THE SYNOPSIS In 1980, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro opened his ports and allowed his some of constituents to leave the nation. Along with the tired, the poor and the huddled masses were guests of the Cuban Penal system. Of the reported 125,000 Cubans who landed in Miami, FL, at least 25,000 had criminal records. Among them is Tony Montana (Pacino), a tough-talking, ass-kicking bundle of fury. Buried beneath the tanned skin, dueling facial scar and arching eyebrows is a guy who wants a piece of the American Dream--all of it. Along with his best friend Manny Ribera (Bauer), Tony makes his move. After secretly murdering a former Communist leader in the detention center, the boys earn their green cards and are set free into Miami. Hooking up with sleazy Omar (Abraham), they are sent with money to a cocaine deal with some Columbians that turns rather lethal--fast. Tony’s buddy Angel (Serna) is hacked to death by chainsaw, and Tony’s about to share his fate when Manny and other accomplice, Chi-Chi (Salazar) shoot the Columbians dead. With coke and buy-money in hand, Tony and Manny are introduced to Omar’s patron, Frank Lopez (Loggia)--a glad-handling gangster who appreciates loyalty. Tony appreciates his mistress, the lovely-but-vacant Elvira (Pfeiffer). The die is cast and things are set in motion. Some time later, Tony makes a visit to his mother’s home. Mama Montana (Colon) isn’t exactly thrilled to see his estranged, criminal son. But his younger sister, Gina (Mastrantonio), is thrilled to reunite with him. Tony secretly gives her money after his mother’s disavowal. Tony begins making moves and his strength grows. He’s also making moves on Elvira behind Frank’s back. The working relationship takes a bad turn when Frank sends Omar and Tony to Bolivia to do business with the smooth, powerful and wealthy Alejandro Sosa (Shenar). He has Omar killed because of his snitch-status to the authorities that led to the incarceration of some of Sosa’s associates year ago. The drug overlord makes a pact with Tony, as the Cuban shows his valor in the face of death. Naturally, Frank is stressed about these developments and tries to have Tony executed (well, due to that and the whole Elvira thing). Tony and Manny show up to a popular nightclub one night where they spot Gina dancing with some hoodlum. Tony also gets a visit from Det. Sgt. Mel Bernstein (Yulin)--a crooked cop under Frank’s payroll who muscles Tony. Gina’s blatant dancing and necking with the guy sets Tony off and he attacks them. Manny has to take her home before Tony beats her up for wallowing in a den of inequity. Like he does. While Manny does the deed (and in the process begins to fall for Gina), Tony is attacked at the club by 2 hitmen--whom Tony dispatches with ease. Hours later, a wounded & fiery Tony, along with Manny and Chi-Chi pay Frank a visit at his office. Bernstein’s there also. It’s suffice to say that both men are snuffed out--and Ernie (Santana), Franks loyal bodyguard, has a new boss. Tony grabs Elvira and a new phase in their lives begins. Some time later, Tony and his crew are raking in millions of dollars a month and Tony builds his empire. Business with Sosa is good and he and Elvira marry. Also, Manny and Gina begin to date secretly. The American Dream has happened for Tony and his crew. But will it last? Of course not. In time, Tony becomes a cocaine junkie and descends into paranoia. Elvira becomes an even bigger junkie and their marriage fails. Tony is busted for money laundering and is facing jail time--until Sosa beckons him to South America where he and his powerful associates (in government and cartels) offer him a proposition: They wish to assassinate a public speaker who is bringing down heat on Sosa and company in the States and need someone to chaperone Sosa’s lethal bodyguard Alberto (Margolis) and take him to New York City to do the deed. Tony will serve no jail time if the hit is done. Naturally, Tony agrees. The car-bomb hit is a no-go when Tony realizes that the target has his wife and children in the car (even drug lord Tony Montana has moral limitations). Alberto rebels and Tony executes him. This brings Sosa’s wrath down on him. Back in Miami, at his mother’s behest, Tony tracks down Gina--who has moved into a beautiful mansion with her lover. Turns out that it’s Manny’s place. In a coke-filled rage, Tony kills Manny for his “betrayal.” Turns out (again) that Gina and Manny were just married and that he was leaving the drug business for good. What drama! The boys drag an emotional Gina back to Tony’s mansion--where (surprise, surprise), Sosa’s hit team shows up. A gun battle erupts and all of Tony’s men are killed. Even Gina is murdered. Coked-up and adrenaline-pumped, Tony whips out the heavy artillery and takes out most of the interlopers. Except for the one who shotguns Tony in the back. Our intrepid anti-hero falls into a fountain and expires under a statue that exhibits his favorite motto: The World Is Yours. THE CRITIQUE When it was released in 1983, SCARFACE was a modest box office hit ($65.8 million worldwide)--yet reviled by most critics upon its original release. This critic didn’t get the opportunity to see this opus on the big screen but was privileged to see its debut as the Saturday Night Movie on HBO back in 1984. I say privileged, because my parents had allowed a then 12-year old me to sit with them to see Al Pacino in his newest movie--whom my parents adored from such classics as The Godfather I & II, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon. They figured that his newest one would be another one for the VHS library (yes, we used to tape movies off of the air with a VCR--you young ones reading this review should ask your elders about VCRs and the joys of recording with them). Well, about 3 hours later, Mom & Pop were slack-jawed. They’d never seen a movie with so much cursing and graphic violence. It didn’t help that my then 5-year old sister Sabrina was sitting with us as well. Hell: I, of course, was ecstatic! To me, this gangster flick lacked the operatic pretentiousness of the Godfather movies (and I mean that in a good way) while having an action quotient somewhere in the neighborhood of say, First Blood. Anyway, on to the movie itself. What can I say about SCARFACE that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseum throughout the decades? Plenty! Look, it is what it is and shall always be: a cult film that transcends the generations of movie-goers and movie-viewers who are gleefully-sucked into the coked-nose of cinema. Like the movie or hate it, you cannot deny its power and allure as entertainment. SCARFACE features all of the right ingredients to make it a memorable cinematic experience. Not to say that it is perfect, but how many movies really are? Case-in-point: which movie sticks in the minds of the populace: SCARFACE or a Best Picture Oscar©-winner like The English Patient (1996)? Exactly. For all 5 of you out there that don’t know it, this SCARFACE is an updated (for the 1980’s, anyway) remake of Howard Hawks’ classic 1932 tommy-gun opus Scarface, starring Paul Muni and George Raft in the lead roles. Check it out; it was pretty risque for its time. Since there’s so much to say about this movie, I shall break down my comments into categories: Acting They say that a good script makes a movie. Yeah...but I think that electrifying actors make a mediocre script better! Let’s face it, outside of De Palma’s manipulative direction (read next section) and Oliver Stone’s vulgar & exciting screenplay (the next paragraph after that one), what’s left? [Well, plenty actually; but we’re talking about on-camera talent here!] OK: you know and I know it. Al Pacino makes this movie his, we are his cinematic bitches and he had us at the utterance of his first F-bomb! Pacino spent much time researching his role (like all great Method Actors), studying some Spanish and hanging out with Cubans to meld their culture into his own psyche. Admittedly, his pseudo-Cuban accent is atrocious. But man, Pacino really brings some life into a cliched role! Easily an instant iconic character. As his younger partner in crime, Steven Bauer (né Esteban “Rocky” Echevarria) makes a big splash in his feature-film debut with his smoldering good-looks and authentic Cubanesque style (yes, he is the only cast member that is actually Cuban). Makes the girls happy, I guess. Speaking of girls, both Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio play their roles to the hilt as Tony’s moll and sister, respectively. Sadly, Pfeiffer’s role is shabbily-underwritten and Mastrantonio’s faux Cuban accent is probably worse than Pacino’s. Nonetheless, both women are terrific thespians and bring some female charm into this most masculine of movies. Rounding out the rest if the cast are terrific character actors Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham and the late Paul Shenar. Even with their fake accents, these men bring some color to the plot. Loggia, one of my favorite character actors, is fun--until he gets clipped, that is. Abraham (just one movie away from winning a Best Actor Oscar© for his role as the nefarious Salieri in 1984’s Amadeus) gets some of the best lines in the movie and exits the proceedings far too early--death by hanging noose off of a helicopter. Shenar, as the cool, dashing, villainous Sosa, should of gotten more recognition for his elegant manner and theatrical line-readings. To this day, after a meal, I still quote one of his best lines: You come back in time tomorrow for lunch... with my arm sashaying eloquently across the table like he does in the movie. Classic stuff! And if you listen closely, during the opening interrogation sequence with Pacino, those Immigration Officers’ voices are looped by Charles Durning and Dennis Franz. Weird, huh?! Direction I always laugh when I think about lofty ideas like Fate and Destiny. But one thing is for certain: if it is meant to be (whatever it is), then it shall come to pass. Case in point: who’s directing this movie? Producer Martin Bregman (Carlito’s Way/Dog Day Afternoon/Serpico) originally approached director Brian De Palma about helming SCARFACE--but the overworked filmmaker turned him down; after all he was in the final stages of completing Blow Out (1981). Bregman then turned to veteran director Sidney Lumet (Q&A/Dog Day Afternoon/Serpico)--who signed up for the task. Bringing along Oliver Stone as the screenwriter (more on that below), Lumet was the one to suggest the updating and location-changing of the story from the Ben Hecht & Howard Hawks screenplay version. After a while, so the story goes, Lumet became disillusioned with the production and the course that the story was taking and bowed out gracefully. Bregman again approached De Palma--who finally acquiesced into accepting the job. Like I said...Fate or Destiny. Anyway, De Palma (The Black Dahlia/Dressed To Kill/Body Double/Wise Guys/The Untouchables) does a terrific job of keeping the camera moving and his cast of talented thespians acting with gusto. As with most of his movies, De Palma manipulates the imagery--and thus: us the audience--to a point that we cannot but be sucked into a tantalizing world of drugs and violence. What I like is that De Palma (a native Jerseyite like me!) doesn’t shy away from what he’s projecting. Likened (for better or worse) by his critics to the Master himself, Alfred Hitchcock, De Palma gracefully infuses his movies with a cinematic raison d’etre--in other words, a movie like SCARFACE should exist, because it was made with abominable skill by artisans who love cinema. Makes sense? But I do admit that I am a big De Palma fan, so there may be some bias here in this discussion. But hey, it’s my site so I’ll say what I must! By the way, De Palma buddy Steven Spielberg stopped by the set one day and was allowed to direct a scene during the finale. I leave it up to you film buffs to figure out which one it was! Screenplay Coming off of his own cocaine addiction, Oscar©-winning screenwriter Oliver Stone (won for writing 1978’s haunting Midnight Express) updates the original’s premise and moves the setting to something a little more ethnic and flavorful. According to Stone himself, he wrote the SCARFACE screenplay in France in 1981 while going cold turkey against his substance-abuse demons. The fact that he was sober when he crafted this epic screenplay of tough-guy dialogue and histrionic-laden characters must mean that Stone had cojones of steel or a “I don’t give a damned” attitude. Either way, this is not a Robert Towne script for an Altmanesque feature. Part of this script’s “attitude” can be traced to much of Stone’s research techniques--like hanging out with both cops and criminals and having some rather terrifying experiences in parts of the world probably better off not being in (and don’t forget, Stone himself was a Vietnam Vet)! Yeah, the plot is violent--and the dialogue borderline racist & misogynistic; but man, the movie is quite exciting and chock-full of delicious one-liners...most of them unrepeatable in good company! Not only that, but there is a hint of the nostalgic in the proceedings--meaning that the spirit of the original Scarface and many of the other 1930’s Warner Bros. gangster flicks lay nestled in the lines of Stone’s coked-up screenplay (no pun intended). By the way, Stone campaigned for the chance to direct the movie, but was denied. But he did go on to win 2 directing Oscar© (for 1986’s Platoon & 1989’s Born On The Fourth Of July, respectively) and still belts out movies both political & controversial (like 1991’s JFK & 1994’s Natural Born Killers) and even movies of substance, like World Trade Center (2006). Cinematography My hat goes off to the late, great veteran cinematographer John A. Alonzo (Star Trek: Generations/Blue Thunder/Chinatown) for his 2.35:1 cinematically-widescreen lensing--consisting of handsome photography, elegant framing & composition (of course with the director’s input) and a whiff of the gaudy, nostalgic, go-go ‘80s look--all of which make this one a fun watch. Best example has to be The Babylon Club set--with dozens of mirrors that would make a cinematographer run away in fright. But Alonzo took on the challenge and succeeded. Production Design/Locations Further props are in order for the excellent production design led by the late, great Oscar©-winner Fernando Scarfiotti (who earned it for 1987’s epic The Last Emperor). From the drab offices of the immigration center to the drabber Sun-Ray Motel room scenes, and right up through the aforementioned Babylon Club set and Tony’s mansion--Scarfiotti and his crew provide us with something to look at. Beautifully-done! Though the movie is set primarily in Miami, Florida, most of the movie was filmed in Los Angeles, California. Thanks to some Florida-based Cuban-American organizations who voiced their opinions about the negative stereotypes about Cuban criminals, the filmmakers decided to shoot the bulk out West; with some minor shoots done in Miami and New York City for ambience. Once again, it’s a credit to Scarfiotti and his crew for dressing up the exteriors in Los Angeles to look like Miami. In addition, both Sosa’s estate and Tony’s were shot at real homes in lovely Montecito, CA. Editing Another fine editing job by Oscar©-winning cutter Jerry Greenberg (he won for 1971’s The French Connection) and veteran David Ray (editor of De Palma’s Bonfire Of The Vanities). Having worked with director Brian De Palma before (1980’s Dressed To Kill and 1981’s Blow Out--and after: 1984’s Body Double, 1986’s Wise Guys & 1987’s The Untouchables), Greenberg (and Ray) set the rhythm and ultimately--gives us a 3-hour movie that moves rather quickly. Another plus is that De Palma generally shoots with multiple cameras to achieve maximum coverage during shooting. The edits reflect these camera angles in a smooth and uncluttered manner. Classic. Music When it came to the music score and soundtrack selections, De Palma got Oscar©-winning musical deity Giorgio Moroder (he won for 1978’s haunting Midnight Express) to put together a plethora of “coked-up” disco songs and some non-diegetic score music that surely defines the movie. Think about it: the ominous, synthesized Scarface Theme is as synonymous to the musical characterization of this film as are John Williams’ brilliant, Oscar©-winning scores for JAWS (1975) and Star Wars (1977). The soundtrack carries its own recognition factor and has thus been iconified to the point that Moroder’s tunes have been sampled by musicians, rappers and artists alike since 1983. That says something! THE BOTTOM LINE So, after 170 minutes, 223 F-bombs, 2049 bullets shot, approximately 42 people killed, tons of powered milk used as cocaine props and 1 chainsaw bloodied--what can be said about this movie? Plenty! But I’m all of energy! Still, SCARFACE holds up as one of the most violent and dazzling gangster movies of all time. Time has done nothing but amplify its iconic status among new generations of people. Yes, it can be tacky and even dated--but the movie entertains...and thus endures. And I’ll take any cockroach to war who disagrees with me! CAST: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Angel Salazar, Arnaldo Santana, Pepe Serna, Michael P. Moran, Al Israel & Mark Margolis CREDITS: Director: Brian De Palma; Screenwriter: Oliver Stone; Producer: Martin Bregman; Director of Photography: John A. Alonzo, ASC; Production Designer: Ferdinando Scarfiotti; Editors: Jerry Greenberg & David Ray; Costume Designer: Patricia Norris; Music: Giorgio Moroder AC/SL 1983 170m ENGLISH N/SV http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayblackdahlia.htmlbodydouble.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenwriterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screenplayhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardworldtradecenter.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_%28image%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widescreenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_%28visual_arts%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinematographerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_designerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing#Film_Editorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_editing#Film_Editorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_directorbodydouble.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_camerahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_scorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegetic#Diegesis_in_filmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_scorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_scorehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundtrack#Movie_and_television_soundtracksshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1shapeimage_2_link_2shapeimage_2_link_3shapeimage_2_link_4shapeimage_2_link_5shapeimage_2_link_6shapeimage_2_link_7shapeimage_2_link_8shapeimage_2_link_9shapeimage_2_link_10shapeimage_2_link_11shapeimage_2_link_12shapeimage_2_link_13shapeimage_2_link_14shapeimage_2_link_15shapeimage_2_link_16shapeimage_2_link_17shapeimage_2_link_18shapeimage_2_link_19shapeimage_2_link_20shapeimage_2_link_21shapeimage_2_link_22shapeimage_2_link_23shapeimage_2_link_24shapeimage_2_link_25shapeimage_2_link_26shapeimage_2_link_27shapeimage_2_link_28shapeimage_2_link_29shapeimage_2_link_30shapeimage_2_link_31shapeimage_2_link_32shapeimage_2_link_33shapeimage_2_link_34shapeimage_2_link_35shapeimage_2_link_36shapeimage_2_link_37shapeimage_2_link_38shapeimage_2_link_39shapeimage_2_link_40shapeimage_2_link_41shapeimage_2_link_42shapeimage_2_link_43shapeimage_2_link_44shapeimage_2_link_45shapeimage_2_link_46shapeimage_2_link_47