It stars Washington as 1970s Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas and Crowe as a New Jersey cop on his trail.

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In 2007 he went on to play criminal Frank Lucas in American Gangster (albeit a criminal who switches sides at the very end).

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Set in the late 1960s and early '70s, Ridley Scott's star-driven "American Gangster" positions Harlem's notorious drug kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) as an entrepreneurial self-starter in the black economy.

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While Frank Lucas is living the American Dream -- he marries a beauty queen and brings his momma (Ruby Dee) and his brothers over to share his suburban mansion -- Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is studying law.

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We see the rise of the real-life Harlem gangster Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), who in 1968 went to Northern Thailand, purchased uncut heroin, shipped it to New York, and sold it on the streets at twice the strength and half the price of what the Mafia was selling.

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After Frazetta fell ill in 1985 with thyroid disease, says his wife, Ellie, the family sold pieces to Lucas to help pay for Frank's medical treatments.

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