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Scarface (1983 movie)

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Scarface
Official Logo
Directed byBrian De Palma
Screenplay byOliver Stone
Based onScarface
by Armitage Trail
Scarface[a]
by W. R. Burnett
Ben Hecht
John Lee Mahin
Seton I. Miller
Produced byMartin Bregman
Starring
CinematographyJohn A. Alonzo
Edited by
Music byGiorgio Moroder
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal Pictures[1]
Release dates
  • December 1, 1983 (1983-12-01) (New York City premiere)
  • December 9, 1983 (1983-12-09) (United States)
Running time
169 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$23.5–37 million[3][4][5]
Box office$66.4 million[6]

Scarface is a 1983 American epic crime drama movie directed by Brian De Palma. and written by Oliver Stone. It is based on the novel of the same name by Armitage Trail and a remake of the 1932 movie of the same name by Howard Hawks. The film stars an ensemble cast led by Al Pacino, who stars as Cuban refugee Tony Montana. In the film, Montana arrives in Miami during the Mariel boatlift and becomes a powerful drug lord.

Pacino worked with producer Martin Bregman to develop the project. Bregman and Sidney Lumet both conceived the idea of setting the story during the boatlift. Lumet was initially hired to direct the film but left, feeling that it was too violent and wanted it to be more of a political film. De Palma replaced Lumet as director and Bregman hired Stone to write the script. Stone, who had been struggling with his own cocaine addiction at the time, wrote the script in Paris. Several actresses were considered for playing Elvira Hancock before Michelle Pfeiffer—then almost Glenn Close[7]—was chosen for the role; Pacino and De Palma had argued against her casting, but Bregman fought for her inclusion. The film was initially going to be entirely shot in Miami, but the Cuban community denied requests to film there, feeling that the script portrayed them in a bad light. Filming took place from November 1982 to May 1983 in Los Angeles and two weeks in Miami. The film's soundtrack and score was composed by Giorgio Moroder.

Scarface premiered in New York City on December 1, 1983, and was released on December 9 by Universal Pictures. The film was a commercial success, grossing $66 million. Initial critical response was negative due to its extreme violence and depiction of stereotypes. However, in the years that followed, some critics have reappraised it, and it is now considered a classic of the gangster genre.[8] Screenwriters and directors such as Martin Scorsese have praised the film, and it has been referenced extensively in pop culture, especially in hip-hop culture,[9][10] as well as comic books, television programs and video games. The film is regarded as a cult classic.[11][12]

Story

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Tony Montana (Al Pacino) is a prisoner from Cuba who is coming to the United States on a boat to escape the oppressive Communist government. Once there, he works for Frank Lopez, a Miami drug lord.

Soon, Tony kills Frank and takes over his business. He also marries Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer), Frank's girlfriend who at first refused to go out with Tony because of Frank. Soon, Tony becomes very rich and powerful because of his growing cocaine empire. He meets Alejandro Sosa, a powerful Bolivian drug lord. Elvira later leaves Tony because she feels that despite all of their money and power, Tony's criminal lifestyle and drug problems make them losers.

Tony is eventually arrested for not paying taxes and even though he would be able to bribe some of the judges, he will still have to go to jail for three years. Sosa offers to have one of his contacts in the Justice Department write off Tony's charges if Tony helps kill a journalist who is going to make a speech against Sosa to the United Nations. One of Soza's men plants a bomb on the target's car, but when Tony sees the journalist's family inside it, he prevents the explosion of the bomb. Tony later visits his best friend, Manny (Steven Bauer), but when he sees his sister, Gina, with him, he kills him. Gina reveals that she and Manny got married a few days earlier and wanted to surprise Tony. Tony, feeling extreme guilt for killing his friend and ruining his sister's life, withdraws to his mansion and begins to snort large amounts of cocaine. Sosa gets angry and sends many men to Miami to kill Tony. When the men enter Tony's mansion, they kill Gina and most of his men. Angry and sad at the death of his sister, Tony singlehandedly kills many of Sosa's men in a major shootout. Tony is then shot in the back by an assassin with a shotgun, and falls into his fountain below, dead.

References

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  1. 1 2 "Scarface (1983)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Scarface". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved May 13, 2015. Approved Running time 169m 39s
  3. ↑ Harmetz, Aljean (October 30, 1983). "MOVIE 'SCARFACE' RECEIVES X RATING". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Inside 'Scarface's' Sometimes Rocky Road to Becoming a Classic". Variety. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  5. ↑ Bailey, Jason (April 20, 2018). "Revisiting the Controversy Surrounding Scarface". Vulture. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Scarface (1983)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  7. ↑ "Oliver Stone wanted Glenn Close to play Elvira in Scarface". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2026-05-28.
  8. ↑ Sharp, Nathan (May 29, 2021). "10 Best Gangster Movies, According to American Film Institute". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Why the hip-hop community still worships 'Scarface'". August 26, 2011. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Scarface's impact on hip-hop culture". April 26, 2017. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Why Scarface is one of the top 10 cult movies". Entertainment Weekly. May 20, 2003. Archived from the original on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ GROBEL, LAWRENCE (May 9, 2011). "Reflections On Scarface". Empire. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.

Other websites

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  1. ↑ Neither the novel nor the 1932 film are credited on-screen. The end credits include a dedication to Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht, director and co-screenwriter respectively, of the 1932 film.
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