¶ … American Gangster" and "Scarface." Specifically it will discuss the similarities in the films. Both of these films explore the underworld of drug trafficking, and they illustrate how wildly profitable and dangerous the practice is for those who are involved. Interestingly, one of the things that the films have in common is main characters named Frank, but there are many more similarities to the films. They both show the world of drug dealing, violence, and paranoia that fills these people's lives, and they show that drug dealing really does not pay. In "American Gangster," set in the 1970s, Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a protegee of a well-known Harlem gangster and drug dealer. He takes over the business after the gangster dies, and he realizes that he can make huge profits by importing heroin directly from Southeast Asia, eliminating the middleman and keeping all the profits for himself. In "Scarface," Tony Montana (played by Al Pacino), a Cuban immigrant to Miami,...

He arrives in America penniless, but he soon gains the trust of drug-dealer Frank Lopez, and begins working with him and learning the trade of cocaine trafficking. Both men have mentors who teach them the ropes, and both men eventually take over the business themselves, becoming far more powerful than their predecessors.
Both films show how violent the underworld is, and they both open with very graphic scenes of violence. This violence keeps their rivals in check, but it also makes both men targets of rival drug lords and Mafia gangs, so they are always looking over their shoulder for the next attempted attack on themselves and their families. Their lives may seem wildly successful, but in reality, they are filled with danger and deception, and that eventually leads to their downfall.

Both men fail in the end. Frank goes to prison after being successfully prosecuted in New York. He does get out of prison, and is befriended by the cop who…