History Film / AmericanGangster

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Less "hero" and more "ObstructiveBureaucrat", but the FBI Special Agent who grills Roberts over raiding a military plane and searching coffins of deceased American soldiers counts. When Roberts tells him that his sources leads to Frank Lucas heading the Golden Triangle drug trafficking operation, he asks if he's Italian, and when Roberts replies he's Black, he assumes that he ''must'' be working for the Mafia, using racial epitaphs for both Black and Jewish people. The later, used against Roberts, almost earns him a beating.

* WouldHitAGirl: In the resulting chaos of a police raid, Richie ends up kicking the woman in charge of distribution ''in her face''.

* WouldHitAGirl: With a bit of double standards - when Trupo smacks Frank's wife, it's to show how bad he is. When Richie kicks the woman in charge of distribution ''in the face'', he's CombatPragmatist. (Keep in mind the circumstances are quite different, however, as Ritchie was about to get shot while Trupo is invading Frank's home and being beating an unarmed woman.)

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Less "hero" and more "ObstructiveBureaucrat", but the FBI Special Agent who grills Roberts over raiding a military plane and searching coffins of deceased American soldiers counts. When Roberts tells him that his sources leads to Frank Lucas heading the Golden Triangle drug trafficking operation, he asks if he's Italian, and when Roberts replies he's black, he assumes that he ''must'' be working for the Mafia, scoffing at the notion that a "nigger" could by himself set up an operation on a scale larger than anything the Mafia has done, before calling Roberts a "kike" when he dismisses him.

** Both times that Frank does something against his pragmatic ruthless nature when pushed by his loved ones, it proves to be his downfall. First when his wife coerces him in wearing a extravagant fur coat that makes Richie notice him for the first time, second was his mother pleading him not to take revenge on Trupo and instead go to church, where the cops are waiting for him [[note]]Granted, in the latter case, the cops would have got him anyway, and probably not be too pleased if he had just harmed or killed a detective, even (or especially, given how crooked so many cops are here) a DirtyCop like Trupo, so church might have been the wisest move anyway[[/note]].

* TheLastDJ: Ritchie discovers he's this in the NYPD, when he turns in $1 million he found in the boot of a car. The rest of the NYPD officers treat him as a pariah because someone that honest might just try to turn them in for their own corruption. His career is dead in the water until a friendly supervisor moves him across the river to New Jersey and puts Ritchie in charge of a special unit. His partner, despite being less squeaky clean, gets hit with it too for having gone along with Ritchie in turning in the money, and goes on a downward spiral that includes becoming an addict and overdosing on Frank's product.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: One of the first thing Frank did after setting up his own organisation was move his mother to a sizable mansion in Connecticut, including having her room recreated. In fact, it was his mother's insistence on not letting Frank take revenge on Trupo for seizing his drug money and attend church with her instead, [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished that eventually brings him down]].

* TheSeventies: ...Where the rest of the story plays out.

* TheSixties: The film begins in 1968 Harlem, before eventually shifting over to...

* TheSeventies: The movie mostly takes place in 1970s Harlem.

* AmericanTitle

* BadCopIncompetentCop: The best of lot for the NYPD is Richie himself.

* ClusterFBomb

* EvilParentsWantGoodKids: Frank tries to persuade nephew Steve, a talented baseball player, to pursue a pro career. He even arranges an interview with the manager of the New York Yankees. Frank is understandably upset when Steve decides to stick with the family business and is captured during a shootout with police.

* {{Jerkass}}: Tango doesn't pay Frank the money he owes him, and even rubs it in Frank's face. Frank responds to this by [[BoomHeadshot blowing Tango's brains out]].

* {{Jerkass}}: Tango; Trupo.

* TemptingFate: Tango does this when Frank pulls a gun and puts it against Tango's head at a streetside market, daring Frank to shoot him. Tango assumes that Frank won't pull the trigger with hundreds of witnesses nearby. [[BoomHeadshot He assumes incorrectly]].
-->'''Tango:''' What the fuck you gonna do, Frank, hm? What you doin'? You wanna shoot me, in front of everybody? Huh? Come on-- (''bang'')

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Frank delivers a few. The most disturbing one happens when he uses ''a piano lid'' to smash the head of one of his undisciplined men (one of his cousins, no less!) right in front of numerous guests during a party in his house.

* TemptingFate:
-->'''Tango:''' What the fuck you gonna do, Frank, hm? What you doin? You wanna shoot me, in front of everybody!? Huh, come on...(''BoomHeadshot'')

* BigFancyHouse: Frank buys one for his Mama.

* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: Less "hero" and more "ObstructiveBureaucrat", but the FBI Special Agent who grills Robertson over raiding a military plane and searching coffins of deceased American soldiers counts. When Robertson tells him that his sources leads to Frank Lucas heading the Golden Triangle drug trafficking operation, he asks if he's Italian, and when Robertson replies he's black, he assumes that he ''must'' be working for the Mafia, scoffing at the notion that a "nigger" could by himself set up an operation on a scale larger than anything the Mafia has done, before calling Robertson a "kike" when he dismisses him.

* DirtyCop: Everyone except Ritchie. ''Three quarters of New York City's Drug Enforcement Agency'' end up convicted by the end of the film.

* EnemyMine: At the end of the film, Frank and Ritchie cooperate to put NYC's corrupt cops in prison. In return for information, Frank's sentence is reduced by 55 years. [[spoiler: Ritchie eventually becomes a defense attorney. His first client is Frank Lucas. A deleted scene had Ritchie picking up Lucas from jail and helping him find a place, but Scott thought it was too much of a genre shift from gangster film to buddy film.[[note]]In RealLife, Lucas and Ritchie are HeterosexualLifePartners[[/note]]]]
** [[spoiler: And then it's humorously undone a little when they're consultants during filming and get back into their old roles as adversaries. Ritchie (paraphrased): "Lucas' having too much fun, and I want to arrest him again!"]]

* {{Foil}}: Lucas is a family man with strong morals ([[AntiVillain apart from his business]]) and his personal life is, for the most part, pretty good. Contrast with Ritchie; despite his status as a "good cop", his domestic life falls apart and he cheats on his wife before the divorce is complete. The difference between their quality of life is made especially clear during the Thanksgiving dinner montage.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Both times that Frank does something against his pragmatic ruthless nature when pushed by his loved ones, it proves to be his downfall. First when his wife coerces him in wearing a extravagant fur coat that makes Richie notice him for the first time, second was his mother pleading him not to take revenge on Trupo and instead go to church, where the cops are waiting for him [[note]]Granted, in the latter case, the cops would have got him anyway, and probably not be too pleased if he had just harmed or killed a detective, even (or especially, given how crooked so many cops are here) a DirtyCop like Trupo, so church might have been the wisest move anyway[[/note]].

* NoHonorAmongThieves: Right after realising he can't buy Richie, Frank is ready to rat on ''everyone'', having no qualms about selling other criminals.
** It's worth noting that he mostly sold out the {{Dirty Cop}}s he knew, having a passionate hatred for them even if they aided him. It's Ritchie's own firm handle on his principles impressed him, and he agreed to help him.

* ArchEnemy: Ritchie seems to consider Lucas this, even if [[UnknownRival the latter is not even aware of him for most of the film]]. Frank himself despises Trupo, who proves to be a thorn in Frank's side by continuously extorting money from him in return for allowing Frank's operations to continue. It Frank to have a bomb planted in his car as a warning, and when Trupo later seizes Frank's emergency money, Frank considers personally killing him. [[spoiler:Frank ultimately gets the last laugh on Trupo when, after his downfall, he implicates Trupo as one of the dozens of officers that got involved with him or the New York drug scene, thus disgracing him and [[DrivenToSuicide driving him to commit suicide]] rather than be arrested]].

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Both times that Frank does something against his pragmatic ruthless nature when pushed by his loved ones, it proves to be his downfall. First when his wife coerces him in wearing a extravagant fur coat that makes Richie notice him for the first time, second was his mother pleading him not to take revenge on Trupo and instead go to church, where the cops are waiting for him.