I watched Scarface for the first time recently. I am of course referring to the 1983 Brian De Palma/Al Pacino version, not the old Howard Hawks flick. When people talk about Scarface, they mostly talk about a few things: say hello to my little friend, huge shootouts, mountains of cocaine, flared collars, constant f-words littered throughout, and Al Pacino’s career-defining performance as iconic character Tony Montana. It’s a film with one of the biggest fanbases of all time, and is followed by an immense reputation.
So going into it fresh was one of those times when your expectations are so high that it’s hard for a movie to possibly reach them. The great thing about a movie like Scarface though is that its credentials are well earned. It deserves the following it has. It’s a tremendously influential movie, and it’s obvious just how much of an impact it had on the gangster genre, building on forbearers like The Godfather. It’s also noteworthy that Pacino stars in both these films. Casting him as Tony Montana immediately calls to mind Michael Corleone, and the interesting contrasts between the two are therefore more apparent.
Here are 6 things I was enamored with during my late arrival to the Scarface party. Many aspects of the movie don’t seem like they should work but somehow are simply awesome.
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