Scarface
National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
What critics thought
Scarface landed to a largely hostile critical reception in 1983, with reviewers divided over whether its operatic excess was purposeful or merely self-indulgent — and the film's cult resurrection since then has widened that gap rather than settled it. Pacino's performance was itself contested, with some finding him mesmerizing and others feeling his energy was spent on a character too thin to support it. The film's extreme violence and nearly three-hour runtime were the flashpoints, but the deeper argument was over whether De Palma was critiquing the gangster myth or simply wallowing in it.
“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.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“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.”
Jay Scott·The Globe and Mail
“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.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorBrian De Palma
StarringAl Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia
ComposerGiorgio Moroder
Scarface
National Film Registry
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
What critics thought
Scarface landed to a largely hostile critical reception in 1983, with reviewers divided over whether its operatic excess was purposeful or merely self-indulgent — and the film's cult resurrection since then has widened that gap rather than settled it. Pacino's performance was itself contested, with some finding him mesmerizing and others feeling his energy was spent on a character too thin to support it. The film's extreme violence and nearly three-hour runtime were the flashpoints, but the deeper argument was over whether De Palma was critiquing the gangster myth or simply wallowing in it.
“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.”
David Ansen·Newsweek
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“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.”
Jay Scott·The Globe and Mail
“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.”
Gary Arnold·The Washington Post
Genres
Crime, Drama
Cast & Crew
DirectorBrian De Palma
StarringAl Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia
ComposerGiorgio Moroder
Rent/Purchase