The greatest gangster story ever told

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2008)

Another great gangster movie,American Gangster is based on a true story unlike some other gangster shows but this movie in particular deserves to be mentioned alongside some other great gangster-police shows such as Heat,The Godfather saga,Goodfellas and The Departed.Ridley Scott directs this movie to almost absolute perfection and joins other well renowned crime directors such as Michael Mann(Heat),Francis Ford Coppola(Godfather saga),Martin Scorsese(Goodfellas and The Departed) and Brian De Palma(Scarface).This film is also based on a true story.Denzel Washington stars as real life former Harlem heroin kingpin Frank Lucas who smuggled heroin into the United States during the Vietnam War and Russel Crowe co-stars as Detective Richie Roberts who works in Newark,New Jersey and is determined to bring down Lucas whilst juggling a failing marriage,law school classes and his police career.This film was so good that in my view,it is very much Oscar worthy and should possibly get Oscar nods for Best Director-Ridley Scott,Best Actor-Denzel Washington,Best Supporting Actor-Russell Crowe or Josh Brolin,Best Picture and Best Suppporting Actress for Ruby Dee for Mama Lucas despite being in the film for approximately just ten minutes as she delivers a good performance as Mama Lucas.A true crime classic!