- Brian De Palma refashions Howard Hawks’ 1932 film for the back half of the twentieth century. Instead of Prohibition, bootleggers, Italians, Chicago and the Tommy Gun—this is Castro exiles, cocaine, Cubans and Miami.
- “Prohibition” is in the text- tax evasion and even Capone.
- The cast and crew surrounding De Palma matches his brazen style and undeniable talent. The film is written by Oliver Stone, scored by Giorgio Moroder (these two back from winning Oscars in 1978 working with Alan Parker on Midnight Express), and acted by Al Pacino. The film is directed, written, scored and acted to the extreme- like Tony Montana himself- glorious excess.
- Moroder’s synthesizer score has two marvelous themes introduced during the mixture of blood red lettered titles and the documentary footage of the refuges and Castro. The third, more tender, theme arrives later for love interest Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer in her big breakthrough role) as she enters the elevator in Frank Lopez’s (Robert Loggia) house—as well as for Tony’s sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio).
The first shot of the film after the opening credits is a wonderous long take. Tony Montana (Pacino of course) is seated, detained and questioned as the immigration officers (never fully shown) take turns passing in front of him (and the camera) as the camera rotates. De Palma stays on Pacino for the duration of the shot.
- De Palma goes to the crane shot often in Scarface– including one beautiful shot early as he captures a ton of Cuban exiles rioting under the highway. The camera floats from the deceased Rebenga in the street. Later- it moves from the billboard of Miami to the diner. This is the story of the American dream turned into a nightmare (with the political allegations coming from Stone)- a sort of sinister cousin to Coppola’s The Godfather. Stone will also redo excess and the American dream a few years later in Wall Street (1987).
De Palma’s dedication to the crane shot- here- floating from the deceased Rebenga character in the street
the pastels and glow of Miami make for the perfect backdrop
- De Palma’s camera drifts up the stairs at the Sun Ray Hotel – and then back to the car during the cocaine deal.
De Palma uses the split diopter to great effect at the door during the deal with the Columbians.
- The crane is used again down from the window (the camera eavesdropping from a window like Hitchcock) to the car—and the audio work is inspired- it picks up the pop music as the crane moves to the car—and when it moves back up to the window it picks up the chainsaw audio.
- A nice zoom from the dance floor at the Babylon club to the table
- De Palma’s direction is more muted in the second half—this is pure speculation—but the 170-minute run time is the longest of De Palma’s career. He is one of those rare auteurs that tries to conceive every scene cinematically (or at least his best work does)- and that is just a lot of time to fill with that sort of stamina of stylistic energy.
- Stone’s salacious and justifiably memorable dialogue is a treat- money, power and women. Stone (again- a perfect match for De Palma and Pacino) is not subtle- a blunt instrument- “I’ll bury those cockaroaches” and “say ‘hello’ to my little friend”.
- The slow motion zoom sequences are tied to Tony’s obsession (hard not to mention incest) with his sister.
De Palma bounces shots off the mirrors at the booth in the Babylon club—it is a mini little The Lady from Shanghai.
- The ice cold, perfect-looking Pfeiffer is smart casting as she calls things “boring” and does endless amounts of cocaine. She does get a nice, big blow up scene with Pacino at dinner in a restaurant.
- The film is not perfect- there is just no artistic value to the Rocky III-like montage with the “Scarface: Push it to the Limit” song written for the film.
- Pacino is going for it—he does not land every punch he throws but it is still, overall, a victory for him. Roger defends it as well (in a four-star review)- “What were Pacino’s detractors hoping for? Something internal and realistic?” https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-scarface-1983 This from Rob Gonsalves is masterfully put as well “Pacino, of course, goes way over the top and through the floor on the other side.” https://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=1397&reviewer=416
- This is the film for 1980s excess, cocaine and paranoia—Tony’s world falls part as he loses his business with Sosa, his relationship with Elvira, the lives of his sister and best friend Manny (a very strong Steven Bauer).
The siege of Montana’s mansion finale makes for an ambitious set piece. One of the great compositions in the film is at the 163-minute mark with the doors acting as a frame within the frame.
- The final shot is a crane shot of course- De Palma moving from the dead body to the “World is Yours” sign then to the top of the stairs and ceiling- this is Hitchcock’s crane shot from Young and Innocent or Notorious– absolutely genius.
- A Must-See film – top five of the year quality
The execution of that scene of Pacino’s character visiting his sister and associate (who are having an affair) in Scarface is so stupid and bad. A total loss of concentration from Brian De Palma.
I rarely say this but De Palma’s Scarface is a movie that feel like it would work better if it was divided into two movies. The 2nd half is a big reset. The characters behave quite differently especially Tony Montana and the look of the film changes a lot as well. It’s a much colder, interior based film in the 2nd half compared to the warm, sunny, exterior based and free swinging spirit in the 1st half. The attire of the characters change a lot as well. Casual, loose clothes in the 1st half compared to the tight, professional looking shirts and ties in the 2nd half. And actually if you think about it, the 1st half of Scarface has exactly the same structure of the first Godfather. Depicting the rise and taking power/control of the Tony Montana character compared to Michael Corleone in the first Godfather.
The Immigration Officer who interrogates Pacino at the begining of the film is actually voiced by Charles Durning (Pacino’s Dog Day Afternoon co-star).
Every De Palma film has a lapse in concentration more or less and here it is the scene where Pacino finds his friend, and sister. I cracked up the way they reacted when they saw him, totally opposite to what the characters are going for in the previous scenes. And they are hiding anyway. Also there is a scene with a whore which is only there to include nudity in the film.
@Lionel – The scene with Miriam, or “whore” as you call her helps setup the final stretch, both times when Tony really needs Manny (going after Lopez or starting war with Sosa) he is unfocused and with a women. It’s consistent characterization. Manny has some scenes flirting and trying to pickup women (also one showing he can be unfocused like while he is outside in the car while the Colombian deal is going down). Anyway I also don’t have a problem with a film having so much violence, profanity and drug usage showing someone who a naked companion.. it’s a film of excess at the end of the day.
@Harry- No, the love story with Manny and Pacino’s sister is a big part of the plot at this point. It doesn’t make any sense to include prostitutes or nudity at that point.
@Malith – Their only interaction at that point is Manny seeing her outside the Montana home and driving her home (in which he says he won’t take her out) so ‘big part of the plot at this point’ is a stretch for me. Gina is even seeing Fernando up to that car ride point.
@Barry-“Love at first sight”
Public Enemies with Johnny Depp is another film which has that exact same problem. And maybe Gladiator as well. You can’t push the love story as the front and center of the film and make the hero kiss or be with other women. That’s just lazy writing. If you want to make the hero flirt with other women and is a good guy just stop pretending they love the main love interest and making it front and centre.
I had a problem with a couple of scenes here. First is the scene when Pacino gets assaulted and he calls Bauer and he is with this nude woman. Seemed like an excuse to get nudity in the film. This character/woman doesn’t appear anywhere else. And Bauer was with Pacino’s sister anyway before this scene.
Another one and this is quite substantial is Pacino killing Bauer scene. This is a flow. No way they would react like that when Pacino comes into the house and they are not even answering his calls. Then Pacino’s sister somehow has the sanity to tell(after Pacino kills Bauer) they were going to tell him tomorrow and then suddenly after that she becomes paranoid for the rest of the movie. Surely you become paranoid after the guy is killed, right?
To add, I think there is enough here for 2 different movies. Rather than connecting those parts with a montage. Pacino in the second half after the montage really feels like quite a bit different than the one he was before the Lopez killing. He is quite playful and amazing to watch with his undiminished confidence.
His character in the second half just only cares about himself and throws tantrums at everybody. But that’s OK in a way because that’s where the narrative is going.
@Lionel – the film is a rags to riches story focusing on a Drug Lord and his best friend/business partner living in Miami so I would argue a shot of a nude woman seems in line with a film revolving around sex, drugs, and money. I don’t think it is clear exactly when the Bauer character, Manny starts to see Tony’s sister Gina, we know it happened but off screen. Regardless, Manny is a very different character than Tony. Manny, despite being a criminal who is capable of violence, is at heart a fairly likable guy who seems interested in actually enjoying his life so casual sex with an attractive woman seems consistent with his character.
I do not claim to be an expert in human psychology but I don’t think there is any one “correct” reaction that people have after witnessing violence or dealing with traumatic situations.
Tony starts using drugs heavily in the 2nd half so that partially explains the personality changes. The “Bad Guy” monologue at the restaurant is telling; Tony has everything he thought he wanted but seemed to feel empty inside
“When Alexander (the Great) saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer”
@James Trapp-Yeah. So I’m pretty sure Manny was taking Gina home then we see the assassination attempt on Pacino. Then we see Pacino calling Bauer and with this nude woman we never see before or after which seems completely inconsistent and unnecessary to me. Yes. Bauer flirts with other woman but this happened when he was not in a playful mode but starting to have a relationship with Gina.
About Pacino’s change, so it’s where the narrative is headed but imo he lost the playful charm and weaknesses he had in the first half by going this way. But still the decor in his Palace is incredibly good and we only see it in the second half. The second half doesn’t have that balance the first half had with excellently executed action/suspense scenes it’s just more Pacino going paranoid/sulky with everything/everyone around him but with great decor around him.
@Lionel – The scene when Manny drives home Gina occurs after Tony gets angry after seeing Gina with a man at the club, during the car scene Gina tells Manny that she noticed the way he looks at her. At that point they are not in a relationship but the mutual attraction is obvious. Not too long after this, we have the “take it to the limit” montage sequence which includes Manny and Gina constantly looking at each other, so by that point it is obvious they are seeing each other. As for the nudity being “unnecessary” I don’t think it makes much of a difference one way or the other and the scene in general is extremely minor
It’s a classic rise and fall film with the 2nd half being the inevitable fall. As I said before Tony seems miserable once he actually reaches his goal of making it to the top of the drug trade. In the first half I think Tony feels like he has nothing to lose. Even being threatened with a chainsaw he refuses to backdown. I think part of the reason he is so miserable in the 2nd half is that his wife is doing so much coke herself and it is clear that raising a child is not in her near future as Tony had hoped for
One of the more intriguing elements of the film is Tony’s relationship with his sister. I think it can be read as Tony just being overprotective of his younger sister but I also think his anger can be read as as something that is closer to sexual jealously
@James Trapp-You are wrong. Montage happens much later after Montana calls Manny(with the nude woman), then they kill Lopez. I didn’t specifically mention any problem with nudity but that was just weird. And I feel like a clear attempt to include nudity in the film for no reason. I get if this was done earlier when. Manny was more playful but not here when he is starting to build a relationship with Montana’s sister. It’s just very inconsistent and this nude woman isn’t even in the rest of the film.
I’m not gonna lie. The Pacino performance in the 2nd half especially reminded me so much of Dick Tracy. But I guess it is needed for the narrative. I think the thing with his sister is Montana doesn’t want his sister to get involved with people in his business. Not that he doesn’t like men around her. If Manny guy doesn’t betray Montana by refusing his calls and funking his sister secretly he wouldn’t have killed Manny the way he did.
@James Trapp-I do wonder if Scarface and the performance would be better if this was done in two installments like The Godfather.
@Lionel – The Godfather has far more characters and more complex characters and storylines. There is an overall narrative arc in each of the individual films but also the trilogy as a whole.
I think Scarface (1983) makes more sense as a single film. If it was made into 2 films what sections would you want to expand? Or would you start in an earlier timeline, maybe even start the film in Cuba? Or would you expand the roles of certain characters, I do like the Omar Suarez character.
There are some interesting directions you could go but I think it works best as is.
@James Trapp-There is clearly 2 different narrative arcs in this film. First one is Montana getting to the top and the final confrontation with Lopez. The second is him as a drug lord and his fall. It’s very similar to The Godfather actually.
I think the first part is roughly 1 hour 50 minutes. The second part is 1 hour. They are connected by a montage. This montage could have been executed and made longer with individual scenes to expand the 2nd film. I think this works better actually. But I can’t complain.
I love the two act structure used here, basically the rise and fall. What are some of the best two-act films. A few off the top of my head:
High and Low (1963)
Lost Highway (1997)
Full Metal Jacket (1987) – the 1st half is so great that I think it still deserves to be on the list even with the not terrible but mediocre 2nd half
Boogie Nights (1997) like Scarface its a rise and fall tale
Psycho (1960) Marion Crane killed off not quite halfway through film but close
A Clockwork Orange – this one in particular is very strong formally as the 2nd half in a way mirrors the 1st half in which all of Alex’s previous victims get revenge on him
@James Trapp- Interesting- Boogie Nights gets its rise and fall from Goodfellas (and many others of course). Many of Scorsese’s (Casino, Wolf of Wall Street). Midsommar is not split in half and far as running time, but there is a clear Winter vs. Summer structure. 2019’s Waves from Trey Edward Shults has a two act structure as well.
Great review
For a few years I would have agreed on MS, I think it’s a MP but definitely close. It’s a plot that on paper sounds like a bunch of cliches but De Palma tells it with operatic ambition. A few points:
– Perhaps Scarface is not the 1st film that pops in your mind when you think of mise-en-scene but I love the
many of interior shots of Tony’s mansion, the mise-en-scene, color design, and symmetry is incredible.
Check out this image:
https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/9XzdB1X2PJGbhvch0/x720
Or the expressive use of color (dark orange) in scene when Tony and Manny kill Frank
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Re1p29W_FoLaJAxYvTv25NDn1jSQmDayr5au0QSOpgcv7hxDgV6_ZuYm46bQx-D57hRsSGgBqi4__R-LirYX_7Hu2AOvubvoNOS5pjHPWC4qBYPm8GSg3OTVP8S8SKJ_OE9PqQeB
– the cultural impact is undeniable, Scarface video games, reference in rap music and hip hop culture, some of
the most quotable lines. Despite the plot being made up of many cliches there are some really great and
memorable characters like Hector the Toad, Sosa, Frank Lopez, etc.
– regarding his sister I agree on the use of slow motion makes you question Tony’s intentions, I have always
gone back and forth with this, is he just a protective older brother or is there something more going on, hard
to say but it definitely plants a seed in your mind. He does end up regretting the killing of Manny. The use of
slow motion made me think of Taxi Driver where Scorsese uses slow motion to highlight Travis Bickle racism.
– The way the camera floats in the scene where Tony 1st meets Elvira, she descends from the second floor
while Frank laughs his face off cracking jokes (I loved Frank ha) oblivious to Elvira’s presence while the
camera moves in on a transfixed Tony. Interesting on the 2 different approaches De Palma takes in this
scene vs the use of slow motion with Tony’s sister
@James Trapp- Thank you for the kind words and this is a really strong addition to the page here. Thanks for all the work you put in.