Scarface
On its initial release , Brian De Palma’sScarfacewas dismissed by critics for its unreasonable violence , overlong runtime , and stereotypical portrayal of Cuban immigrants . However , in the age since , the moving-picture show has beenvindicated by cult classic position . In some circles , it ’s conceive to be one of the greatest moving picture ever made .
De Palma ’s film is certainly an unforgettable drive , and in many path , it is a classic . But as the societal climate has shift importantly in the nearly four decades since it first hit theaters , it has also age pretty poorly . Scarfaceis a masterpiece , but a flawed one .
Classic: Al Pacino’s Performance Is One Of His All-Time Best
Tony Montana is an immigrant who arrives in America with nothing , becomes a ego - made billionaire in the cocain trade , and brings his whole sprightliness fall apart down when he set off getting high on his own provision .
Al Pacino ’s delineation of Tony ’s arc , from his humble beginnings to his crushing precipitation , comprises one of thefinest performance of his career .
Aged Badly: The Cuban Protagonist Is Played By A White Actor
blank actors are ultimately getting called out for bet non - white office , run Hank Azaria tostep down from playing ApuonThe Simpsonsand a few other Caucasian histrion voice ethnical animated lineament to trace suit . InScarface , the Cuban protagonist is play by lily-white role player Al Pacino .
As great as Pacino ’s performance is , the whitewashing is distractingly uncomfortable . Several other Cuban fibre in the picture are encounter by white player , too .
Classic: Brian De Palma’s Slick Style Is Electrifying
Brian De Palma ’s films have always been met with complaints that they ’re too violent and trust too heavily on consultation to earlier film — particularly those ofHitchcockand Godard — but he ’s one of the best managing director of the New Hollywood movement .
Whether he ’s making a horror pic about a telekinetic eminent schooler or a thriller about a sound recorder who heard too much or , indeed , a crime larger-than-life about a Cuban coke kingpin , De Palma ’s filmmaking way is unmistakably cunning .
Aged Badly: Misogynistic Treatment Of Women
AlthoughMichelle Pfeiffer got her liberal breakin the role of Elvira , on the whole , Scarface ’s discussion of its few female characters is pretty misogynous . Tony and his friend treat women like objects , or prizes to be advance — except Tony ’s babe , of whom he ’s unsurprisingly overprotective .
This might be exact to the way that drug barons treat women , but it ’s uncomfortable when the movie itself seems to revel in the misogyny .
Classic: Oliver Stone’s Script Nails The Rise-And-Fall Gangster Movie Arc
Like many mobster epic poem of its like , Scarfaceis split into two halves . The first half show its friend ’s rise to power in the criminal underworld , then the 2d one-half depict his fall from grace as he flies too close to the sun andhis avarice becomes his fall .
Oliver Stone’sScarfacescript is sprawl and large - scurf , but it never strays from its stress on Tony Montana ’s journey . Stone nailed the rise - and - evenfall gangster arc almost as well asGoodfellasand theGodfathertrilogy .
Aged Badly: All The Sexual Metaphors
ThroughoutScarface , the character use a ton of sexual metaphors . They tell their fellow mobster not to “ f**k ” them , using intimate assault as a euphemism for betrayal .
On top of that , Tony expend a huge chunk of the movie talking about his private constituent . He says , “ The only thing in this mankind that gives decree is balls , ” “ All I have in this universe is my balls and my word , ” and one of his cohorts tell him he has “ steel in his balls . ”
Classic: It Was A Major Stepping Stone For Movie Violence
In these desensitized days of rampant on - silver screen vehemence , the chainsaw shot inScarfacelooks relatively tame . But at the time , it was adjudicate by its harshest critic to be a fresh low in Hollywood ’s depraved bust of macabre violence .
Movie ferocity is a controversial payoff , because there ’s a public debate over whether or not it impacts material - lifespan fierceness , but the delineation of fierceness is an important part of cinematic subject andScarfacemarked a major stepping stone .
Aged Badly: Pure ‘80s Soundtrack
A peck of the democratic medicine of the ‘ 80s was empty and vapid . After the psychedelic pop of the ‘ 60s and the gamey rock ‘ n ’ roll of the ‘ 70s , the ‘ 80s bring a undulation of glitzy track innocent of artistic content .
While the Cream , Tony Bennett , and Aretha Franklin songs on theGoodfellassoundtrack have aged like o.k. wine , the Paul Engemann ( the ill-famed " Push It To The Limit " ) and Debbie Harry songs on theScarfacesoundtrack have age like tonic Milk River .
Classic: It Re-Contextualized The 1932 Original For An ‘80s Audience
Although it bears picayune resemblance to the original , Scarfaceis technically a remaking of the 1932 offence classic of the same name by Howard Hawks . war hawk ’ movie entrance the concern of the ‘ 30s through a free retelling of the tale of Al Capone .
De Palma ’s movie update this narrative for the ‘ 80 , telling the story of a contemporary drug lord and capturing the flashy surfeit of the Reagan era .
Aged Badly: Negative Stereotypes Of Cubans
WhileScarfacelooks particularly bad in today ’s world of little permissiveness for insensitive portrayals of ethnic groups , it was always controversial among the Cuban American residential district for its negative stereotyping of Cuban immigrants in Miami . The movie drastically exaggerates the number of immigrant who became hardened crook upon arrival in America .
In truth , there were only around 2,700 criminals among the 125,000 refugee who make out to American in the Mariel boatlift . The over - the - top Cuban accent mark of the ashen actors make for Cuban grapheme have also been a point in time of criticism and do n’t do the movie any favors in term of how it treats the ethnicity of its main theatrical role .
NEXT:5 Al Pacino Movies That Are underestimate ( & 5 That Are overrate )
