Saturday night, we went to the Greene to see the new movie, American Gangster. This was a 2.5 hour movie, starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, that essentially combined the story lines from earlier movies, Serpico and The Godfather.
I discovered that the movie is based on a true story that was published in a 2000 issue of New Yorker magazine… Frank Lucas was a Negro from North Carolina that established a crime syndicate in New York that rivalled any of the Mafioso families. Meanwhile, Ritchie Roberts was the hapless Jewish police officer who pursued Lucas and eventually convicted him of multiple crimes… Interestingly, they became the best of friends.
You have to admit that it’s unusual seeing Russell Crowe (in his role as Ritchie Roberts) wearing a Jewish insignia around his neck…