STUDIO: Universal
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2008
STARRING: Various
WRITTEN BY: Various
DIRECTED BY: Various
FEATURES: U-Control on American Gangster and Casino
Various Featurettes on All Three Films
More Details Below

Three of the best directors in history get the Blu-Ray treatment this month for a trio of their mob movies classified under "Gangsters Giftset" from Universal, a studio that has been quickly playing catch-up with some of their most beloved films since the format war ended. Quick, what's the best movie by Ridley Scott, Martin Scorsese, and David Cronenberg? There are only a select few who will pick the movies in the Gangsters Giftset, but the hardcore action junkie will get a massive kick out of this excellent collection. Personally, I'm going with Blade Runner, Raging Bull, and A History of Violence, but there is at least one film in the Giftset that borders on masterpiece, Cronenberg's stunning Eastern Promises, a film that garnered an Oscar nomination for Viggo Mortensen and that feels even more confident and assuredly made just a year after its release. And all three films look and sound stunning, getting the full technical treatment from Universal that they deserve. Filled with special features, transferred flawlessly, and from three of the best directors of the last quarter-century, the action film buff in your family could do a lot worse than finding the Gangsters Giftset under the tree this holiday season. One by one...

AMERICAN GANGSTER: EXTENDED AND UNRATED (2007)

"Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott (Gladiator) in this powerful, epic story. Armed with ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honor, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation."

American Gangster is an easy film to admire and a hard movie to love. Washington is fantastic and there's a technical expertise on display that's unimpeachable. But Scott has become almost too rigid a perfectionist as he's developed as a director, making films that are so detailed in their period and location recreation that they miss a passion and a fire that he had in his earlier work. The production design, cinematography, and everything else that goes into the detail of a film looks amazing in American Gangster and even more so in gorgeous high-definition. This is a flawless transfer that every fan of the movie (and there are MANY...it was probably the most commented-on omission from my "Best of 2007") should truly include in their collection. I only like American Gangster, but if you love American Gangster than this is a must-own. Special features, some of which can be accessed through U-Control and watched picture-in-picture include a feature commentary with director Ridley Scott and writer Steven Zaillian, deleted scenes including an alternate opening, "Fallen Empire: Making American Gangster", Case Files, Hip-Hop Infusion Featuring Common and T.I., The BET Special: The Making of American Gangster, Dateline NBC: American Gangster First Look, and Music Videos

CASINO (1995)

"Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci star in director Martin Scorsese's riveting look at how blind ambition, white-hot passion and 24-karat greed toppled an empire. Las Vegas, 1973, is the setting for this fact-based story about the Mob's multimillion-dollar casino operation, where fortunes and lives were made and lost with a roll of the dice."

I adore Martin Scorsese and there's a lot to like about Casino, but the bloated running time and lack of focus keep it back from being one of the master's true greats. Watching again in high-definition, I was struck by something remarkable - Casino is a film about an old guard in Las Vegas and it features three actors who would arguably not make a good film after it. Scorsese left De Niro and Pesci behind for (eventually) his new muse named Leo and do we need to talk about what happened to Sharon Stone's career? De Niro did some decent work after Casino but the six-time Oscar nominee hasn't been on that Academy short list since and Joe Pesci has only made FOUR movies since Casino (and two of them were 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag and Gone Fishin', which arguably don't count). Casino is almost a time capsule of when these were three of the biggest stars in the world. And you can see why. The presence that De Niro somehow lost in the last decade is on display in every single scene and Stone is shockingly good. It makes you wonder what happened. Casino has held up well, even developing enough of a following to crack the Top 250 on IMDB, so fans will love having it on Blu-Ray. Features include U-Control moments with the cast and crew, which features interviews that you can watch picture-in-picture while the movie plays, deleted scenes, "Vegas and the Mob", and "History Alive: True Crime Authors: Casino with Nicholas Pileggi".

EASTERN PROMISES (2007)

"Viggo Mortensen and Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts star in this electrifying thriller from critically acclaimed director David Cronenberg (A History Of Violence). Criminal mastermind Nikolai (Mortensen) finds his ties to a notorious crime family shaken when he crosses paths with Anna (Watts), a midwife who has accidentally uncovered evidence against them. Their unusual relationship sets off an unstoppable chain of murder, mystery and deception in the explosive film critics are calling "provocative and engrossing" (Claudia Puig, USA Today)."

Revisiting these three films on Blu-Ray, the one that really stands out is David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. In gorgeous high definition, it becomes even clearer how masterfully and confidently Eastern Promises was made. It's such a well-constructed and designed film, valuing mood and tension over the typical action beats of the genre. This is not your standard gangster movie. It's been filtered through the truly unique worldview of David Cronenberg and it's a great addition to any movie lover's collection. It's one of the best films of the last few years. Sadly, it's the only one of the three in the Gangsters Giftset to not include U-Control, but featurettes included are "Secrets and Stories", "Marked For Life", "Two Guys Walk Into a Bath House", and "Watts on Wheels".