Paramount and BET (Black Entertainment Television) release this series of short documentaries about a cadre of gangsters. Some of them are pretty even minded but others only serve to glorify their subjects.
This documentary series looks inside the underworld of a series of African-American gangsters. The cover may make it look like Ving Rhames is starring in a gangster miniseries, but he’s just narrating this docudramas about a series of highlighted gangsters.
Disc 1:
Stanley “Tookie” Williams: Stanley “Tookie” Williams’ life reads like a history of Los Angeles gang warfare. Follow this complex “gangster superstar” from cold-blooded criminal to Nobel Peace Prize nominee.
“Freeway” Ricky Ross: Illiterate but physically gifted, “Freeway” Ricky Ross went from would-be star athlete to L.A. crack king. Witness his rise and fall in the drug trade and his shadowy connection to the U.S. government’s Iran-Contras scandal.
Leroy “Nicky” Barnes: See how drug kingpin and government “snitch” Leroy “Nicky” Barnes carved out an empire as one of the most infamous heroin pushers in Harlem during the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.
Disc 2:
Troy & Dino Smith: Their exploits include the biggest jewelry heist in San Francisco history. Explore the careers of Troy and Dino Smith as they go from teen crooks to masterminds behind some of the most sophisticated crimes in the Bay Area.
The Chambers Brothers: Discover how four brothers known as the First Family of Crime rose from meager beginnings as the sons of Arkansas sharecroppers to forge a $50 million-a-year crack empire.
Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols: Lorenzo “Fat Cat” Nichols reigned as a drug lord over the lawless streets of Southeast Queens in the ‘80s – until a policeman’s violent murder sparked a chain reaction that would topple him from power.
The 40 minute documentaries focus on a different gangster and interviews the folks that knew them or where after them. Some of them come off as rather unbiased but others of them try and justify the less than savory behavior. I’m not sure any of these folks are exactly anyone that should be looked up to or admired.
They are gangsters after all and some of them have been executed or are serving sentences for their crimes. The ones that don’t try and justify the behavior of the subject are the ones that come off the best but the ones that do seem like propaganda.
What we can’t hear from is many of the victims of these highlighted individuals because they’re pushing up daisies. A fascinating look, but it’s at some very bad people.
American Gangster is presented in fullscreen. Special features are spread over the two discs in the set. Disc one has an extended 51-minute interview with Travon Williams, the son of “Tookie” Williams. Disc two has 10 minutes of preview interviews for season two and 28 minutes of extended interviews from the various episodes.
American Gangster is an interesting documentary, but the people it profiles are not very nice. Ving Rhames supplies the narration, but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a miniseries starring him. I guess we all have a fascination with the dark side, but we really shouldn’t try and emulate these folks.
American Gangster - The Complete First Season is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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