Scarface - Watching the 1000 Greatest Films

No. 10 - Scarface (Brian De Palma, 1983)
Ranked - #507

'In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women.' (Tony Montana)

I'm pushed to answer whether I like Brian De Palma's work or merely appreciate it. Carrie became something of a favourite of mine when I too was that gawky teenager at school, the ultimate revenge movie carefully constructed and executed. I've never felt the same affinity with the handful of De Palma films I've seen since; The pleasant but unremarkable The Untouchables, Carlito's Way didn't exactly inspire me to watch more of his work and Mission: Impossible just didn't do it for me, in fact I just hated it.

De Palma's Scarface is a remake of Howard Hawks 1932 gangster film of the same name, (a film that also appears on this list) which follows the rapid rise and fall of Tony Montana (Al Pacino) a Cuban émigré that becomes a criminal king pin in 1980's Miami. Using the gangster genre as analogy of the American Dream is a well worn formula; those classic gangster films of the 30's such as Public Enemy and The Roaring Twenties, to the 70's with the Godfather films up to the 90's with Goodfellas, it's ruthless clamouring of power echoes contradictions central to American capitalism.

Tony Montana deep in the world he coveted for so long; gaudy, tasteless and sleazy

Centering on the 1980 Mariel Boatlift movement, Scarface begins with Tony Montana, along with his best friend Manny Ray (Steven Bauer), claiming asylum in Florida whilst being detained in a camp, ironically named Freedomtown, with their fellow countrymen. At the request of a powerful gangster, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) Montana kills a former aide of Castro in the camp and in doing so he's able to seat himself in the underworld. Following a run in with Lopez's henchman, Montana takes a job picking up cocaine from a Colombian dealer which leads to the films infamous scene of extreme violence, involving an imaginative, if somewhat disturbing, use of a chainsaw.

Shocking chainsaw scene, not for the feint of heart

Scarface is a film of extremities, from uber cartoon violence, Al Pacino's over the top performance to Oliver Stone's cocaine addled script and De Palma's frenetic visual style which presents us with a tacky, gaudy, sleazy world. The films palate is rich with primary colours; you can almost smell the Armani suits, the crystal white beaches, Cadillac’s and money. Billboards and murals depict a paradise of sunsets and palm trees which hide the ugly reality of the drug world, and eventually serve as a backdrop for violence and murder.

This is 80's greed is good with guns and violence, a monolithic monument to the era of excess and stupidity, all of Montana's wishes are granted with the aid of a gun. Yet all he conveys fail to make him happy as he slides in to a world of paranoia and loneliness, power brings him nothing but grief as he systematically destroys everything he once held dear, his wife Evita (played inanimately by Michelle Pfeiffer) a woman he wanted to possess more than love, his sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and tragically his best friend are all brought down one by one.

Gun drenched final scene, a homage to the ending of 'The Wild Bunch' perhaps?

As much as there is to admire in the films relentless and unapologetic bravado, the in-your-face morality tale which is about as subtle as a breeze block and its bold epic themes of power, money and ego, I felt that this film was quite a hollow experience. A case of style over substance, for all it's pop-art, trash aesthetics I can't help getting past the air of self-importance; why so dour and serious when in reality this is an exercise in trash fun? In summary Scarface appeared as overblown and bloated as the drug it was moralising over, an over-zealous and over the top production that really didn't do it for me.