Ridley Scott’s New York crime saga about ’70s Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and the Jersey cop (Russell Crowe) who’s determined to bring Lucas down was a theatrical hit this fall and is poised to continue delivering on standard-def DVD and as an HD DVD Combo. Scott and veteran cinematographer Harris Savides’ stunning depiction of the urban jungle—not to mention the jungles of Vietnam, where Lucas procures his heroin—offers considerable texture and grit in its HD DVD incarnation, while the funk-filled soundtrack featuring period performers Bobby Womack and The Staple Singers crisply underlines the era and mood. Universal’s U-Control picture-in-picture function provides an extensive, inter-active look at the film’s origins and production. It’s only available for the HD DVD theatrical cut of the film, which is actually quite fine as the flip-side’s unrated, three-hour version is simply too long.

Shelf Talk: Renowned visualist Scott’s films are some of the most successful titles to be issued in the high-def formats (think Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down), so high-def adoptors are surely waiting for American Gangster, which is the biggest title to be issued on HD DVD so far this year. And Washington and Crowe, of course, are always leaders on the new release shelf, as can be seen with their most current titles, Déjà Vu and the recently released 3:10 to Yuma, respectively.