film, and thanks to Crowe's great great performance, it adds a lot to the movie.

Denzel is brilliant here. Frank Lucas, with his collected yet fiery, always powerfully menacing performance is one of the better king bosses I can think of in recent memory. When he's not talking, just the way his face is set, he totally totally gets in this character. The academy would do right to easily give him a nomination this year. I also wanted to add that while the two leads don't get on screen till the last 20 minutes, they have a long extended scene that is pure dynamite and gold. They play off each other perfectly and it's well worth the build-up, and maybe are among the highlights of each performance.

Going through supporting actors, Josh Brolin gives one of the year's most surprising performances as an insufferable and despicable dirty cop. He's so slimy, money-grubbing, and yet intelligent and an equal, he's just cunning. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is decent in his one scene, though it's hampered by being mostly unneeded. Chiwetal Ejifor makes a believable side character though he's not given as much to do, and finally I think Ruby Dee could be a sleeper Best Supporting Actress contender for her role as Mama Lucas. Every other short and thankless role I didn't mention is acted superbly here as well, it's a sign of a great director that they're all so on their game.

Ridley Scott's direction, brilliant, what can you say. He creates New York and the rats living in it to the point with fantastic attention to detail, and most of the scenes in the film are shot and constructed simply perfectly. This includes the short but brutally effective opening scene, which stands as one of the more memorable openings I've seen in a while. Actually any time there's gunplay or action, even if there isn't that much overall, it's stunning. Particularly, at the end there's a police raid scene that stands as the "holyyyy crap" sequence of the film. Going from a hallway to a heroine preparing apartment, and without revealing anything more, it's incredible, simply incredible. Remember when people were going nuts over the tracking shot gimmick in Children of Men? I felt that way about this one. If there's a god, Ridley will finally pick up his directing Oscar this year, he deserves it for this and his wide career.

American Gangster is probably one of the best cop-based films I've seen, and up there with gangster ones. It does one of the best jobs of examining the rise and fall of a crime or drug boss right from the beginning, and dives right into on the other side what it means to be a cop and to strive for something, as well as just telling an awesome and magnificently directed gangster story.

One of the year's very finest films.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for American Gangster (2007)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Russel Crowe? SpyderPig
Top 10 Gangster/Mafia Movies gbacquet
Just saw the movie (finally) and very disappointed route3
Who owned the money in the trunk? claylindsey9285
Does no one GET this movie??? GivenIIFly
Ruby Dee didn't deserve an Oscar nod AnonymousJones
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