American Gangster (Unrated and Extended) (HD DVD)

I have now watched American Gangster more times than I really would have liked over a two-day time period. I watched the theatrical cut. I watched the unrated extended cut. I watched the theatrical cut with the Ridley Scott/Steve Zaillian commentary and I watched the U-Control picture in picture feature during the theatrical version. While i enjoy the film it is quite simply too much for a two-day period, but that's the job and I guess things could be much worse, especially considering I do like this film and certainly recommend you pick it up. Just don't expect me to rush off and review the 2-disc DVD edition that just arrived today.

First off, there has been some statements made concerning the "based on a true story" claim American Gangster makes. This is a story surrounding Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) a Harlem thug turned drug lord and the investigation by Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) that ultimately brings him to justice. The film is based on an August 2000 interview with Lucas that was published in "New York Magazine". After reading the interview it appears the film stuck very close to the story told back in 2000, but word is that only about 10% of it is actually true. You will have to decide for yourself if this hurts your perception of the film. Personally, it doesn't bother me one bit.

Whether you buy the HD DVD, the 2-Disc DVD or the 3-Disc DVD you are going to be getting both the theatrical cut and the unrated cut. With the HD DVD you get the theatrical cut along with the cookie cutter Ridley Scott and Steve Zaillian commentary on the HD DVD side and on the DVD side you get the option between the theatrical or unrated cut. The unrated cut offers up approximately 19 minutes of additional footage, and if you decide to watch the deleted and extended scenes before watching the unrated version you are going to see a lot of those scenes in advance.

The additional footage certainly adds to the film, whether it is in a good way or a bad way will be a decision that is up to you. Personally I found it interesting, but not something I would revisit. The extended ending is unnecessary, yet interesting and an added car chase was rightfully cut, but it was still cool to see it in action at least once.

The audio commentary is rather boring, just as I believe all of Ridley Scott's commentaries are quite boring. On top of the monotonous tone of Scott's voice we also get the "splice factor" as Scott and writer Steve Zaillian are not recording their commentaries together and the two have been spliced together to form one commentary. Never as interesting as it would have been had they been together.

The HD DVD exclusive picture-in-picture U-Control feature seems as if it was hastily put together as it only shows up about every 5 minutes or so and only offers up a couple of interview words in most cases and then resorts to showing a behind-the-scenes look as they shoot the scene you are watching at the moment. It is hardly interesting.

Other than that there is a short making-of featurette and that is about it as Universal seems to have really skimped on the HD DVD release this time around leaving off several bonus features you can find on the 2-disc and 3-disc DVD editions. However, the real product is the film and it does look great in high definition as Ridley Scott revisits old school New York City.

Suggesting you buy the HD DVD version, however, is a tricky thing. Of course, if you own an HD DVD player and want the movie I certainly believe this is a good choice, after all, there is always the DVD side of the disc should Blu-ray be declared the winner. However, this is not the time to go out and buy an HD DVD player so if you are interested in buying this movie I would suggest either the 2-disc or 3-disc editions to add to your catalog.