Scarface
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
In actor Al Pacino’s autobiography Sonny Boy—a moving and worthwhile read, by the way—he tells the story of how he was in L.A. one day when he passed a movie theatre that was showing a classic gangster film. That film was Scarface. Made in 1932, it starred Paul Muni and was directed by Howard Hawks. It’s a violent tale about a gangster’s rise and downfall during prohibition. Pacino had never seen the movie before, but growing up his grandfather had raved about how much he loved it. So Pacino bought a ticket to see the movie…and found that he loved Scarface too! More than just a gripping crime story, he found the movie to be a powerful commentary on the excesses and failings of America in the 1930s.
Pacino was so energized by the experience that he decided to remake the film…for a brand-new generation. His Scarface would mock and be an indictment of the so-called “trickle-down economics” of the modern era by telling the rags-to-riches immigrant story of a man who pursues the American Dream with a “grab-everything-you-can” philosophy; a philosophy of “greed is good.”
Pacino’s Scarface burst onto movie screens in 1983 and gave him what, he claims, became the biggest movie of his career.
The movie features a blistering and profane screenplay by Oliver Stone and is directed with operatic, tragic grandeur by Brain DePalma. In a vivid, towering performance, Pacino stars as Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant who slithers into the Miami underworld and grabs the wealth of his dreams by smuggling cocaine, viciously killing anyone who gets in his way.
At first, Scarface outraged many in the mainstream press. Perhaps it was the movie’s extreme, blood-soaked violence. Maybe it was the shock of seeing Pacino break out of his Godfather/Michael Corleone persona by portraying a homicidal, cocaine-addicted drug smuggler who also happens to lust for his own sister.
While the establishment didn’t like Scarface, audiences loved it. Pacino says that it became a counterculture touchstone. People from all walks of life embraced it, he writes, because “they recognized the film as a parable, a story about how you view the world [and how you learn to survive in it] when you’re taught that life is cheap and dispensable.”
There are countless moments in Scarface that have enshrined the Tony Montana mythology in film culture.
There are countless moments in Scarface that have enshrined the Tony Montana mythology in film culture. And there are Tony’s memorable quotes, such as: “I always tell the truth, even when I lie.” And, of course, “Say hello to my little friend.”
But for those who have never seen it, be warned: much of Scarface is violent, searing and intense. With a terrific cast that also includes Michelle Pfeiffer, F. Murray Abraham, Robert Loggia, Steven Bauer, Mary-Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Harris Yulin and Paul Shenar…
Scarface is really Pacino’s movie from start to finish, an epic, four-star Tony Montana crime classic.
