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Oscar Movies Map: Harlem Is the Capital

February 21, 2008 at 4:30 PM | by egw | 0 Comments

The Oscars are back on, and we're celebrating with a series on the New York City locations you might've seen in this year's nominated films. Our Oscar Movies Map will be your golden statuette.

"American Gangster" didn't turn out to be the Oscar juggernaut Universal was hoping for, but it did pick up nods for Best Art Direction and Best Supporting Actress for Ruby Dee.

Dee, a career actress best known to movie buffs as the human embodiment of good in "The Stand," plays the mother of Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington), a black gangster who controls the Harlem drug trade with his exceptionally pure "Blue Magic" heroin, imported direct from Southeast Asia. Lucas enlists his brothers and cousins in the business and faces not only the competition of other local drug lords like Nicky Barnes (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) but also catches the attention of jealous cops looking to collect bribes from him.

That's Where Russell Crowe Comes In

Unfortunately, Jersey cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), who has been investigating the drug trade, can't be bought off and will stop at nothing to find the Blue Magic mastermind.

In case the soundtrack's use of "Across 110th Street" didn't clue you in, the heart of this movie is Lucas' Harlem territory. Director Ridley Scott had to build a lot of sets to recreate the '70s neighborhood which no longer exists, but landmarks like the Apollo Theatre (253 W. 125th Street), where the film's premiere takes place, and Sylvia's, the soul-food restaurant similar to Frank Lucas's joint of choice Lucille's (328 Lenox Ave.) still stand. The rows of classic neighborhood brownstones might help transport you to the era, too.

Frank Lucas is still alive and pointed out to New York magazine old locations of bygone clubs like Small's Paradise (113th and 7th Ave.) and his old surveillance spot at 116th and 8th Avenue. Check 'em out before swinging back south through Central Park.

Related Stories:
· Oscar Movies Map [Jaunted]
· Movie Set Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: harlemfur.com]

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