Reviews of Scarface

Every dog has it's day...A classic.

Posted : 3 weeks, 5 days ago on 15 October 2009 07:21 (A review of Scarface)

''I'm Tony Montana! You fuck with me, you fuckin' with the best!''

In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug empire while succumbing to greed.

Al Pacino: Tony Montana

''In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.''

Brian De Palma did a very good job directing Scarface. Whenever an actor is able to become larger than life with his performance some credit should be given to the director and I will certainly give De Palma that. Brian De Palma, though not given the respect at times, is a very versatile director by my reckoning and assessing. He knows how to direct movies according to their genres, but that at times has let some of his works down. In Scarface, this is by all counts a gangster movie but few are much better than this one because of De Palma's skills and talents.

The script was great, pure Oliver Stone. When I saw the credits at the end of this movie and realized Oliver Stone had written this I was pleasantly surprised. That is a testament to him though. I have always thought of him as a great writer and to me he proves this once again with Scarface. Nobody knows how to write a surreal reality for a movie better.
The music was great. It is certainly a diverse score with feeling and emotion from Giorgio Moroder. Maybe very 80s-ish at times but stylish and fitting with the times. The cinematography was good, not perfect but who really who cares when you have an action packed storyline.

''Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy!''

Alot of people divudge in saying the acting was over-the-top, but who better to do an over-the-top character than legendary Al Pacino. To say that Pacino went overboard in here would be an understatement. Yet he does it so well, he just brings the inner devil out of the viewer too. His character Tony Montana was not such a great guy to begin with but his thirst for power just brings his lust and lust for greed to another level, an inhumane level. Sure at times Pacino seems to be a bit cartoonish and surreal but that does not at all to me seem to be a loss or liability. The supporting cast served its job very well supporting Pacino. Michelle Pfeiffer was not really at her best but she certainly fits the role she played. On the other hand Steven Bauer was at his best, still he is Steven Bauer. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio was good and like Michelle Pfeiffer fits her respective role very well. Robert Loggia I have always enjoyed watching in 80s films. Other than Pacino they were not really any standout or memorable performances. Everybody just seemed to fit their roles by being there.

''You think you can take me? You need a fucking army if you gonna take me!''

De Palma's Scarface has probably been one of the most influential movies in the past 25 years. People should realize that the character of Tony Montana is no hero, he is a monster. He is not inspiring in bringing out that evil obssession to excel even by wrong means. He is greedy, bloodthirsty, uneducated and self consumed. Yet he is a role model to many people because he is in some way or another a rebel but probably most of all because he is a deluded gangster. A vigilante would be like Mother Tereasa next to Montana.
The good thing about Scarface though is that it shows that the Tony Montana is not the real problem. If we or the people of authority would want to stop people like him, we could do it but we don't. In a freaky twisted way he is a necessity of our society. He is somebody you could blame everything on and feel better about yourself for doing it. The Tony Montanas' of this world are the scapegoats of our society. This in no way excuses people like him, instead it is more of a reminder that we shouldn't excuse or allow ourselves to do bad things just because it will further our personal wealth unjustly. I love Scarface because it is more than merely a corruption story of an individual, it is a story that in a strange way makes you self reflect your own soul. At times you know Tony is doing bad things, but that doesn't stop you enjoying proceedings does it?

''You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!''

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My Li-Oh Frenn Says 'Ello

Posted : 2 months ago on 12 September 2009 03:25 (A review of Scarface)

Okay, let's get this part out of the way;
"Say 'ello tu my lil-oh frenn!"
Now, with that most over-used movie-line over & done with,
Scarface is the in-your-face, over-the-top character that will always iconically follow the career of Al Pacino.
The rise & fall of drug kingpin who literally started out nothing & pyrrhically ends up with everything the drug-world has to offer.
One of those rare times for an actor where upon it's over-the-top performance is considered so perfect for the role, that's its almost impossible to imagine it done in any other fashion.
Pacino is brutal, heartless & violent not just the way he handles the character of, but also with the way he handles the Cuban accent (something he does again, but this time with a Puerto rican accent & not with as much of an iconic effect, in 1997's Carlito's Way).
As the movie tagline says: "He loved the American Dream. With a Vengeance."




7.5/10

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UNDER RATED AND OVER RATED AT THE SAME TIME

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago on 8 August 2008 08:16 (A review of Scarface)

SOME PEOPLE MAY WONDER HOW THIS COULD BE BOTH UNDER RATED AND OVER RATED, WELL MOST PEOPLE LIKE SCARFACE AND PRAISE IT JUST FOR BEING SCARFACE, ITS SUPPOSED TO BE COOL FOR EVERYONE TO LIKE IT EVEN IF U HAVE NEVER SEEN IT. IT SHOULD BE APPRECIATED FOR ITS TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE BY PACINO OR ITS GREAT DIRECTION BY DEPALMA OR OLIVER STONE'S DETAILED SCRIPT ABOUT A PISS POOR IMMIGRANT WHO MAKES HIS WAY TO THE TOP, THE SCRIPT DE-GLORIFIES BEING A DRUG DEALER BY HAVING EVERYONE IN THE BUSINESS GETT WASTED OR ARRESTED IN BLOODY WAYS, AT NO POINT WAS THE VIOLENCE GLAMORIZED. THIS FILM FLOPPED AT THE BOX OFFICE WHEN FIRST RELEASED, AND OVER MANY YEARS HAS GROWN INTO EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE GANGSTER FILM JUST FOR BEING SCARFACE. TAKE TIME TO REALLY ANALYSE THIS FILM FOR THE TRUELY GREAT QUALITIES IT POSSESES.

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Joo wanna play ruff?

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 18 February 2008 08:57 (A review of Scarface)

Despite being a vehicle for some extraordinary acting by Al Pacino, this film serves as nothing more than a hyper-violent gangster flick that exists purely to be quoted by film students and working men alike. One of the most overrated films of all time, I couldn't find an ounce of substance or bring myself to empathise with any of the characters.

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nothing special

Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 9 July 2007 02:57 (A review of Scarface)

Sadly, I'll admit that I've never seen Scarface until last night, yet I've always heard its a great gangster movie, and everyone knows that line, 'Say hello to my little friend!!', even the ones that never have seen this film.

Now it's a bit unfair to be rating a film made almost 25 years ago, as I probably would have rated it an 8 or 9 had I seen it back in the 80s (well, early 90s anyways - i would've been too young in the 80s). But since then such great gangster films like Goodfellas and Casino, as well as drug films such as Blow have been made, and compared to all those, this film is very so-so.

The plot follows the rise (and fall) of a Cuban refugee who becomes the biggest drug lord in Florida, but there was nothing making me care for the antagonist. I cared what happened to Carlito in Carlito's way. I cared what happened Johnny Depp's charachter in Blow. But here, I just couldn't care less about Tony Montana. It's not Pacino's fault (I thought this way his best role I've ever seen him in - absolutely mind-blowing acting) but more of the character's fault. He's just so despicable, that by the end, you find yourself HOPING that he finally gets what is coming to him. And the lead female role played by Michelle Pfeiffer, besides her beauty, she has absolutely zero appeal, zero depth, zero personality. She's just a typical 'trophy wife' of a drug lord, nothing else.

I recommend it for Al Pacino incredible performance, and of course for that famous line at the end, but I won't be adding this to my home collection.

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