رجل عصابة أمريكي هو فيلم جريمة تم إنتاجه عام 2007, من إخراج ريدلي سكوت وبطولة دنزل واشنطن وراسل كرو، أنتجت شركة الأفلام العالمية هذا الفيلم وتم إصداره في الولايات المتحدة وكندا في 2 نوفمبر 2007, تم ترشيح الفيلم لجائزتين أكاديمتين, أحدها لأفضل ممثلة مساعدة وترشحت لها روبي دي والتي ظهرت على الشاشة لأقل من عشر دقائق
قصة
في بداية السبعينات ارتفع فساد الشرطة في نيويورك إلى حد أسطوري من جهة أخرى واصلت الحرب في فيتنام حصدها لأرواح الجنود الأمريكان وهذا ما سبب نوعاً ما في انتشار مهول لمستعملي المخدرات في البلاد، فأصبحت المافيا هي المسيطر الوحيد على الشارع في المدينة وكانت تدفع للقضاة والمحامين وأعضاء الشرطة من أجل السماح لهم ببيع المخدرات بشكل مريح.لكن وفجأة ظهر في الشارع اسم جديد لا يعرفه أحد بعثر سرور هذا النظام ألا وهو فرانك لوكاس.
لوكاس كان يعيش في ظل عراب السود في هارلم وهو بومبي جونسون، الذي كان يقوم بحمايته، وعندما توفي العراب بسبب سكتة قلبية يحاول لوكاس الحفاظ على أعمال هذا الأخير لكن شيئاً فشيئاً أصبحت له أعمال حرة واستطاع إنشاء عصابته الخاصة وبسبب عدم ثقته في أي أحد شكل معظم عصابته من أفراد أسرته.
فرانك لوكاس غير معروف من طرف الشرطة كفرد من عصابة كوستا نوسترا حيث يسافر إلى فيتنام ليقابل أحد أصدقائه وهو ضابط أمريكي ليساعده في ملاقاة أكبر مروجي المخدرات في هذا البلد بعد الاتفاق يحصل لوكاس على كمية لا بأس بها من الهيروين التي تتميز بجودة عالية لكن في المقابل رخيصة في الثمن وبمساعدة بعض ضباط المارينز الأمريكي استطاع لوكاس أن يدخل هذا المنتج إلى البلاد عندها وبسبب سلعته المتميزة في السوق بالجودة وقلة ثمنها حققت شهرة خيالية أصبحت تنافس العديد من سلع مروجي المخدرات الشيء الذي خلق له أعداء كثر بسبب تهديده لمصالح أعمالهم. بينما كان يحقق لوكاس أرباحاً خيالية وهو بعيد عن أعين الشرطة ومنافسيه في السوق, كلف مفتش الشرطة روبرت للبحث في قضية انتشار المخدرات في البلاد وما مصدر هذا النوعية الجديدة ومن هو الرأس المدبر لكل هذه العمليات. ومن هنا تبدأ لعبة غريبة بين لوكاس وروبرت حيث يجمعهم القدر.
American Gangster is a 2007 American biographical crime film directed and produced by Ridley Scott and written by Steven Zaillian. The film is fictionally based on the criminal career of Frank Lucas, a gangster from La Grange, North Carolina who smuggled heroin into the United States on American service planes returning from the Vietnam War, before being detained by a task force led by detective Richie Roberts. The film stars Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in their first lead acting roles together since 1995's Virtuosity. The film also co-stars Ted Levine, John Ortiz, Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Norman Reedus, Ruby Dee, Lymari Nadal and Cuba Gooding Jr.
Development for the film initially began in 2000, when Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment purchased the rights to a New York magazine story about the rise and fall of Lucas. Two years later, screenwriter Steven Zaillian introduced a 170-page scriptment to Scott. Original production plans were to commence in Toronto for budget purposes; however, production eventually relocated permanently to New York City. Because of the film's rising budget Universal canceled production in 2004. After negotiations with Terry George, it was later revived with Scott at the helm in March 2005. Principal photography commenced over a period of five months from July to December 2006; filming took place throughout New York City and concluded in Thailand.
American Gangster premiered in New York on October 20, 2007, and was released in the United States and Canada on November 2. The film was well received by most film critics, and grossed over US$266.5 million worldwide, with domestic grosses standing at $130.1 million. Many of the people portrayed, including Roberts and Lucas, have stated that the film took a lot of creative license with the story, and three former DEA agents sued Universal claiming the agency's portrayal was demoralizing. American Gangster was nominated for twenty-one awards, including two Academy Award nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress (Ruby Dee), and won three including a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Dee.
Plot
In 1968, Frank Lucas is the right-hand man of Harlem gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. When Johnson dies of a heart attack, Lucas takes control of the Harlem crime scene.
After handing in almost $1 million that he found in a mobster's car, Newark detective Richie Roberts is ostracized in his precinct. After his exiled and addicted partner overdoses on a potent brand of heroin called "Blue Magic", Captain Lou Toback puts Roberts in charge of a task force that targets local suppliers. Lucas buys Blue Magic directly from producers in Thailand and smuggles it into the U.S. through returning Vietnam War servicemen. His low overhead allows him to eventually wholesale Blue Magic to most of the dealers in the New York area. With this monopoly, Lucas expands his control to nightclubs, casinos, and prostitution. He buys a mansion for his mother and recruits his five brothers, including Huey and Turner, as lieutenants to spread his empire. During his rise to becoming Harlem's crime boss, Lucas falls in love with Eva, a Puerto Rican beauty queen.
As Lucas' 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 police attention. Also, he stays away from the drugs to avoid making hard decisions under the influence. However, Lucas violates these principles when he attends the Fight of the Century with Eva, sporting gaudy clothes that were a present by Eva; Roberts attends the fight, notices the previously unknown Lucas with even better seats than the Italian mobsters, and investigates him. Meanwhile, Lucas needs to deal with Lucchese mafia boss Dominic Cattano, who threatens to destroy Lucas' family unless he gets in on a deal, and corrupt NYPD detectives led by Nick Trupo, who attempts to extort and blackmail him to give them a cut. Lucas must also compete with local crime figure Nicky Barnes, a young gun trying to take over Harlem who has been diluting Lucas' Blue Magic and selling it under the same brand name. After the Fall of Saigon cuts off Lucas' supply, he is forced to rely on the other crime rings.
Roberts' detectives witness Frank Lucas' cousin and driver shoot a woman and then use the threat of a long sentence to get him to wear a wire. The gathered information allows Roberts and his task force to identify and search one of the last planes carrying Lucas' stock, discovering Blue Magic in the coffins of dead returning servicemen. With this evidence they obtain a warrant to follow the drugs into Newark's projects and Lucas' heroin processing facility. In the ensuing shootout, Steve Lucas, Frank Lucas' young nephew who gave up a promising career for the New York Yankees to join Lucas' crime family, is killed. Meanwhile, Trupo, whose prized Shelby Mustang Lucas had destroyed, and his men break into Lucas' mansion to steal his emergency cash supply hidden under the doghouse, killing the dog. As Lucas gets ready to go after Trupo, his mother dissuades him from killing a cop, warning him that she and Eva will leave him if he does. Lucas is arrested after Roberts' team conducts a raid on the shops run by his brothers.
In the police station, Lucas offers to bribe Roberts, but is rebuffed. Instead, Roberts offers
Lucas a chance at a shorter jail sentence if he aids his investigation of dirty cops in the NYPD and Lucas duly provides Roberts with the names. In the end, three quarters of the New York DEA are arrested and convicted, and a distraught Trupo commits suicide. Roberts, having just passed the bar exam, defends Lucas as his first client. Lucas is sentenced to 70 years in prison, of which he serves 15 years and is released in 1991.
Cast
Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas
Russell Crowe as Det. Richard "Richie" Roberts
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Huey Lucas
Cuba Gooding Jr. as Leroy Nicholas "Nicky" Barnes
Josh Brolin as Det. Nick Trupo
Ted Levine as Capt. Lou Toback
Armand Assante as Dominic Cattano
John Ortiz as Det. Javier J. Rivera
John Hawkes as Freddie Spearman
RZA as Det. Moses Jones
Lymari Nadal as Eva
Yul Vazquez as Det. Alfonso Abruzzo
Ruby Dee as Mahalee Lucas
Idris Elba as Tango
Carla Gugino as Laurie Roberts
Joe Morton as Charlie Williams
Common as Turner Lucas
Ritchie Coster as Joey Sadano
Jon Polito as Rossi
Kevin Corrigan as Campizi
Roger Guenveur Smith as Nate
Malcolm Goodwin as Jimmy Zee
Ric Young as Khun Sa
Roger Bart as US attorney
Tip Harris as Steve Lucas
KaDee Strickland as Richie's attorney
Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Doc
Norman Reedus as Det. Norman Reilly
Melissa Hill as Redtop
Clarence Williams III as Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (uncredited)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Screenplay by Steven Zaillian
Based on The Return of Superfly, by Mark Jacobson
Starring
Russell Crowe
Denzel Washington
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Josh Brolin
Ted Levine
Armand Assante
John Ortiz
John Hawkes
RZA
Music by Marc Streitenfeld
Cinematography Harris Savides
Edited by Pietro Scalia
Release date October 19, 2007 (Apollo Theater), November 2, 2007 (United States)
Running time 158 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $100 million
Box office $266.5 million
Source: Wikipedia, IMDb