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SCARFACE (1983) (****)

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Say hello to my little friend! You may have never seen Brian DePalma’s SCARFACE, but you know that line. This is a film filled with classic lines and Al Pacino’s bravado performance drives them into your memory. Some disregard this film as a scene eating exercise for Pacino (THE GODFATHER), but what they don’t get is that the over-the-top behavior is the character of Tony Montana, who was raised on the gangster films of Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney.

Montana is a Cuban immigrant who dreams of attaining the American Dream in Miami. He likes to pretend he’s a political exile to cover up his criminal past. He’s violent and paranoid, which is a deadly combo. He’s especially paranoid about his little sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, THE ABYSS) and whom she dates. He’s smart about the drug business, but indulges himself too much. Excessive greed and a huge ego lead to his downfall as well.

But like many great stories about bad men, he’s loyal and has a rigid sense of morality, which is also warped. Despite the good advise of his best friend Manny Ray (Steven Bauer, TRAFFIC) and mentor Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia, LOST HIGHWAY), Tony rushes full force ahead with his ambitions to rule the world. Whatever Tony wants he takes, even if that’s his boss’ woman Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer, THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS), who attaches herself to rich men, but has nothing else to live for, so she drowns herself in drugs and fashion.

The film is a fascinating look at not just the drug industry in Miami in the early ‘80s, but of the extremely complex character of Tony Montana. He’s smart and is usually right about most things, but has no ability to be self-reflective. His whole persona is a screw you to the establishment that writes him off as a “dumb spic.” His brilliant “I’m the bad guy” speech at the restaurant shows this brilliantly. This is DePalma's masterpiece. It's a must see for all serious film fans.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks