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Synopsis

In 1968, the loyal driver, bouncer and collector Frank Lucas witnesses the death of his boss and mentor Bumpy Johnson and finds that Harlem lost its leadership. Frank decides to import heroin direct from the source in Bangkok, establishing a logistic of transportation using the US military airplanes from Vietnam to USA. The quality of his product associated to the trade mark “Blue Magic” and the lower prices bring Frank Lucas to the position of number one distributor of heroin in USA. Meanwhile, in the Essex County, the incorruptible detective Richie Roberts that is studying for the Bar Examination is invited to join and head a Federal Investigation Force of Narcotics, seeking the leaders of the dealers in North America. —IMDb

Director

Original

Ridley Scott

One of the most promising directors of the late ‘70s, Ridley Scott displayed stylistic flair and remarkable storytelling abilities in such films as The Duellists (1977) and his landmark Alien (1979). Born in 1937, in Northumberland, England, Scott was educated at the West Hartlepool College of Art and London’s Royal College of Art. After completing his education, he became a set designer for the British Broadcasting Company in the early ’60s, eventually getting promoted to director of such popular BBC series as the long-running police adventure Z Cars. With the establishment of his own firm, Ridley Scott Associates, Scott was in on the ground floor of some of the most inventive European TV commercials of the 1970s.

The director’s transition to the big screen came with his direction of 1977’s The Duellists, a visually striking Napoleonic war film that won the Jury Prize for Best First Feature at the Cannes Film Festival. Further success followed with 1979’s Alien, which established… read more

Wall

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Rock and Bull

25Mar13

This is so extremely good that it's too bad it's not great.

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HKFanatic

28Dec12

Despite directing at least one of the landmark films of the 70's with "Alien," Ridley Scott never managed to garner as much acclaim as some of his contemporaries like Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Jump to 2007 and we find Ridley delivering what feels very much like his "The Godfather Part 2" or "Scarface." For this sweeping crime saga, Ridley has assembled one of the finest casts he's ever worked with and a script that tackles a wide array from subjects: from the war on drugs to the war in Vietnam and beyond. Yet somehow "American Gangster" feels like less than the sum of its parts. One senses a more polished screenplay could have given the supporting characters more to do and made a stronger impact without such a sprawling runtime.

Rock and Bull likes this

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tnzk

12Oct12

I overrated it back in the day. Solid, but it's all about glorifying an idiot who didn't need all the attention anyway.

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Charles Ziegler-Hartmann

8Sep12

Certainly not as typical as I feared it was going to be.

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Articles

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Reviews

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My man … American Gangster

By jaredmo​barak on March 3, 2010

I’ve been hearing that American Gangster is just your run-of-the-mill cop vs. robber flick, again showing Ridley Scott’s prevailing mediocrity. Hey, I love the cast and I find Scott almost as intriguing…  read review

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