American Gangster Movie Poster

American Gangster

User rating: 2.8 129 Reviews | Write a Review

In Theaters: November 2, 2007

R | Drama | 2h 37m

American Gangster

Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas (Denzel 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 (Russell 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.

Biography of Frank Lucas
Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Josh Brolin, Armand Assante, John Ortiz, John Hawkes, Ted Levine, Ruby Dee, Common , RZA
Director: Ridley Scott
Studio: Universal Pictures
Producer(s): Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott
Writer(s): Steven Zaillian
Inspiration: Frank Lucas
Official Site: www.americangangster.net