After the death of the owner, Frank Lucas, a quiet driver of the Harlem criminal authority, decides to create his own criminal empire. His specialty is heroin, which he smuggles directly from Southeast Asia. Lucas considers himself a businessman and competes with other groups according to all the rules of a market economy, offering a better product at a lower price. Earning a million dollars a day and adhering to once established for himself the rules of the game, he becomes an idol for the whole Harlem, but in the wake of Frank is already following Richie Roberts – a rare example of an honest policeman hated by colleagues in New York.
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The box office success and the Oscar-winning triumph of Martin Scorsese with his “Departed in 2006 enraged both the masters of cinema, who seem to have everything, and the young, but ambitious, who were greedy for fame. And so the most interesting police / crime thrillers of recent years were born: The owners of the night, Kings of the streets, Pride and glory, and, of course – this is this film.
A non-binding remark: For a quarter of a century (from the 70s), Ridley Scott made only 10 films by the year 2000. And since 2000, starting with the Gladiator for 7 years, he has made as many as 7 films. Second wind?
Ridley Scott is now a very authoritative and venerable director. His prof. instinct does not allow him to get involved in completely indecent and mediocre projects. Moreover, I can say that in his filmography there is not a single failed film: controversial (such as Hannibal or Soldier Jane – yes), but not mediocre.
Cinema of such an epic scale requires a remarkable courage and desire. What is the main thing? When for almost 3 hours they will show us the lives of two strongest and brightest personalities (it doesnÂ’t matter that one bastard is a drug dealer, and the second is a paranoid honest cop), then the main problem of the director is to show them equal, and not to drag the blanket over someone alone . If there are flaws in the film, then the imbalance of the main characters – just does not fall into their list. Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington (even though they already look like the Scottish family actor) are eye-catching, fascinating and impressive. And alas, I canÂ’t name someone one that I liked more. I am sure that if Frankie Lucas would work in the police, then the corrupt cops would be very uncomfortable. If this person manages to have principles in his work, then what can I say? Methodicality and righteous anger with which he deals with the finale (albeit verbally) with corruption in the ranks of the military and the police – causes only respect. And Richie Roberts, with his stubbornness and meticulousness, could easily lead the criminal world, while causing not only fear, but also respect. In my memory, only Michael Mann with his “Fight succeeded in a similar duel. Perhaps this is why the “Gangster” is compared for nothing in vain with the opus 12 years ago.
Interestingly, with almost documentary certainty, the system of Nakrotorgov was revealed in the 60s / 70s of the last century in the USA. The participation of the military in these “dirty deeds” made me recall both Air America and Lethal Weapons, but the scale of this film is definitely impressive. Keeping the viewer on the screen for almost 3 hours is not given to everyone. In this regard, Ridley managed almost 100. I will not hide that the film could not do without genre cliches: an honest cop, a criminal with principles, a divorce from a policeman, family problems of a criminal, etc. But the whole thing is how to present it. Or it will cause a yawn and an exclamation: “Boyan, or it will only add extra coins to the piggy bank of the dramaturgy. Thank God the second thing happened.
The current venerable directors have their own mascot actors. Tim Burton has Johnny Depp, Martin Scorsese has Leonardo DiCaprio, Tony Scott has Denzel Washington, and Ridley Scott found his man in the person of Russell Crowe, and at the same time borrowed from his younger brother Denzel. I can say for sure: I did not lose.
A very worthy, high-quality and interesting film that is worth watching and revising.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10+
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: DTS:X
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish
