American Gangster (2007)

Denzel Washington: Frank Lucas

Photos 

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Quotes 

• Frank Lucas : The loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room.

• [repeated line] 

  Frank Lucas : My man.

• Frank Lucas : The most important thing in business is honesty, integrity, hardwork... family... never forgetting where we came from.

• [from trailer] 

  Frank Lucas : See, ya are what ya are in this world. That's either one of two things: Either you're somebody, or you ain't nobody.

• Frank Lucas : My man. You know what normal is to me? I ain't see normal since I was 6 years old. Normal is seeing the police ride up to my house, dragging my 12 year old cousin out and tying him to a pole, shoving a shotgun in his mouth so hard they bust his teeth, then they bust two shotgun shells in his head, knocking it off. That's what normal is to me. Didn't give a fuck about no police then... Don't give a fuck about no police now.

• Frank Lucas : What is that you got on?

  Huey Lucas : What? This?

  Frank Lucas : Yeah, that.

  Huey Lucas : This is a very, very, very nice suit.

  Frank Lucas : That's a very, very, very nice suit, huh?

  Huey Lucas : Yeah.

  Frank Lucas : That's a clown suit. That's a costume, with a big sign on it that says "Arrest me". You understand? You're too loud, you're making too much noise. Listen to me, the loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room.

• Frank Lucas : The man I worked for, he had one of the biggest companies in New York City- he ran it for more than fifty years. Fifteen years, eight months, nine days- I was with him every day. I looked after him, took care of him, protected him... I learned from him. Bumpy was rich, but he wasn't white man rich, you see he wasn't wealthy. He didn't own his own company. He thought he did, but he didn't. He just managed it. White man owned it so they owned him. Nobody owns me, though. Because I own my company. And my company sells a product that's better than the competition at a price that's lower than the competition.

• [from trailer] 

  Frank Lucas : This is my home. My country. Frank Lucas don't run from nobody. This is America.

• Frank Lucas : Ey, ey, ey, ey! Don't rub on that. You Blot that! Ya understand? That's Alpaca. That's $25,000 Alpaca! You blot that shit! You don't rub it, put the club soda on there.

• Detective Richie Roberts : Good work Frank. You... want a drink or something? Celebrate?

  Frank Lucas : You got any holy water?

• Frank Lucas : Now, I got no problem with you showin' up in court tomorrow with your head blown in half.

  Detective Richie Roberts : Get in line. That one stretches around the block too.

• [from trailer] 

  Frank Lucas : I got Harlem. I took care of Harlem, so Harlem's gonna take care of me.

• Frank Lucas : Simple Simon-ass motherfuckers!

• Mama Lucas : You don't shoot cops. Even I know that. Eva knows it. The only one who DOESN'T seem to know is you.

  Frank Lucas : [ignores her pleas as he escorts her outside]  All right, Mama. I'm not going to, I promise you. I'm not going to shoot anyone.

  Mama Lucas : I never asked you where all this stuff came from, because I didn't want to hear you lie to me. Please...

  Frank Lucas : [talking over her]  Ma, I understand. I don't want you to worry about it. Now come on, I have to go...

  Mama Lucas : Don't LIE to me!

  [slaps Frank roughly] 

  Mama Lucas : Don't... don't do that. Do you want to make things so bad for your family that they'll leave you? Because they will.

  Frank Lucas : [dismissively]  No. No, Ma, I understand...

  Mama Lucas : [points towards Eva]  She will leave you. *I* will LEAVE you!

• Detective Trupo : [after Detective Trupo finds Blue Magic in a small bag in the car]  What are we gonna do about this?

  Frank Lucas : We ain't gon' do shit about it. Close it up. Throw it back in the trunk. Everybody go home. Have some pumpin pie, warm apple cider...

  Detective Trupo : I got a better idea, or would you rather me throw you and your brother in the fuckin' river?

  Frank Lucas : Or, would you rather your house blows up next time?

• Detective Richie Roberts : I want to know everyone you've met for the last twenty years. Everyone you sold to. Every cop you ever paid off. Every one who ever stole from you. Every one you remember.

  Frank Lucas : Oh, I remember them all. That's not the problem.

  Detective Richie Roberts : What is?

  Frank Lucas : The jails aren't big enough.

• [last lines - extended cut] 

  [Frank observes some new-school gangstaz] 

  Frank Lucas : Even a fool gets to be young once.

• Nephew : I don't wanna play baseball no more.

  Frank Lucas : Well, what do you want?

  Nephew : I want what you got Uncle Frank. I wanna be you.

• Redtop : What's the matter? Ain't you niggas never seen naked coochie before?

  Huey Lucas : Why they all naked?

  Frank Lucas : So they can't steal nothin'.

• Frank Lucas : I sell a product that's better than the competition at a price that's less than the competition.

• Eva : You're Frank and this is your place?

  Frank Lucas : That's right. I'm Frank and this is my place.

  Eva : Why is it called Small's? Why don't you call it Frank's?

  Frank Lucas : When you own something, you can call it what you want.

• Chinese General : How would you get it into the States?

  Frank Lucas : You ain't got to worry about that.

  Chinese General : Who do you work for in there?

  Frank Lucas : You ain't got to worry about that, either.

  Chinese General : Who are you really?

  Frank Lucas : It says right there, Frank Lucas.

  Chinese General : I mean, who do you represent?

  Frank Lucas : Me.

• [from trailer] 

  Frank Lucas : This is my home. This is where my business is, my wife, my mother, my family. This is my country, I ain't goin' nowhere.

• Frank Lucas : They tried to kill my Wife!

  Frank Lucas : Who are they?... Huh?... Maybe it was one of your people?

  Dominic Cattano : I don't know yet.

  Frank Lucas : You don't know.

  Dominic Cattano : No.

  Frank Lucas : You don't know.

  Frank Lucas : I tell you what I know maybe I should just uh, put five hundred guns out there on the street and just start shooting up some people just to make a point.

• [repeated line] 

  Frank Lucas : 20 Percent.

• Frank Lucas : I don't care what you call it, put a choke-hold on the motherfucker and call it Blue Dog Shit.

• Detective Trupo : Did you pay your bills, Frank?

  Frank Lucas : I don't know what you're talking about.

  Detective Trupo : You pay your bills, I asked you?

  Frank Lucas : Look, if you're not getting your share

  Detective Trupo : [interupts]  What's my share? Cause you don't even fuckin' know me. Maybe I'm special.

• Dominic Cattano : What do you think of monopolies?

  Frank Lucas : You mean like the game?

  Dominic Cattano : Nah, I just think that monopolies are made illegal in the country, Frank, 'cause nobody wants to compete. Y'know? Nobody wants to compete. Not with a monopoly. I mean, you let the dairy farmers do that, right? They'd be out of business tomorrow.

  Frank Lucas : Just tryin' to make a livin'.

  Dominic Cattano : 'Course you are right. Everyone's right. It's America. We just can't do it at that unreasonable expense of others. Because then it becomes un-American. That's why the price we pay for that gallon of milk could never represent the true cost of production 'cause it's gotta be controlled, right? It's got to be set. It's gotta be fair.

  Frank Lucas : Gotta be controlled by who? I set a price that I think is fair.

  Dominic Cattano : I don't think it's fair.

  Frank Lucas : You don't?

  Dominic Cattano : I don't think it's fair.

  Frank Lucas : I think it's fair.

  Dominic Cattano : I know your customers are happy Frank. Bunch of fuckin' junkies that they are. What about your fellow dairy farmers out here, Frank? Are you thinkin' of us? You thinkin' of them?

  Frank Lucas : Dairy farmers?

  Dominic Cattano : Yeah.

  Frank Lucas : I'm thinking of them, Dominic, about as much as they've ever thought about me.

  Dominic Cattano : I'm just thinking out loud now. If you took some of your inventory, Frank, and you sold it wholesale, we could work. We could do some distribution.

  Frank Lucas : I dunno. I'm pretty good, Dominic. Yannow, I've got 110th to 155th-river to river-I'm alright.

  Dominic Cattano : Well that's kind of a mom and pop store next to what I'm talking about. I mean, let's go at least bigger than K-mart. I'm talking about L.A. Chicago. Detroit. Las Vegas. Let's go nation-wide. Yannow. I'm gonna guarantee you peace of mind here. You're gonna want that. You're gonna need it. I don't know how you view me. Y'know, I'm kinda a Renaissance Man, Frank. Y'know, people I deal with on a daily basis, t-t-they're not enlightened, Frank. You talk to them about Civil Rights, they don't know, y'know? They're not open to things. Not from the way things are done. And who's doin' it? I talk to them, there's just no misunderstandings. And that's what I mean. Buy you peace of mind. Yeah.

  Frank Lucas : You're paying what? Seventy-five? Eighty thousand a kilo? I'm a Renaissance Man too. I'll consider fifty thousand.

• Frank Lucas : What you want me to do? Snitch? I know you don't want no cops. What you want? Gangsters? Pick one. Jew gangsters, mick gangsters, guinees? They been bleeding Harlem dry since they got off the boat. I don't give a fuck about no crime figures. You can have them.

  Detective Richie Roberts : I'll take them too.

  Frank Lucas : You'll take them too? No you didn't. You talkin about police? You want police? You want your own kind?

  Detective Richie Roberts : They're not my kind. They're in business with you, they ain't my kind. They ain't my kind like the Italians are not yours.

• Frank Lucas : Bumpy Johnson may have been rich, but he wasn't white man rich. He wasn't wealthy.

• Eva : Why would you trust these people? And the way they look at you.

  Frank Lucas : They look at me like it's Christmas and I'm Santa Claus.

  Eva : They look at us like we're the help.

  Frank Lucas : They work for me, now.

• Frank Lucas : What's with this outfit? You know what it says? You wanna know what it says? Arrest me!

• Frank Lucas : I've been paying off Johnny law since I was ten years old I put more kids through college than the National Merit Award this is different though, these special investigative unit that's their problem they think their "special"

• Frank Lucas : Let me ask you something. You think by putting me in jail, you're going to stop even one junkie from dying? Because you won't. If it isn't me, it'll be someone else. With me or without me, nothing's going to change.

  Detective Richie Roberts : Then that's the way it is.

• Frank Lucas : I pay everybody. I pay more than they should get. I can't satisfy nobody. Money is like a drug and everybody's strung out. The more you give them, the more they want. They expect more. Give more and they want more.

• Frank Lucas : You want to be like Nicky? Be super fly? You want to work for him? Cook for him? Share a jail cell with him?

• Frank Lucas : Bumpy ain't hardly ever go out no more. After a certain point he stayed in the house. Watch TV. Play chess. Read the newspaper. I thought he was just trying to lead the quiet life, but no, he couldn't go nowhere. Not without something happening.

  Eva : Frankie... We can still go out.

• Frank Lucas : You are what you are and that's one of two things. You're nothing... or you're something. Understand what I'm saying?

• Tosca : You interested in history, Frank? The events today have brought us to where we are today? You know who was? Bumpy.

  Frank Lucas : Bumpy was interested in a lot of things.

  Tosca : I always wonder if people know when history's being made. And what they're doing at the time. This, for instance, could be a historic moment, and you're sipping a glass of water.

• Frank Lucas : I represent nothing but Frank Lucas.