"The World Is Yours"

"Scarface" is one of the greatest of all mob movies. It's an epic crime drama done with style and care. Brian De Palma presents a film that ignites the screen with a great screenplay by Oliver Stone and an amazing performance by Al Pacino. For those unfamiliar with the story, Scarface follows the path of Tony Montana, a charismatic Cuban refugee, who arrives in Miami looking for the American dream. Tony's up-front and tough personality makes him go right to the top of the cocaine underworld. However, no one, as they say, stays at the top forever. There are consequences to his success, and as Tony learns, money and power can't give you everything. A special mention should go to Michelle Pfeiffer, who superbly plays Tony's love, in what was her first major film role. This film is not for the faint at heart as directer Brian De Palma 3 times had the film rejected because it had and X-Rated certificate. He literally had to take the people who give the certificates out to court. Although grotesquely brutal this movie could teach kids good lessons that crime does not pay as when he gets to the top of the underworld his life corrupts through cocaine and he ends up killing the ones he loves and watching ones he loves die in crossfire.

The film is famous for it's scenes of violence, including a victim chained to a shower and killed with a chainsaw. Director Brian DePalma, not really known for excess gloriously lavishes in it here and films his movie with style and gusto, "Scarface" is unique because it feels like it was made with real respect for the material. Consider that you have one of Hollywood's future greatest directors writing the script and one of American film's most stylish talents directing and on top of that, an iconic actor in the lead role. Even the moody main theme is composed by none other than Giorgio Moroder. The ending is especially deliciously bloody, as if a normal shoot-out is for sissies. "Scarface" remains a potent movie because it has themes we can all relate to, we all want wealth, power and at least one beautiful woman, "Scarface" asks the question of what extremes would one go to to achieve wealth, and is it worth anything when it is dirty money?

Overall rating: 10 out of 10.

10/10