Lucas spent two months in Cambodia working on a deal with poppy growers, and then bribed military personnel to ship the heroin in the caskets of soldiers who died in the Vietnam War. Once smuggled into the United States, the heroin was sold in tiny packages called "Blue Magic" in New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut. On some days, Lucas collected $1 million in cash. He was seemingly unstoppable, until Roberts got involved in the drug war.
There's a two-disc release for $29.98 and a three-disc set for $34.98. Both sets feature an extended version of the film (with 18 minutes of new footage and an alternative ending), a director's commentary, deleted scenes - including an alternative opening - and segments on how the filmmakers re-created the looks and sounds of the funk and Superfly era of the late '60s and '70s.
The three-disc set offers all the extras on the two-disk set, plus specials that first aired on NBC's Dateline and on BET, music videos by several rap artists who sang and acted in the film, a 32-page booklet on the making of the movie and a digital copy of the extended version for a PC. (If you can buy it for $34.98, I recommend it; you get more than $5 worth of entertaining extras.)
Director Ridley Scott's team of collaborators - editor Pietro Scalia, production designer Arthur Max and costume designer Janty Yates, along with producer Brian Glazer - continuously say "genius" when talking about him. I don't know if Scott's at that level, but he's made Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, so he must know what he's doing. As an example, in this film, those alternative opening and closings are good, but the ones he chose work better.
