American Gangster
2 Oscar Nominations
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
What critics thought
Ridley Scott's crime epic earns its strong notices mainly through Washington and Crowe, whose performances anchor a film critics generally found compelling but rarely transformative. The sharpest disagreement falls on whether Scott's polished direction mythologizes Lucas in ways that are seductive but dishonest, and whether the film itself adds anything new to a genre it so openly worships — admirers called it one of the smarter gangster films in years, while detractors felt it was too reverential toward its own sources to ever escape their shadow.
“greatness hovers just outside American Gangster”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Scott's meticulous aesthetics can't touch the urban texture and deep focus of The French Connection, The Godfather, Serpico and Prince of the City – all looming heavily in intertextual nods.”
Jonathan Crocker·Time Out London
“He doesn't seem to relax and enjoy himself in the role, or even inhabit it very satisfyingly.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“very little in the movie feels fresh, re-treading scenes, riffs and imagery from the whole history of crime flicks”
Ian Freer·Empire
“one of the most intelligent gangster films in years”
Paul Byrnes·The Sydney Morning Herald
Genres
Biography, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorRidley Scott
StarringDenzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr.
ComposerMarc Streitenfeld
American Gangster
2 Oscar Nominations
Loosely based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina, who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by Newark Detective Richie Roberts.
What critics thought
Ridley Scott's crime epic earns its strong notices mainly through Washington and Crowe, whose performances anchor a film critics generally found compelling but rarely transformative. The sharpest disagreement falls on whether Scott's polished direction mythologizes Lucas in ways that are seductive but dishonest, and whether the film itself adds anything new to a genre it so openly worships — admirers called it one of the smarter gangster films in years, while detractors felt it was too reverential toward its own sources to ever escape their shadow.
“greatness hovers just outside American Gangster”
Manohla Dargis·The New York Times
“Scott's meticulous aesthetics can't touch the urban texture and deep focus of The French Connection, The Godfather, Serpico and Prince of the City – all looming heavily in intertextual nods.”
Jonathan Crocker·Time Out London
“He doesn't seem to relax and enjoy himself in the role, or even inhabit it very satisfyingly.”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“very little in the movie feels fresh, re-treading scenes, riffs and imagery from the whole history of crime flicks”
Ian Freer·Empire
“one of the most intelligent gangster films in years”
Paul Byrnes·The Sydney Morning Herald
Genres
Biography, Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorRidley Scott
StarringDenzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr.
ComposerMarc Streitenfeld