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Scarface (1983 film)
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Scarface is a 1983 epic crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. A remake of Howard Hawks' original 1932 film of the same name, the film tells the story of a fictional Cuban refugee who comes to Florida in 1980 as a result of the Mariel Boatlift. Montana becomes a gangster against the backdrop of the 1980s cocaine boom. The film chronicles his rise to the top of Miami's criminal underworld and subsequent downfall in Greek tragedy fashion.
The film is dedicated to Hawks and Ben Hecht, who were the writers of the original.
The critical response to Scarface was mixed and received criticism for the violence and graphic language.
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Encyclopedia
Scarface is a 1983 epic crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino as Tony Montana. A remake of Howard Hawks' original 1932 film of the same name, the film tells the story of a fictional Cuban refugee who comes to Florida in 1980 as a result of the Mariel Boatlift. Montana becomes a gangster against the backdrop of the 1980s cocaine boom. The film chronicles his rise to the top of Miami's criminal underworld and subsequent downfall in Greek tragedy fashion.
The film is dedicated to Hawks and Ben Hecht, who were the writers of the original.
The critical response to Scarface was mixed and received criticism for the violence and graphic language. Despite this, the film did well at the box office and has since gathered a phenomenal cult following. The film has become an important cultural icon for many fans, inspiring posters, clothing, and many other references, especially in hip hop music. The film's grainy black and white poster is a very popular decoration and is still in production.
Plot
The film begins with a description of how, in 1980, Cuban President Fidel Castro let the gates open on Mariel Harbor in Cuba allowing thousands of Cubans to emigrate to Florida on boatlifts. Some of these immigrants were criminals or ex-convicts. The opening credits show authentic video news footage during the Mariel Boatlift and of the Cuban immigrants arriving in the United States.
The opening scenes shows one of these Cubans, Tony Montana (Al Pacino), one of the 125,000 Cubans that immigrated to Miami, Florida, and one of at least 25,000 who has a criminal record. He is being interrogated by three tough-talking immigration officers about his life in Cuba, and of his arrival in America. He and his best friend and former Cuban Army buddy Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) are met with resistance, particularly because of their criminal records, and are placed in Freedomtown, a place where Cuban refugees without green cards are kept. A few months later, Manny makes Tony aware of a deal in which a wealthy man named Frank Lopez can give them access to the cards needed in order to leave Freedomtown, in exchange for the murder of a former Cuban security agent named Emilio Rebenga, who tortured Frank's brother to death in Cuba. Tony does this without much thought, stabbing and killing Rebenga during a riot, and they receive their residency.
Over the next few weeks, Tony and Manny begin working in a small Cuban food stand to make money, but Tony soon grows restless. He wishes to leave behind his working lifestyle and have all the money he can possibly have. One evening they both meet with drug dealer Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) (the same man who made the "Rebenga deal") for another job. Omar wants to unload a boat from Mexico containing 500 kilograms of marijuana and offers to pay them $500 each. Tony balks and demands at least $1,000. After a short scuffle, Omar offers them $5,000 each for buying two kilograms of cocaine worth $25,000 a piece from Colombian dealer "Hector the Toad" who will be arriving in Miami in a few days. Omar will also give Tony the money for the deal as well as weapons just in case anything goes wrong.
A few days later, Tony and Manny, along with two other associates from Cuba who spent time in Freedomtown, Angel (Pepe Serna) and Chi Chi (Ángel Salazar), drive to a small hotel in Miami Beach to meet with Hector for the drug deal. The transaction is revealed to be a rip-off when the Colombians pull guns and demand that Tony hand over the money. Tony refuses, prompting Hector to threaten him with a chainsaw, going as far as chopping Angel to bits in front of Tony. After a gunfight, Tony, Manny, and Chi Chi escape with the cocaine and the money after killing Hector and his associates. Instead of allowing Omar to take the cocaine to his boss Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia), Tony takes it to Frank personally, already distrusting of Omar (whether Omar was in league with Hector to kill Tony, or whether it was just a coincidence that Omar set the drug deal up unaware that Hector planned to kill his buyers, is not revealed in the story). Frank, an affable, gregarious man, takes a shine to Tony immediately, impressed by his sense of humor and bold attitude. While Tony likes Frank, he later points out to Manny that he may be too "soft" to be a major player for too long. Tony and Manny end up getting a job under Frank in the drug dealing business. Meanwhile, Tony takes an interest in Frank's girlfriend, Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer). Frank takes Tony, Manny and his associates out to the Babylon Nightclub which Frank frequently attends. While Tony flirts with Elvira, she doesn't show any interest in him (or anyone else for that matter).
A few months later, Tony pays a visit to his estranged family's home. It is implied that Tony's father, a U.S. Navy sailor, walked out on the family years ago, but his mother (Míriam Colón) and his younger sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) are home. Gina is excited to see Tony (who hasn't seen the family in five years), while his mother isn't as thrilled, aware and ashamed of his criminal history. When he offers his mother $1,000 (claiming he's "made it"), his mother angrily rejects the gift. She believes he's still up to no good, and wants him to leave because she doesn't want him rubbing off on Gina. Tony leaves, but Gina runs after him. He slips her the $1,000 secretly, and tells her to spend it on whatever she wants and to give his mother a little from time to time. It is clear he cares very much about his sister, but as the film progresses it is shown that he is very overprotective of her, bordering on an obsession. Later on, his obsession will play a major role in his downfall.
Some time later, while in Bolivia, Tony and Omar begin discussing business plans with plantation owner and drug kingpin Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar) on the behalf of Frank, who couldn't make it down. Tony begins making major decisions about distribution of the drugs, angering Omar, who believes only Frank has authority to make such decisions. Omar and Tony begin arguing over the matter, while Sosa offers Omar a quick helicopter ride back home to talk over the transaction with Frank. However, Sosa then orders one of his men on the chopper to hang and kill Omar, explaining to Tony that he was allegedly a police informant some years back. However, Sosa believes that Tony is trustworthy and makes him one of his business partners, but warns Tony never to cross him. After returning to Florida, Tony comes under heat by Frank, who is angry at what happened to Omar, as well as Tony's new setup with Sosa. Frank warns Tony that Sosa is a backstabber and not to be trusted. Tony and Frank end their business relationship, while Tony begins making bolder passes at Elvira, one of them right in front of Frank.
At the Babylon nightclub, Tony is shaken down by a corrupt Miami narcotics detective, Mel Bernstein (Harris Yulin), who informs him he has evidence linking Tony to the murders of Rebenga and the Colombian drug dealers. Forced to talk with Bernstein, the crooked cop proposes to "tax" Tony on his transactions in return for police protection and information. Bernstein negotiates a large bribe and two first-class airline tickets to London. Tony is convinced Frank sent Bernstein to shake him down because only Frank would know details about the murders. While talking to Bernstein, Tony is distracted by the sight of his sister Gina dancing with a low-level drug dealer. Tony sees him take her into the men's restroom to make out with her and snort cocaine. Tony beats the man and berates Gina. Gina tells Tony she is old enough to do whatever she wants including going into the men's restroom with a man which prompts Tony to slap her.
While at the Babylon, Tony is nearly killed by two hitmen. Tony manages to escape, wounded but alive, and is convinced that Frank is responsible for the hit. Tony instructs two of his men to call Frank at exactly 3 am at his office with the words, "We fucked up. He got away." Tony and Manny track Frank down to his car dealership, and find Frank in the middle of a meeting with Bernstein. Tony tricks Frank into confirming he was behind the attempted hit. Admitting what he did, Frank then begs for mercy at Tony's feet even offering Elvira to him. Manny kills Frank on Tony's order, and Tony kills Bernstein. Afterwards, Tony goes to Elvira's house, telling her that Frank is dead and that he wants to be with her. Stepping out onto Elvira's balcony, Tony looks into the sky and sees a blimp with the words "The world is yours."
All seems to be going well for Tony. He makes $75 million off of the 2000 kilos of cocaine and his soon making $10-15 million a month in profits from his business arrangement with Sosa. He marries Elvira, takes over Frank's empire and becomes wealthy. He purchases a huge mansion, complete with luxury items, a tiger, as well as surveillance camera monitors. He makes Manny his second-in-command and in charge of security at his warehouses and mansion. However, cracks in Tony's "perfect life" begin to form as both he and Elvira become heavily addicted to cocaine. He becomes more paranoid and distrusting of those around him, and she becomes bored and distant. Tony becomes greedy and stingy with his wealth, while the bank that launders his illegally gotten cash wants higher fees to launder his money. Manny and Gina begin dating behind Tony's back, afraid of what his reaction would be if he found out.
Tony is arrested for laundering $1.3 million and tax evasion by Mel Seidenbaum, a local money launderer who turns out to be an undercover cop. Tony posts bail and is out of jail while awaiting trial. Tony's lawyer tells him that although he can plea-bargain away most of the time Tony faces, he will still end up doing at least three years in prison for evading income taxes.
Alejandro Sosa, not wanting to lose his major distributor, calls Tony down to Bolivia and asks him for help assassinating a Bolivian anti-government activist who is exposing Sosa's dealings with Bolivian leaders on television. In exchange, Sosa will use his contacts in the US Justice Department to keep Tony out of jail. Tony is reluctant to kill a civilian, but seeing no other options, agrees to the deal. Manny tries to talk Tony out of going to New York, even though Tony doesn't tell him about the hit, because he has a bad feeling.
Soon, Elvira becomes tired of the dealer lifestyle, and leaves Tony after a fight at a restaurant. Afterwards, a drugged and drunken Tony starts yelling at the patrons for looking at him in disgust. He tells them they are just as bad as he is, they just hide it better. He feels society needs "bad guys" like him to point the finger at and tell themselves he is the bad guy while ignoring their own sins and deeds. After his tirade, Tony storms out of the restaurant with Manny in tow.
Tony and Alberto, Alejandro's best henchman, travel to New York looking for the activist. Alberto plants a bomb under the activist's car, planning to detonate it before he drives to the United Nations building to give a speech about his activist work. Unfortunately, it is Tony's aversion to harming innocent people (especially women and children), that undoes him. On the day the assassination is to take place, Tony orders Alberto not to set off the bomb underneath the activist's car once he finds out his wife and children are in the car as well. When Alberto ignores him, Tony grows angry and shoots him in the head.
Tony returns to Florida to find his mother upset over Gina's new attitude (whom she believes Tony corrupted) and a furious Sosa phones Tony, threatening to kill him for not going through with the plan. Tony goes to find Gina at an unknown mansion, and sees her and Manny together in night robes. Realizing Manny has slept with his sister, he shoots and kills Manny in a cocaine-fueled rage, which he later deeply regrets, before Gina reveals that they just married and were going to surprise Tony. Tony and his men take a distraught Gina back to his mansion. Meanwhile, a group of gun-toting assassins sent by Sosa are surrounding the place. While Tony later sits in his office snorting vast quantities of cocaine, the gunmen begin quietly killing Tony's guards outside.
Gina enters Tony's office wielding a gun, mocking the implicitly incestuous motivation for his jealousy of the men in her life before shooting and wounding Tony in the leg. One of the assassins enters the office through the window and kills Gina before being killed by Tony. Robbed of the element of surprise, Sosa's gunmen launch an all-out assault on Tony's mansion as he cradles Gina's body in his arms. In a cocaine-fueled rage, Tony bursts from his office with an M16 assault rifle with an M203 grenade launcher attachment and begins shooting wildly at the attacking henchmen, killing dozens of them despite being mortally wounded himself (In this scene, the famous "Say hello to my little Friend!" line is used).. The carnage continues until Sosa's lead assassin (the same assassin who killed Omar) shoots Tony in the back with a sawed-off shotgun. Tony falls from the balcony into a small pool in the lobby below, floating face-down in the water beneath a statue carrying the inscription "The World Is Yours" as the camera pans out over the devastation.
Cast
Production
Oliver Stone wrote the script in France while recovering from his own addiction to cocaine and also consulted with the Miami police and the Drug Enforcement Agency, incorporating many true crimes into the film, including using crime scene photos to inspire the infamous chainsaw scene.
Scarface was originally to be filmed in Florida but received criticism from the Cuban community who objected to various aspects of the film. Community representatives were opposed to the depiction of Cubans as drug dealers and demanded that the script be changed to incorporate anti-Fidel Castro rhetoric (most notably, changing Tony Montana into a spy working for Fidel Castro and the introduction of anti-Castro political organizations into the plot as foils for Montana) into the film. After protracted negotiations the producers ultimately refused to give in, saying the film was about cocaine and not the politics of Castro's Cuba. In order to ensure the safety of the crew and to avoid further problems, filming was moved to Los Angeles.
Ratings controversy
When director Brian De Palma submitted the film to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), they gave it an "X rating". He then made some cuts and resubmitted it a second time; again the film was given an "X rating" (The main reasons the film was classified so apparently was because of the shooting of Octavio the clown performer, as well as the graphic chainsaw torture scene). He yet again made some further cuts and submitted it a third time; yet again it was given an "X". De Palma refused to cut the film any further to qualify it for an R. He and producer Martin Bregman arranged a hearing with the MPAA. They brought in a panel of experts, including real narcotics officers, who stated that the film was an accurate portrayal of real life in the drug underworld and should be widely seen. This convinced the 20 members of the ratings board to give the third submitted cut of the film an "R rating" by a vote of 18-2. However De Palma surmised that if the third cut of the film was judged an "R" then the very first cut should have been an "R" as well. He asked the studio if he could release the first cut but was told that he could not. However since the Studio executives really didn't know the differences between the different cuts that had been submitted, De Palma released the first cut of the film to theaters anyway. It was not until the film had been released on videocassette months later that he confessed that he had released his first unedited and intended version of the film.
Trivia
While filming the final shootout scene, Al Pacino mistakenly grabbed the prop gun by the barrel, and even though blanks were used, he burned his hand very badly. Filming was subsequently shut down for many weeks.
Reaction
Scarface held its premiere on December 1, 1983 in New York City where it was initially greeted with mixed reaction. Among those in attendance were the film's two stars, Al Pacino and Steven Bauer, as well as Burt and Diane Lane, Melanie Griffith, Raquel Welch, Joan Collins; her then-boyfriend Peter Holm, Cher, Lucille Ball and her family, and Eddie Murphy among others. At the middle of the film, director Martin Scorsese turned behind to Steven Bauer and told him, "You guys are great – but be prepared, because they're going to hate it in Hollywood... because it's about them".
Reviews
Roger Ebert rated it four stars out of four in his 1983 review and wrote, "DePalma and his writer, Oliver Stone, have created a gallery of specific individuals, and one of the fascinations of the movie is that we aren't watching crime-movie clichés, we're watching people who are criminals". He later added it to his "Great Movies" list. Vincent Canby also praised the film in his review for the New York Times: "Yet the dominant mood of the film is anything but funny. It is bleak and futile: What goes up must always come down. When it comes down in Scarface, the crash is as terrifying as it is vivid and arresting".
In his review for Newsweek, David Ansen wrote, "If Scarface makes you shudder, it's from what you think you see and from the accumulated tension of this feral landscape. It's a grand, shallow, decadent entertainment, which like all good Hollywood gangster movies delivers the punch and counterpunch of glamour and disgust". Jay Scott, in his review for the Globe and Mail, writes, "For a while, Al Pacino is hypnotic as Montana. But the effort expended on the flawless Cuban accent and the attempts to flesh out a character cut from inch-thick cardboard are hopeless". In his review for the Washington Post, Gary Arnold wrote, "A movie that appeared intent on revealing an alarmingly contemporary criminal subculture gradually reverts to underworld cliche, covering its derivative tracks with outrageous decor and an apocalyptic, production number finale, ingeniously choreographed to leave the antihero floating face down in a literal bloodbath".
Legacy
In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "Ten Top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. Scarface was acknowledged as the tenth best in the gangster film genre. Also the "Say hello to my little friend" line took 61st place as the most famous quote on the list AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #8 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films".
Alternate versions
- ABC edited 32 minutes from this film for its 1987 network television premiere.
- Network TV version deletes or edits all violent scenes for censorship reasons and adds some extra footage:
- The introduction text about the Mariel boat lift is slightly different from the text shown in the theatrical version (a disclaimer stating that the events are fictitious has been added).
- Extended Freedom Town section: Tony in a phone booth trying to call his sister Gina; Angel looking in a phone book for his brother Pablo; extended conversation between Tony and Manny about getting out of Freedom Town; Tony and Manny watching television.
- Tony's first visit to his mother's house is longer. Tony opens a bottle of champagne and makes a toast to America.
- Before Tony's first visit to Sosa, the onscreen text has been changed from "Cochabamba, Bolivia" to "South America".
- During that visit Tony is introduced to Sosa's girlfriend Gabriela.
- Tony's first meeting with his lawyer George.
- When Alberto is planting the bomb under the car in N.Y., Tony sees cops nearby and distracts them by pretending to be looking for his missing dog.
- The BBFC requested cuts of 25 sec. to give the film a 18 certification. These cuts were waived in 2000.
- The overseas DVD special edition contained the following deleted scenes:
- Extended Freedom Town section: Tony in a phone booth trying to call his sister Gina; Angel looking in a phone book for his brother Pablo; extended conversation between Tony and Manny about getting out of Freedom Town; Tony and Manny watching television.
- Tony, Manny, and two others driving, checking out the girls in Miami.
- During the visit to South America, Tony discusses a drug deal with some people. Also, Tony is introduced to Sosa's girlfriend Gabriela.
- Tony discusses a drug deal with some people in a restaurant.
- Tony's first meeting with his lawyer George.
- When Alberto is planting the bomb under the car in N.Y., Tony sees cops nearby and distracts them by pretending to be looking for his missing dog.
- The Platinum Edition released in 2006 has the DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 with the new sound effects that were previously available only on the 2003 theatrical re-release of the movie.
- Curiously, only the widescreen video and DVD releases are uncut in the UK. This contains the previously deleted portion of the chainsaw murder, with the line: "And now the leg...!"
- Much of the chainsaw murder and the shootout at the end of the movie was cut in Norway before its cinema release, later videoversions for sale are uncut.
Releases
VHS
Scarface was initially released by MCA Home Video on VHS and Beta in the summer of 1984; a two-tape set in 1.33:1 Pan and scan ratio and quickly became a bestseller, preluding its cult status . A 2.35:1 Widescreen VHS would follow years later in 1998 to coincide with the special edition DVD release. The last and most recent VHS release was in 2003 to counterpart the 20th anniversary edition DVD.
DVD
Scarface has been released on DVD four times in the United States as of 2007.
The first was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on the film's 15th anniversary in 1998 under the studio's "Collector's Edition" line. The DVD featured a non-anamorphic widescreen transfer, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, a "Making of" documentary, outtakes, production notes and cast & crew bios. This release was not successful, and many fans and reviewers complained about its unwatchable video transfer and muddled sound, describing it as "one of the worst big studio releases out there" .
This DVD quietly went out of print, subsequently fetching outrageous prices on secondhand sites, such as eBay. In 2003, Universal released a remastered two disc "Anniversary Edition" to coincide with the film's 20th anniversary re-release, featuring two documentaries; one re-edited from the last release to include new interviews with Steven Bauer (Manny Ray) and another produced by Def Jam Recordings featuring interviews with various rappers on the film's cult success in the hip-hop world and other extras ported over from the previous DVD. New to this edition was a 2.35:1 Anamorphic widescreen transfer and 5.1 surround sound in both Dolby Digital and DTS.
Curiously, the limited theatrical re-release also boasted a remastered soundtrack with enhanced sound effects and music, but the DVD's 5.1 tracks were mixed from the film's original audio, resulting in noticeably limited frequency and surround effects. A limited-edition box set was also produced featuring a gold money clip, production stills, lobby cards and a DVD of the original Scarface. In 2005, Universal released single disc movie-only version of the Anniversary Edition, with deleted scenes as the sole bonus feature.
In the fall of 2006, Universal released Scarface in a two-disc "Platinum Edition", featuring the remastered audio from the theatrical re-release in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround. Most of the extras (with the exception of the Def Jam documentary, production notes and cast & crew bios) from the Anniversary Edition were also included along with two new featurettes regarding the new video game and the criminal and cultural world of Miami in the 1980s. Also new to this edition was a "scoreboard", which counted number of bullets fired and the notorious amount of uses of the word "fuck" throughout the film.
Spanish language title
When released in Spanish speaking countries, the film was titled El Precio del Poder (The Price of Power). The US edition of the DVD features a Spanish language track, but gives the title as Caracortada (Spanish for "Scarface").
Inspired by the film
Music
The music in Scarface was produced by Academy Award winning Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. Like Moroder's style, the soundtrack consists mostly of synthesized new wave, electronic music.
Video games
A licensed video game, Scarface: The World Is Yours, was released in September and October 2006 as well as an update in June 2007, developed by Radical Entertainment and published by Vivendi Universal Games. The game is a pseudo-sequel, and goes on the premise that Tony actually survived the raid on his mansion at the end of the film. Wii, PS2, Xbox, and PC versions have been released.
Radical and Vivendi also released a second licensed video game, Scarface: Money, Power, Respect, in October 2006. The game is much like Scarface: The World is Yours, but one main difference is that the second game deals more with the controlling of drugs and managing of the Montana cocaine empire and turf, whereas The World is Yours is mostly focused on getting rid of gangs, gaining respect and overall reconstruction of the empire. To date, only a PSP version of this game has been released.
The hit game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City also has some homages to Scarface, like an area with the famous bloody bathroom in an empty apartment, along with a chainsaw that can be used as a weapon. Also the Malibu Club is very similar to the Babylon Club. In the beginning of the game, Tommy Vercetti's drug deal gets busted, much like the coke deal that Tony gets double crossed in. There is also a mission in the game where Tommy and his partner Lance Vance kill Tommy's cocaine-dealing boss Ricardo Diaz, much like when Tony and Manny kill Frank. Ricardo Diaz's office is virtually identical to Tony's office in the movie, including the black walls and the series of television screens, and the huge front hall of Diaz's mansion is also very similar to Tony's in the movie, including the deep red walls. Finally, the last mission of the game ("Keep Your Friends Close...") is a slight spin-off of the final scene in Scarface. In this mission, Tommy has to fend off a whole rival gang in his mansion with only a few weapons. The only difference, however, is that Tommy lives through the fight with Ken Rosenberg to start "a new business relationship", unless if he gets "Wasted", and the mission is failed.
Books and comics
Dark Horse Comics' imprint, DH Press, released a novel called Scarface: The Beginning by L. A. Banks.
In 2007, IDW Publishing released a new series called Scarface: Scarred for Life, which picks up where the film ends; as in the video game, it depicts Tony Montana barely surviving the film's climactic shotgun blast and, with the aid of two corrupt DEA agents, recovering to rebuild his empire and seek revenge on Sosa. This series was written by John Layman, with art by Dave Crosland. IDW followed it in July 2007 with a prequel comic mini-series called Devil in Disguise, by Joshua Jabcuga and Alberto Dose, which shows Antonio's pre-boatlift days as a boy learning his way around the Cuban criminal underworld.
Television and film
In 2001, plans were set into motion for hip hop artist Cuban Link to write and star in a sequel to Scarface entitled Son of Tony. The plans for a prospective sequel drew both praise as well as criticism, and after several years Cuban Link had expressed that he may no longer be involved with the project as the result of movie rights issues and creative control.
USA Network announced in 2003 they would be producing a mini-series based on the movie; however, the series' current status is unknown.
External links
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