Rating: 
Summary: Review of the "Scarface" Anniversary Edition DVD
Review: "Scarface" has finally been given the proper DVD treatment with this special 20th anniversary edition of the movie. While originally dismissed by film critics as an ultra-glossy celebration of violence, profanity, and drug use, this movie has now earned its rank as a modern-day classic. Al Pacino's ultra-charismatic performance of Cuban refugee turned drug kingpin, Tony Montana is certainly the highlight of this massive crime epic. Tony and his partner, Manolo have exiled from Cuba and are looking to capitalize on the "American dream". Starting off as foot soldiers for boss Frank Lopez, they soon move their way up the ladder in the world of drug-dealing. With bloodbaths and double-crosses at every turn of the corner, Tony eventually finds himself on top of the drug kingdom with Lopez's beautiful girlfriend (Michelle Pfeifer) as his wife and a fortune in drug money at his disposal. "Scarface" is not a beautiful love story. It is in its essence, a tale of capitalism gone awry. While Pacino's Montana is often viewed as a loyal guy, it is his greed that manages to destroy not only himself but everyone around him. He fiends for his boss' girlfriend out of lust, not love. His relationship with this character is never treated as a romance. She is a prize that comes with the territory. The only person Tony does seem to have unconditional love for is his sister but even that love is of a such a controlling nature that he never allows for her to find true happiness. By the end of the second act, Tony is so caught up in his world of greed and drug-enduced paranoia that he seems all but finished. The murder of his best friend seems to foreshadow his own downfall. This movie has become a staple of pop culture. Montana's trademark lines have been quoted in every movie from FRIDAY to ACE VENTURA: WHEN NATURE CALLS. While it was originally best known for its violence in such scenes as the infamous chainsaw sequence and the bullet-riddled conclusion, "Scarface" has grown to be a larger-than-life film.
While this movie is revered by many as a true classic, the film itself is flawed but it is in those subtle imperfections that we have come to know and love this film. Pacino's trademark accent is ridicilous but appealing nonetheless. In fact, most of the Cuban characters are played by Italian-American actors. Steven Bauer, one of the select few authentic Cuban actors in the film is entertaining in his portrayal of Manolo, Tony's sidekick. This "special edition" DVD presentation is amazing. We get an in-depth look at the making of the film, deleted scenes, and an explanation of the influence of the film on today's audience. This DVD is definetly an essential addition to any true film buff's collection.
Rating:
Summary: SAY 'EllO TO MA LIL' FRIEND!!!!
Review: Scarface is a crime masterpiece. Released in the 1980's it had a big fight with the MPAA to keep it R, not X!
Basicly, it's about this Cuban guy named Tony Montana who was a criminal in Cuba, after escaping a camp in Florida for Cuban criminal immagrants, joins the life of crime. And so begins the rise [and fall] of Tony!
If you liked GTA, you will like this! Lots of action, swearing, crime, you name it. It's a pretty long movie, so hold on! A mob masterpiece!
Rating:
Summary: 1932 & 1983 are both MASTERPIECES!
Review: This speaks for itself no need to whoffle on and on do yourself a favour and buy this,these movies are extremely awesome.
Rating: 
Summary: Mmmmm.....
Review: I had the origianl disc. It seems that not many were buying that one at the time. It also seemed as if not many had DVD players either.
I watched this alot on DVD(origianl). When this new one came out, I did not buy it because I already had it. I knew that it needed remastering bad. I did not know how bad until I watched on a HDTV! Like "Strange Days," the original "Scarface" was encoded in the wrong way. On an HDTV, you have to resize it to fill the screen. That is the reason I decided to purchase this newer version.
Without telling the story, this version has encoded the disc correctly. Qulaity wise, there does not seem to be much difference between this and the old one. This one has taken the very strong film grain of the original out. It has been replaced be a smoother picture at the expense of some detail. I guess this may be good. The strong film grain was really noticable on a SDTV. If you have to get it, of course get this one.
Rating:
Summary: A crime classic!
Review:
Al Pacino plays as Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant whom arrives in Miami Flordia to become the cocaine king of the city and the most successful one at that. However, it becomes a living hell when he fights against the other mobs of the city, his sister having affairs with other men and his relationship with a beautiful woman named Elviria ( Michelle Pfeifer) is mixed when he's going out killing for Coke ( the drug, not the drink).
This happens to be Al Pacino's signature role! this 1983 crime drama is a definite epic of the genre, it was trashed by some critics but made a decent box-office success and a huge cult following even among today's hip-hop stars. This is a brutal, gory and entertaining 3-hour tour-de force from director Brian De Palma that is definitely not for everybody but it's a must see movie and one of my top 109 favorite movies of all time.
The new 2-Disc anniversary Edition DVD has awesome picture & great sound quality. It has a second disc which contains very good extras like featurettes on how the movie got from remaking a classic 1932 gangster flick, the casting, the controverseries on getting the movie a "R" rating instead of an "X" rating and how it became a cult classic, it also has a interesting documentary on how this movie inspired the lives of the popular rap artists in the music industry and a funny montage of how the theatrical release compares with the censored TV version.
This movie is strongly recommended, definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Also recommended: " Leon The Professional", " Kill Bill series", " Pulp Fiction", "L.A. Confidential", "Gangs of New York", " Reservoir Dogs", " The Godfather trilogy", " Goodfellas", " Assault on Precinct 13" ( original and remake), and " Se7en".
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece
Review: Scarface is one of the greatest films I have ever seen.
The film is ruthless and unforgettable. Everything about the film is perfect. The storyline, the music, the actors and the characters are all awesome.
Of course, for those who do not like violence, Scarface is possibly not the film to see, as it is somewhat gory in parts.
So please, if you don't mind violence, watch this film and I promise you will not be disappointed.
Perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing Exceeds like Excess
Review: This movie has become hip to watch, due to most of popular culture openly embracing it. I found it to be a very expertly shot and acted movie, but not enough to merit all these 5-star reviews. I'll start off on the good leg first. The cinemtagrophy is simply beautiful, the final shoot out scene is brilliant, the plush red interiors compliment the bloody shoot out perfectly. De Palma does an excellent job of capturing all the excess and decadence of Stone's great script and the real jewel of the film is Pacino. Al Pacino embodies Tony Montana with a realism that is frighteningly superb. The charisma practically radiates off of Pacino all throughout the movie and the rise and fall Montana suffers is mirrored with great success in Pacino's performance. The action sequences, especially the final shoot out, are simply great. De Palma caught all the explosive brutality with an uncanny ability. Often times I am reminded of that glorious last stand in the Wild Bunch when watching Scarface. These two films boast two of the greatest gunfights ever. Now, the negative aspects of this glossy film. The score is absolutely horrendous. The plasticity of the synthesizer not only dates the film but its doesnt even serve its purpose to enhance the mood of the film. There is also a song featured during the quick shot sequences of Monatana's rise to fame that is horrible keyboard dominated 80's trash that definitley takes a toll on the movie. Another glaring negative is the film's total length, 170 mins. Perhaps De Palma and Stone felt this runtime had to be used for audiences to see the whole picture, the rise, the living high and the descent. I believe that many scenes could have been cut and the same desired effect would have been achieved. These two minor flaws are what keeps this otherwise genius film from getting a perfect score. Scarface is still one of the better films of the 80's and definitely a superb gangster/mafia flick though.
Rating:
Summary: awsome movie. crappy bonus materials.
Review: im going to keep this simple. this movie is completely awsome. if you don't already have the VHS version, buy it. if u already do, dont bother. if this film was really digitally remastered, they did a crap job, as the picture quality doesn't look any better than the VHS version at all. as for the 5.1 surround sound, all it really is is the volume turned up alittle.
4 stars for the movie
2 stars for the dvd (at least the menu is cool)
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars, 2 thumbs up whatever you call it.....
Review: i cant even begin to describe how good this movie since everyone else has described it in perfect description (good job) Tony Montana is one of those guys who you know is good deep inside but has a hard way of showing it (classic plot), i hear there is a game comeing out for all consoles, (aka hes pissed and is out for revenge on Sosa)
so for all who are considering buying this dont hesitate buy now
Rating: 
Summary: The best movie ever made? Don't think so.
Review: While there's no doubt Pacino's Scarface is a semi-riveting and immensely watchable film (hey; you know about the extreme violence and language going in, so you really can't complain about that), it really hasn't aged all that well. Tony Montana is so swaggering, showy and larger-than-life a character, he manages to become a parody of himself within the confines of the film. Watching the movie today, Montana doesn't emerge as someone to emulate or admire, but someone to ultimately regard as pathetic. He lets pride, ego and money blind him to everything else in life, including rational thinking and common sense. (By contrast, many other drug-dealer films do include more of a personal-life level). In some ways, the whole movie has an almost cartoonish feel to it. Bottom line: this Scarface just hasn't withstood the test of time except as a cult flick. The 1932 version is simply timeless.
|
