Factual error: At the end of the film, the subtitles say that Frank was convicted and incarcerated from 1976 to 1991, which implies a continuous sentence. Lucas was actually paroled in 1981, and served a separate sentence for other drug-related offenses from 1984-91.
American Gangster (2007)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Brolin, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Armand Assante
Det. Richie Roberts (Crowe) and his men use one of Frank Lucas' (Washington) men to locate and track a load of drugs. They are lead to Newark's projects where Frank's brother Huey (Ejiofor) is supervising the cutting of the drugs. After using swift tactics to break into the apartment, a large shootout occurs and Roberts ends up chasing Huey. Frank being at church the entire time, walks out to find Roberts standing in front of the church and roadblocks on either side of the street, ready to bust him. While in custody, Frank attempts to smart-talk his way out of a large sentence, but Roberts assures him of all the charges he has against Lucas and all the witnesses willing to testify, claiming that the list stretches around the block. Left with no choice, Lucas cooperates with Roberts, giving up 75% of New York's Drug Enforcement Agency, who are claimed to be corrupt detectives. Detective Trupo (Brolin) is among the list and to avoid arrest, he shoots himself. Richie Roberts resigns from the prosecutor's office to become a defense attorney. Frank receives 70 years for conspiracy to distribute narcotics, and all his assets are seized. But his sentence is reduced to a light 15 years for his cooperation. The final shot shows Frank's release in 1991, looking older and out of place.
Jezzy T
More mistakes in American Gangster
Richie Roberts: This man murdered thousands, and he did it from a penthouse and driving a Lincoln.
More trivia for American Gangster
Question: When Denzil and his new wife are traveling home from their wedding, they are stopped by the crooked SIU cops. When they get home, Denzil goes straight upstairs, gets the fur coat his wife bought him and throws it on the fire. Why did he do this? The look on his face suggests he is angry at his wife, but I can't figure out why.
Answer: The other person who answered is correct but I want to add a little bit more detail. Earlier in the film, Frank chides his cousin at the club for wearing a flashy suit because he said it brings him too much attention. Frank's lapse in judgment in wearing the very expensive mink fur coat out in public as well as shaking hands with Muhammad Ali in front of everybody is ironic because his behavior contradicts what he told his cousin earlier. He is upset because he is now being forced to pay even more bribes, and he's probably upset with himself for not heeding his own advice on staying low key.
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Answer: The expensive and flashy fur coat (150,000 dollars) makes him extremely noticeable to police. Before the fight, he has been under the radar, but believes the gaudy clothes have given him away as a person with too much money, which gets the police to investigate him.