DVD reviews: American Gangster – 70

Much like his Oscar-nabbing role in the vicious, sun bleached Training Day, Denzel Washington here revels in the badass role of the titular bad guy in Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, yet he portrays drug lord Frank Lucas with all the diplomacy, quiet menace and subtlety the real world character apparently possessed. Similarly, the ever-dependable Russell Crowe entertains when on screen as Detective Richie Roberts, a workaholic cop not without his own demons.

American Gangster tries at every turn not to glam up the New York drug scene of the ’60s and ’70s and for the most part it is successful. Scenes of the seemingly benevolent Lucas (something of a sociopath in shining armour) dishing out free turkeys at Thanksgiving to the inhabitants of Harlem are cut with those of a crying toddler in distress as his junkie father lies comatose on the bed with a needle in his arm. It’s brutal stuff.

The accompanying audio commentary features director Scott and writer Steven Zaillian, recorded at separate times and only rarely referring to exactly what’s happening on screen. It’s an illuminating track none the less. Sound and picture quality in the main feature are as rich and detailed as the movie itself.

ELLIOT GEARY