American Gangster (extended & Unrated)

Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator) directed this chronicle of the rise of Newark drug kingpin, Frank Lukas (Denzel Washington), whose subsequent fall, through the determination of Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), led to convictions of three quarters of the New York City Drug Enforcement cops. Done on a grand scale, American Gangster recalls Coppola's Godfather movies. Gritty and conspicuously free of Scott's trademark razzle-dazzle. Crowe and Washington are both very good, but it is Ruby Dee, as Lukas' aged mother, who steals the show. The DVD includes both the theatrical film and an extended, unrated version with an alternate ending.