SCARFACE (1983)
RATING: 
By Shawn McKenna
Date Reviewed: 10/22/97
If there is a fault with this movie it is the writing. Oliver Stone, who wrote the film, is normally a realist when it comes to his screenplays. In Scarface he creates implausable situations in which Tony Montana should be dead yet lives on. For example, when the hit ordered by Frank Lopez goes sour in his nightclub. The assassins try to shoot him down with two uzis from across the dance floor. The uzi is a short range weapon and any hit should be done at close range preferably with a handgun. There are many such mistakes.
Excess. If there is one word to describe the movie it is excess. It wallows in excess. The violence is overbearing, the language is profane, and it proves that you do not have to be Tarrantino or Scorscese to create a good ultraviolent gangster movie. When Tony does drugs he sucks them up like a vacuum.
The center of the film is Al Pacino's performance as Scarface. He would also star in DePalma's Carlito's Way. He dominates the screen whenever he is on. He creates a truly memorable performance as Tony Montana. Tony Montana is an imigrant who was a political prisoner from Cuba. Castro emptied his prisons and the United States got Cuban's felons. Among them was Tony. He did not want to do menial work. So when offered a choice between scrubbing dishes for mininum wage or earning thousands of tax free dollars selling drugs he chooses the latter. He then tutors underneath Frank Lopez, a solid performance by Robert Loggia, who gives Tony sage advice. First, only a fool gets hooked on what he sells. Second, never underestimate how greedy the other guy can get. Frank breaks rule two and Tony breaks rule one. Tony also has a problem of never being happy. He obtains everything int the world and is still not happy. He transforms from a egotistical jerk to a paranoid creep.
Scarface takes its title from a 1932 Howard Hawks film. That movie was known for its groundbreaking violence and the same can be said for this film. It is not a film to watch if you squemish or abhor violence. This is a good film however. Most critics reactions were either very good or very bad. It is not comparable to the 1932 movie because the twain are very different. Scarface is an exciting movie as well as an effective drama. It shows that crime does not pay and all the money in the world does not necessarily make life any easier.
SCARFACE (1983)
| Tony Montana | Al Pacino | | Manny Ray | Steven Bauer | | Elvira | Michelle Pfeiffer |
| Gina | Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio |
| Frank Lopez | Robert Loggia |
| Director: | Brian De Palma | | Written By: | Oliver Stone | | Produced By: | Martin Bregman |
| Running Time: | 170m. | | Rated: | R | | Genre: | genre | | Country: | USA | | Widescreen: | Panavision(2.4:1) |
Other Critics:
Roger Eberts Rating
****
Leonard Maltin's Rating
*½
Awards, Facts, and Oddities
BACK TO 'S'
BACK TO MY HOMEPAGE
|