{{Infobox Film 
  | titel          = American Gangster
  | afbeelding     = 
  | tagline        = 
  | regie          = Ridley Scott
  | producer       = Brian Grazer<br>Ridley Scott
  | schrijver      = Steven Zaillian<br>Mark Jacobson
  | spelers        = Tip "T.I." Harris
  | muziek         = Marc Streitenfeld
  | montage        = Pietro Scalia
  | cinematografie = Harris Savides
  | distributeur   = Universal Pictures
  | première       = 19 oktober 2007
  | genre          = Drama
  | lengte         = 157 min.
  | taal           = Engels
  | land           = 
  | budget         = $ 100.000.000
  | opbrengst      = $ 261.840.160
  | nominaties     =   
  | prijzen        = 
  | voorloper      = 
  | vervolg        = 
  | imdb           = 0765429
  | moviemeter     = 39302
}}
'''American Gangster''' is een Amerikaanse film uit 2007 van regisseur Ridley Scott. De hoofdrollen worden vertolkt door Denzel Washington en Russell Crowe en Cuba Gooding Jr..

De film ging in Nederland in première tijdens het Leids Film Festival op 31 oktober 2007. "American Gangster" was tevens de openingsfilm van het festival (31 oktober - 4 november 2007).

==Inhoud==

Drugbaron Frank Lucas is ''The American Gangster''. In de jaren '70 smokkelde hij drugs uit Viëtnam naar Amerika. Hij verstopte het spul in de doodskisten van gestorven soldaten. Al gauw bouwt hij zijn eigen imperium uit maar krijgt hij ook problemen met detective Richie Roberts. En bovendien is ook de corrupte Trupo enorm geïntresseerd in de hele affaire. Hoewel Lucas er in slaagt om lang uit de spotlights te blijven, wordt hij al gauw de hoofdverdachte in Roberts onderzoek. Uiteindelijk vind Roberts, ten koste van zijn privéleven, een klein team van eerlijke agenten. Samen bewijzen ze Lucas aandeel in de drugwereld van New York.

Roberts arresteert Lucas persoonlijk en sleurt hem voor het gerecht. Er hangt Lucas een lange gevangenisstraf boven het hoofd maar de gangster besluit mee te werken en geeft, in ruil voor strafvermindering, heel wat namen van corrupte agenten en gangsters uit het milieu.

==Rolverdeling==
*Denzel Washington	- 	Frank Lucas
*Russell Crowe	- 	Richie Roberts
*Chiwetel Ejiofor	- 	Huey Lucas
*Cuba Gooding Jr. - Nicky Barnes
*Josh Brolin	- 	Detective Trupo
*Lymari Nadal	- 	Eva
*Ted Levine	- 	Lou Toback
*Roger Guenveur Smith	- 	Nate
*John Hawkes	- 	Freddie Spearman
*RZA	- 	Moses Jones

==Trivialiteiten==
* Eigenlijk zou de film al in 2004 in de bioscopen verschijnen. De hoofdrollen zouden toen gespeeld worden door Denzel Washington en Benicio Del Toro. Maar Universal Pictures annuleerde de film wegens problemen met het budget.
* De originele titel van dit project was ''Tru Blu''.
* Oliver Stone leek voor een lange tijd plaats te gaan nemen in de regiestoel. Uiteindelijk werd het Ridley Scott.
* Slechts 20% van de film is gebaseerd op waargebeurde feiten.
* Tijdens de openingsscène zien we hoe Frank Lucas (Washington) een man vermoordt. De moord heeft volgens de echte Frank Lucas daadwerkelijk plaatsgevonden, al is de moord nooit opgehelderd of door de politie onderzocht. De naam van het slachtoffer is ook niet bekend. Tijdens een interview met New York Times, naar aanleiding van de première van ''American Gangster'', praatte Lucas zijn mond voorbij en onthulde hij de naam van het slachtoffer.

{{Infobox Film
| name = American Gangster
| image = American Gangster poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = Ridley Scott
| producer = Ridley Scott<br>Brian Grazer<br>James Whitaker<br>Steven Zaillian<br>Nicholas Pileggi
| writer = Mark Jacobson (article)<br>Steven Zaillian
| starring = Clifford Harris

| music = Marc Streitenfeld
| cinematography = Harris Savides
| editing = Pietro Scalia
| distributor = Universal Pictures<br>Imagine Entertainment
| released = 2007
| runtime = '''Theatrical cut'''<br>157 min.<br>'''Extended cut'''<br>176 min.
| country = USA
| language = English
| budget = $100 million<ref>{{cite news | author=Kelly, Kate | 
url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116822315634669913.html | title=Hollywood Tests a Dynamic Duo | format=subscription required | publisher='' date=[[2007-01-08 | accessdate=2007-04-30 }}</ref>
| gross = $265,495,454  	 
| website = http://www.americangangster.net/
| amg_id = 1:358717
| imdb_id = 0765429
}}

'''''American Gangster''''' is a 2007 Frank Lucas, a real-life kingpin from Harlem who smuggled heroin into the US on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War. Crowe portrays Richie Roberts, a detective attempting to bring down Lucas' drug empire.<ref name="redux" /> Filming was done on location in New York City. ''American Gangster'' was released in the United States and Canada on November 2, 2007.

==Plot==
Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson, a disciplined and intelligent black Frank Lucas.  Johnson dies of a heart attack in 1968, at an electronics store.  Frank dislikes the new, flashy gangsters and decides to take control.  To gain money and power, he travels to NCO, strikes a deal with a Chinese nationalist general in the Golden Triangle of Southeast Asia, who supplies him with pure heroin.  Starting with a first shipment of 100 kilograms, Frank has the drugs transported back to America via military service planes.  His final shipment comprises two tons hidden in the coffins of seven dead U.S. soldiers from the Vietnam War. 

Meanwhile, Newark, New Jersey detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is juggling a failing marriage, late-night law school classes, and his police career.  When Richie and his partner, Javier Rivera, discover nearly $1 million in unmarked bills in a car, Richie resists temptation and turns the money in.  His rare honest ways make him a hated member of his precinct, causing his partner to be exiled from the force, while Richie's rampant womanizing behavior leads his wife to seek a divorce and custody of their son.  After his exiled partner dies from overdosing on "Blue Magic", a relatively new (and powerful) type of heroin being sold, Richie's honesty catches him a break when his superior Captain Lou Toback (Ted Levine) puts him in charge of a newly created task force to stop drug trafficking in Essex County, New Jersey.  Richie handpicks honest cops and gets to work on finding who is supplying Blue Magic.

Frank’s unique drug supply enables him to sell 40% pure heroin which he calls “Blue Magic”, the same heroin that Richie's partner had died from earlier. He is also able to sell Blue Magic at half the price of other heroin because he cut out the middle men in the supply chain. Frank quickly makes a fortune and buys several nightclubs and apartments.  He moves his family from North Carolina to New Jersey, where he purchases a large estate for his humble mother.  His five brothers are enlisted as his lieutenants in the NYC drug trade – forming “The Country Boys” who work together to traffic and sell dope on Harlem streets.  During his rise, Frank meets and falls in love with Eva, a Puerto Rican beauty queen.  Through his discipline, organization, and willingness to kill those in his way, Frank quickly rises to the top of the Harlem drug and crime scene.

As Frank's business prospers, he makes a point of operating quietly and dressing with a modest conservatism both as a sign of strength and to avoid attracting the attention of the law.  However, Frank disregards this habit for his wife for one ostentatious night out, attending one of the trilogy of Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier boxing matches (this one, the Fight Of The Century, which Frazier won, in March 8, 1971) with several known mobsters in a gaudy chinchilla fur coat and hat, along with a ring-side seat.  As it happens, Roberts is on duty observing the event and sees this unknown, but obviously wealthy, person associating with high-level criminals, as well as having better seats than the Italian mafia.  Roberts becomes suspicious, and he begins to investigate this unknown (to him) figure in New York organized crime.
thumb|left|340px|[[Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas with family]]
Even as Frank realizes he has exposed himself to police scrutiny, he must make deals with the Italian Mafia, in this case Lucchese crime family Mob boss Dominic Cattano (Armand Assante), and fend off corrupt NYC detectives, such as Det. Trupo (Josh Brolin), who attempt to extort and threaten him.  Trupo's dislike of Frank is capped when his prized Shelby Mustang is bombed before his eyes.  Frank must also contend with local crime figure Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), who is taking some of Frank's product, diluting it himself, and selling it under Frank's "brand" name.  Unidentified assassins try to kill Frank’s wife, further destabilizing him and worsening his unsteady marriage.  Things finally turn to the worst when Frank sees the U.S. Military vacating Vietnam, which in turn cuts off his primary heroin transportation.

Richie catches another break when his men witness Frank's brother's driver, who is also one of his cousins, shooting a woman.  They use the driver’s bad predicament to get him to wear a wire.  The wire allows Richie and his task force to discover when a plane carrying drugs is landing.  Meanwhile, Trupo leads his band of police officers to Frank's mansion where they take Frank's emergency cash supply.  When the plane lands, Richie and his men follow the drugs into Newark's projects and obtain a warrant.  A huge group of police and detectives attack the drug apartments en masse and a large shootout ensues.  Frank is at church when the bust goes down, but he is arrested after the service ends.  Frank and Richie finally meet, and Frank’s attempts to bully Richie are unsuccessful.

With no other options, Frank decides to provide names of numerous other criminals, including his and Richie’s common enemies:  corrupt NYC detectives.  Numerous corrupt cops are arrested; a distraught Trupo kills himself to avoid arrest.  Richie, having passed the Bar Exam, prosecutes Frank, but he leaves the prosecutor's office after the Lucas trial.  The first client he takes after becoming a defense attorney is Frank.  Because of his cooperation, Frank receives a relatively light sentence of 15 years rather than the original 70. He is arrested in 1977, when Muhammad Ali is the Heavyweight Champion of the World. At the film’s end, he steps out of jail to the sounds and era of the 1990s, in 1991 (when Riddick Bowe is the Heavyweight Champion of the World) significantly older and out of place.

==Cast==
*Frank Lucas
*Russell Crowe as Det. Richie Roberts
*Det. Rivera
*Lymari Nadal as Eva
*Chiwetel Ejiofor as Huey Lucas
*Josh Brolin as Det. Trupo
*Ted Levine as Capt. Lou Toback
*RZA as Moses Jones
*Malcom Goodwin as Jimmy Zee
*Ruby Dee as Mama Lucas
*Armand Assante as Dominic Cattano
*Cuba Gooding Jr. as Nicky Barnes
*Carla Gugino as Laurie Roberts
*Idris Elba as Tango
*Jon Polito as Rossi
*Roger Bart as U.S. Attorney
*Bumpy Johnson
*T.I. as Steve Lucas
*Common as Turner Lucas
*Delron Mims as Frank's younger brother
*

==Development==
In 2000, Universal and New York'' magazine story by Frank Lucas.<ref name="fame"></ref> In 2002, screenwriter Dania Ramirez entered negotiations to join the cast of the film, now titled ''American Gangster''.<ref></ref>

Universal Studios reported that it greenlit ''American Gangster'' with a budget of $80 million, which escalated to $93 million, with $10 million for development costs and $3 million for the delay of the production start date.  Sources close to the director insist that the budget was $93 million from the beginning.  The studio also sought for ''American Gangster'' to be produced in Toronto rather than New York City to save money, but Fuqua resisted the re-location.  The studio's parent company General Electric received tax credits in New York City, so production was moved to the city.  The move, however, inflated the budget to $98 million.  Fuqua's camp insisted that it was seeking ways to reduce the budget, but the studio contended several aspects of the project under him.  The director had wanted to film a Vietnam sequence in Thailand and to cast notable names such as Ray Liotta and John C. Reilly in minor roles.  To add to the studio's budgetary concerns, Fuqua was rewriting the script during the preproduction process.  The director also did not have a shot-list, final locations, and supporting actors signed to initiate production.<ref name=wrap/>

Fuqua was fired on US$80 million range and the difficulty in recouping the amount based on the film's subject matter, Universal canceled production of ''American Gangster'', citing time constraints and creative elements for its reason.<ref></ref>  The cancellation cost the studio $30 million, of which $20 million went to Washington and $5 million went to del Toro due to their pay or play contracts.  ''Entertainment Weekly'' reported that Fuqua's ambition to produce the film was primarily based on the prospect of an African-American director and an African-American actor leading a big-budget film that would potentially be nominated for Oscars.<ref name=wrap />

In March 2005, ''American Gangster'' was revived as Universal and Imagine entered negotiations with Terry George to revise Zaillian's script and direct the film, which was to be financed with a target budget of US $50 million.<ref></ref> The following May, Don Cheadle was approached to replace Washington as Frank Lucas, though an offer would be held off until George completed his revision of the script.<ref></ref> Producer Brian Grazer and Imagine executive Jim Whitaker decided against pursuing George's attempt and to return to Zaillian's vision.<ref name="going"></ref>  In February 2006, Ridley Scott entered talks with the studio to take over ''American Gangster'' from George, returning to Zaillian's draft as the film's basis. Washington returned to his role as Lucas, and Russell Crowe was attached to star as Roberts.<ref name="redux"></ref>

==Production==
===Writing===
Scott had discussed the script with actor Richard Price during the project's incarnation with director Antoine Fuqua.  Scott preferred Zaillian's approach and chose to follow it.  In realizing the project, the director encountered a challenge in the script since the characters Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts do not encounter each other until twenty minutes before the end of the film.  The director sought to flesh out the private universes of the characters that would evolve and have scenes cut between the two characters to provide a balance.  Elements like Frank Lucas's interaction with his family and Richie Roberts' dysfunctional marriage were written to add to the characters' backgrounds.<ref name=scott></ref>

===Casting===
thumb|250px|[[Denzel Washington, left, and Russell Crowe, right, both met the real-life figures that they portrayed for ''American Gangster'' to capture their voices and mannerisms.]]

Scott chose to direct ''American Gangster'' based on the paradoxical values of Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts. The film focuses a bit on the comparatively ethical business practices of the "wicked gangster" and the womanizing and failed marriage of the "do-gooder" police detective. Washington, who was not normally a fan of gangster films, chose to portray Lucas when he saw "the arc of the character" had ended with prices that Lucas paid for his actions.<ref name="fame" /> Crowe was drawn to the project based on his previous work with the director on ''Gladiator'' and ''A Good Year''.<ref></ref> Production was slated in summer 2006.<ref name="redux" /> To prepare for their roles, the actors met their real-life counterparts. Washington acquired Lucas's Southern accent, and Crowe practiced to match Roberts's manner of speaking and body language, requesting tape recordings of Roberts to assist in his preparation.<ref name="fame" /> The following March, the studio rehired Zaillian to rewrite the script for ''American Gangster''.<ref name="going" /> It was rumored that Washington got paid another $20 million for when the project was greenlit again, that rumor proved to be false. According to Variety, he only signed on for his gross.<ref></ref>

===Filming===
Director Ridley Scott produced television commercials from the 1960s to the 1980s, which entailed visits to New York City in the same time period in which the film's story took place.  The director sought to downplay a "Beatles" atmosphere to the film and to instead create a shabbier atmosphere.  Scott described his perspective of the setting, "Harlem was really, really shabby, beautiful brownstones falling apart."<ref name=scott />  Production and costume design was emphasized, transforming the location into the rundown streets of upper Manhattan from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Denzel Washington, as Frank Lucas, went through 64 different costume changes.<ref></ref>

The director filmed ''American Gangster'' in 180 locations, an unusually high number for production, throughout New York's five boroughs.  Approximately 50 to 60 locations were set in Harlem alone.  The director also found several interiors that had been untouched since the 1940s and despite sanitary concerns, chose to film scenes in these locations.  All the locations in the film were authentic, with the exception of Frank Lucas' coffee shop, built as a set at the northeast corner of 122nd St and Lenox Avenue.  Scott found filming in Harlem to be difficult, describing it as "an area of wide-avenued boulevards" whose concrete pavement and lack of trees provided poor opportunities for shooting angles.<ref name=scott /> As well as being filmed in the five boroughs it was also filmed in Westchester County in Briarcliff Manor.

==Release==

===Video On Demand/Pay-Per-View===
American Gangster was released on video on demand and pay-per-view 04/03/08 and will be available until 07/31/08.  

===Box office performance===
Over two weeks before the release of ''American Gangster'', a screener for the film leaked online.<ref></ref> The film debuted in the United States and Canada on November 2 2007 in 3,054 theaters.<ref></ref>  In its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, ''American Gangster'' grossed $43,565,115,<ref name=bom></ref> placing first in the weekend box office.<ref></ref> Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo reported that the film is the first crime saga to gross over $30 million its opening weekend and the film also had the best opening weekend for Denzel Washington as well as Russell Crowe.<ref></ref> As of July 3, 2008, it has grossed $130,164,645 domestically and $135,330,809 in other territories for a worldwide total of $265,495,454.<ref name=bom/>

===Critical reception===
The film received generally favorable reviews from critics. At the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 196 reviewers approved of ''American Gangster''.<ref></ref> On the similar site Metacritic, 37 accumulated reviews gave the film an average score of 76 out of 100. <ref></ref><!-- When you update Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic's ratings, please update the accessdate attributes as well!-->

''American Gangster'' was observed as a candidate for the Oscars based on the film's style and the performance of the actors, including the possibility of an Academy Award for Best Director for Ridley Scott.<ref></ref>

In an interview Lucas "was gushing" about the film and Denzel Washington's performance; he said that he felt amazement "at the way he had (him) down."<ref name="Breakfast">"[http://insidedateline.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/10/26/432807.aspx BREAKFAST WITH THE REAL 'AMERICAN GANGSTER']," ''MSNBC''</ref> A ''New York Post'' article by Susannah Callahan stated that Lucas "admitted to sources that 'only 20 percent of the film is true.'"<ref name="GangLies2">"GANGING UP ON MOVIE'S 'LIES'." ''New York Post''. [https://www.nypost.com/seven/11042007/news/nationalnews/ganging_up_on_movies_lies_8968.htm?page=2 2].</ref> According to the same article Roberts criticized the film for portraying him in a custody battle while in real life he never had a child.<ref name="GangLies1">"GANGING UP ON MOVIE'S 'LIES'." ''New York Post''. [https://www.nypost.com/seven/11042007/news/nationalnews/ganging_up_on_movies_lies_8968.htm?page=1 1].</ref> Roberts criticized the portrayal of Lucas, describing it as "almost noble." <ref name="GangLies2"/>

Sterling Johnson, Jr., a federal judge who served as a special narcotics prosecutor and assisted the arrest and trial of Lucas, described the film as "1 percent reality and 99 percent Hollywood." Johnson described the real life Lucas as "illiterate," "vicious," "violent," and "everything Denzel Washington was not."<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/film.american.gangster.ap/ Is 'American Gangster' really all that 'true'?] CNN January 22 2008 </ref>

Former DEA agents Jack Toal, Gregory Korniloff, and Louis Diaz filed a lawsuit against Universal saying that the events in the film were fictionalized and that the film defamed them and hundreds of other agents.<ref>"[http://www.wpri.com/Global/story.asp?S=7734178&nav=F8nI DEA agents sue over 'American Gangster']," ''WPRI''</ref>

====Top ten lists====
The film appeared on fifty<ref>www.criticstop10.com</ref> critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007.<ref></ref>

*2nd - Carrie Rickey, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''
*5th - Cole Dabney, ''[http://coleandbobby.com coleandbobby.com]''<ref></ref>
*5th - Richard Roeper, At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper
*5th - Stephen Hunter, ''The Washington Post''
*6th - David Germain, Associated Press<ref></ref>
*6th - Peter Travers, ''Travers, Peter, (December 19, 2007) [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17686508/peter_travers_best_and_worst_movies_of_2007/6 "Peter Travers' Best and Worst Movies of 2007"] ''Rolling Stone''. Retrieved 2007-12-20</ref>
*7th - Lou Lumenick, ''New York Post''
*8th - Rene Rodriguez, ''The Miami Herald''

===Awards===
====Wins====
*African American Film Critics
**Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee)