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Article: A new kind of godfather American Gangster Brick Lane
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- November 18, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2007 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Italian-American 1970s mobsters are two a penny in the movies, so
the director Ridley Scott has turned the spotlight on an African-
American in American Gangster (18). Frank Lucas, the gangster of the
film's title, can lay claim to the dubious role of the first black
drugs magnate. He buys pure heroin direct from suppliers in south-
east Asia, transports it back in the body bags of US soldiers killed
in Vietnam, and sells his 'Blue Magic' stronger and cheaper than the
existing product to eager consumers in Harlem.
Unfortunately for Lucas (Denzel Washington), his nemesis is
slowly circling in the shape of an anti-narcotics cop called Richie
Roberts (Russell Crowe), one of the last honest ...