9.5 stars of 10. Most Film Historians consider American Gangster to be a Masterpiece. No argument here, I agree. It's a truly great piece of filmed cinema.
It stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, alongside Chiwetel Ejofor. Ejofor is such a capable Performer and he does fantastic in this role. The supporting cast also does very well in their smaller but important roles, and a strong supporting cast it is, including: Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Clarence Williams III, Ted Levine, Roger Guenveur Smith, Armand Assante, Ruby Dee, John Ortiz, Idris Elba, John Hawkes, Carla Gugino, to name some of them. Well done.
Russell Crowe is great, as he almost always is, just an absolute commanding and believable Performamce by him. He amazes me in many Films, including this Film.
I'll get to Denzel Washington later. All of these Performances are captured brilliantly by its Director, Ridley Scott. He's such an amazing and influential Director. He has had such a great career, Directing such Masterpiece Films like The Duellists (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), The Martian (2015), The Last Duel (2021), just to name a handful. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a truly legendary and great Director like Ridley Scott would have a part in capturing these Performances & help make this Film a Masterpiece, he's absolutely fantastic, what a career!
Then of course there's Denzel Washington. Denzel brings a very dynamic and believable Performance with seemingly impossible intricacies. This role calls for Denzel to Perform at various levels of intensity & dynamics, from subdued subtleties to intricate intensities; he does them all with balance and skill, seemingly naturally and believably.
Every generation, if we're lucky, a talent like Denzel Washington comes along, an emotionally dynamic completely believable Performer.
I think Denzel is one of the 10 best Actor's in history. It's an impossible list as there are 50 I want to have in my Top 10; but I would say these are the 10 best Actors in history (listed in order from oldest to newest):
Charlie Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Shia LaBeouf.
Most Film Historians would say that Denzel Washington has starred in 15-20 Masterpieces thus far during his career. I believe if I talked to the 100 most respected Film Historians around the World, naturally they would all have slightly different lists, but I believe if they came to a consensus, this would be Historians Top 10:
1. Glory (1989) 2. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) 3. Malcolm X (1992) 4. The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021) 5. Inside Man (2006) 6. American Gangster (2007) 7. The Hurricane (1999) 8. Fences (2016) 9. Philadelphia (1993) 10. Crimson Tide (1995)
I would have a slightly different looking list, my list would also include this Film, but even higher up the list. My Top 10:
1. Fences (2016) 2. American Gangster (2007) 3. Inside Man (2006) 4. Glory (1989) 5. Malcolm X (1992) 6. The Hurricane (1999) 7. Philadelphia (1993) 8. Crimson Tide (1995) 9. A Soldier's Story (1984) 10. Training Day (2001)
I agree with most Film Historians, American Gangster is a Masterpiece; a truly great piece of filmed cinema.
It stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, alongside Chiwetel Ejofor. Ejofor is such a capable Performer and he does fantastic in this role. The supporting cast also does very well in their smaller but important roles, and a strong supporting cast it is, including: Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Clarence Williams III, Ted Levine, Roger Guenveur Smith, Armand Assante, Ruby Dee, John Ortiz, Idris Elba, John Hawkes, Carla Gugino, to name some of them. Well done.
Russell Crowe is great, as he almost always is, just an absolute commanding and believable Performamce by him. He amazes me in many Films, including this Film.
I'll get to Denzel Washington later. All of these Performances are captured brilliantly by its Director, Ridley Scott. He's such an amazing and influential Director. He has had such a great career, Directing such Masterpiece Films like The Duellists (1977), Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louise (1991), Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), The Martian (2015), The Last Duel (2021), just to name a handful. It shouldn't surprise anyone that a truly legendary and great Director like Ridley Scott would have a part in capturing these Performances & help make this Film a Masterpiece, he's absolutely fantastic, what a career!
Then of course there's Denzel Washington. Denzel brings a very dynamic and believable Performance with seemingly impossible intricacies. This role calls for Denzel to Perform at various levels of intensity & dynamics, from subdued subtleties to intricate intensities; he does them all with balance and skill, seemingly naturally and believably.
Every generation, if we're lucky, a talent like Denzel Washington comes along, an emotionally dynamic completely believable Performer.
I think Denzel is one of the 10 best Actor's in history. It's an impossible list as there are 50 I want to have in my Top 10; but I would say these are the 10 best Actors in history (listed in order from oldest to newest):
Charlie Chaplin, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Ethan Hawke, Joaquin Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio, Philip Seymour Hoffman & Shia LaBeouf.
Most Film Historians would say that Denzel Washington has starred in 15-20 Masterpieces thus far during his career. I believe if I talked to the 100 most respected Film Historians around the World, naturally they would all have slightly different lists, but I believe if they came to a consensus, this would be Historians Top 10:
1. Glory (1989) 2. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) 3. Malcolm X (1992) 4. The Tragedy Of Macbeth (2021) 5. Inside Man (2006) 6. American Gangster (2007) 7. The Hurricane (1999) 8. Fences (2016) 9. Philadelphia (1993) 10. Crimson Tide (1995)
I would have a slightly different looking list, my list would also include this Film, but even higher up the list. My Top 10:
1. Fences (2016) 2. American Gangster (2007) 3. Inside Man (2006) 4. Glory (1989) 5. Malcolm X (1992) 6. The Hurricane (1999) 7. Philadelphia (1993) 8. Crimson Tide (1995) 9. A Soldier's Story (1984) 10. Training Day (2001)
I agree with most Film Historians, American Gangster is a Masterpiece; a truly great piece of filmed cinema.