American Gangster Blu-ray Review

American Gangster

Blu-ray Review
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Rating: R
Released: October 14, 2008

American Gangster was one of the best movies of the year in the eyes of many moviegoers, as well as critics, and for good reason.  The film, which stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe has hit the Blu-ray format.

American Gangster comes from the great mind of Ridley Scott, and is basically Scott’s version of films such as Casino, Goodfells, and The Godfather.

The film is extremely entertaining throughout as it never fails to keep you on the edge of your seat and having the feeling that you are having a good time.

Denzel Washington plays the role of the crime boss Lucas, ruling the drug underworld of Harlem.  He rises in power in a setting based in the 1970s, but quickly turns into the top target of cop Richie Roberts played by Russell Crowe.

The idea behind Roberts is try and bring down the mob boss Lucas and his multi-million dollar empire.

The film was a huge hit at the box office and along with critics, and lived up to all of the hype in my mind.  American Gangster is a great film, but to me was not quite as good as films such as Godfather, or Casino.

To say it is a new classic I think would be going a bit overboard.  Is it a fantastic mob movie, yes!  But to say it is a classic I think is pushing the envelope just a bit.

The video quality for this Blu-ray release is well-done as it is presented in 1080p in 1.78:1 aspect ratio.  The release packs both the 176-minute extended version and 156-minute theatrical version.

Both versions are perfect, as the transfer is as clean as anything, with tremendous colors, natural flesh-tones, etc.  The film has a very soft approach to its presentation, which works very well with the setting.

The audio is presented in a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround track, and uses the surround channels very well.  The musical score is also implemented into the entire presentation well.

The only downfall with the mix is that it does not use the rear channels and subwoofer as much as it could.

There are some great extras Universal added onto this Blu-ray release.  You start out with a great audio commentary from Ridley Scott as well as screenwriter Steve Zallian.  The talk runs for over two hours and is actually extremely interesting throughout.  Some gret details come up about the story, production, etc.

The next is the documentary Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster.  This runs for nearly 90 minutes and does a great job of really showing off how the film was put together.  There is plenty of stuff here that will show off the cast and crew out of character.

Another nice addition is the inclusion of two TV specials, one from Dateline NBC and the other from a BET Special. Both of these are promotional, but are fun to check out if you want more background information.

There are also music videos, deleted scenes, and a short featurette on the real chracters.

Universal went over the top even further with the U-Control picture-in-picture track, as well as MyScenes.

The release of American Gangster on Blu-ray is stacked as the film is great to watch, and the extras are extremely plentiful.  Mob movie fans will definitely enjoy this one!

Film: 8.7 American Gangster is a very fun mob movie, Denzel Washington and Crowe are great.

Video: 9.0 The video transfer is flawless, a nicely done soft approach.

Audio: 8.5 The audio quality is a bit too soft for my liking, needed more emphasis on the subwoofer, rear channels.

Extras: 9.2 Universal went over-the-top, tons and tons of great extras here!

Final Score: 8.7

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