Scarface

Rating:
Summary: I Thought I Loved This Film 20 Years Ago
Review: I had not seen Brian DePalma's "Scarface" since I saw it in the theater 20 years ago. What I thought I remembered from back then was that I absolutely loved it. But having watched it a second time on the 20th anniversary DVD recently, it just didn't grab me that way. Not even close.

I don't know if it was Al Pacino's over-the-top Cuban accent, the stiffness of Steven Bauer as his pal Manny or Mary Elizabeth Mastriantonio's fright wig of a hairdo, but Scarface didn't do it for me this time. But I would guess that the primary reason is that it just seemed to move in slowwwww motion for me. I've seen better stories with more action told in much less time in the 20 year period since this came out.

I also agree with another viewer who doesn't get the rap persona this movie has and the heavy rap influence on the Bonus DVD (I understand that when this DVD was being planned, the studio wanted DePalma to replace some of the soundtrack in the movie with rap songs - DePalma wisely declined). I just read an interview with a rapper who wants his life to be "just like Scarface's". Note to rapper - you need to watch the final 10-15 minutes of this movie again!

It's not horrible, but three hours that you could spend watching Pacino classics like either of the first two Godfather classics.

Rating:
Summary: A Waste or a Winner?
Review: I am a big fan of the movie "Scareface", so I was expecting this Anniversary Edition DVD to be flawless. I was wrong.

First off, I can barely see the text and graphics on the cover. Did universal forget to change their print cartridges? Perhaps they thought us Americans are too stupid to notice the difference. If you compare the original "Scareface" DVD cover to the new Anniversary Edition cover you can see the difference. The text and graphics on the original DVD case insert can be seen just fine, while the text and graphics on the new Anniversary Edition's DVD case insert is very dim and cheap. This means universal was in a rush to throw these out on the shelves. No attention to detail here.

Also someone please tell me what does rap music have to do with this movie? The bonus DVD has interviews and deleated scenes which are ok, but I just don't get the hip-hop def jamz garbage. Along with the interviews and deleated scenes, you'll also find interviews with rappers. Why not interview three year olds instead?

The new Anniversary Edition DVD does come in both full-screen and widescreen version's, which I very much enjoyed as I am getting sick of these widescreen ONLY formats. I refuse to go out a buy a new $8,000 SILVER widescreen TV just to accommodate these silly movie companies! Hollywood needs to make their DVD's both in FULL and WIDESCREEN format's!

That's about it. This is the same movie only with alot of unnecessary junk and a very poor DVD case insert! On the plus side you get to choose from either widescreen or full-screen DVD version's which I think is really cool. Why did it take so long for these geniuses at Hollywood to figure this out? Probably to get everyone to buy widescreen TV's! If you don't care about the full-screen format or the extras which really aren't all that great, stick with the original "Scareface" DVD (if you can find it).

Rating:
Summary: overrated
Review: I saw this movie for the very first time tonight and I have to say it is not that great at all. I'll admit Al Pacino is an amazing actor and he does give a really good performance, but the story is really lacking. I mean, how can we find these people interesting in the first place, he never really showed remorse for becoming what he was towards the end, and as far as violence goes this movie isnt THAT violent. Most of it is the usual lame "drug talk." michelle pheifer is good in this movie, but even that cant save it. I give it three stars for the music and the incredible shoot out at the end, but other than that it is not something I would call a "classic" however that is an opinion and many others may disagree with me. If you want a good gangster flick with Pacino, check out Carlito's way which was also directed by Brian De palma that is a movie where you can actually notice character build up and you sympathize with what is going on.

Rating:
Summary: Great gangster movie, on par with Mean Streets.
Review: This is yet another great gangster movie done very professionaly and with some superb acting. Al Pacino plays Tomy Montana, a lowlife who becomes a successful lowlife, and then dies a failing lowlife on cocaine. This might just be Brian DePalma's only good film. I hated Carrie, and I didn't care for his other ones. I think everyone did a great job, especially Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert Loggia. The movie had a great violent feel, like Mean Streets, and although it was 3 hours long, it certainly didn't feel that long. I liked it, and I'm sure a lot of people who like gangster movies will too.

Rating:
Summary: False advertisement....
Review: Don't buy this DVD...It blows!!!The sound is garbage...They rave about 5.0..DTS...They should take back these DVDs...I have been waiting so long for this release, only to to be let down...Buy the first version, the picture is not as good but the in stereo sounds better than this...

Don't buy...Unless You Want To Buy Mine... :)

Rating:
Summary: Everyone's Must See
Review: Scarface is the realistic portrayal of the classic rags to riches story. A Cuban immigrant named Tony Montana is able to make connections with a local drug dealer and eventually take over his empire. Al Pacino does a great job portraying the power hungry man who is willing to do whatever it takes to get what he wants, the world. Even though this movie is pretty serious, it can still make you laugh because of Tony's jokes, and episodes around Miami. Even though Scarface is a little long, this movie is a must see every couple weeks or so because the vivid scenes stick in your mind. All you can think about is going back and watching the story unravel every time. Scarface definitely has the ability to be a party movie but only in some circumstances. If your audience is mostly men, then it would probably be the talk of the party. If some girls are thrown into the mix, you may have a mixed reaction from them due to the graphic content. Everybody I have mentioned this movie to or has seen the poster in my room has said that they love the movie. A pretty big margin of people have never seen the movie or heard what it's about though. However, after describing a little bit of the movie to those people, they say they would like to watch it to see it for themselves.

Rating:
Summary: BEST MOVIE EVER OF ALL TIME
Review: WOW!I SAW THE MOVIE A COUPLE NIGHTS AGO ON USA CHANNEL,UNCUT AND I KNOW IT IS THE BEST AND I MEAN THE BEST MOVIE EVER NO DOUT.FOR CHRISTMAS I BETTER GET 3 COPIES OF THIS DVD,SCARFACE BLINDS AND EVERYTHING SCARFACE BABY.YAH!

Rating:
Summary: What's with these reviewers?
Review: More often I'm seeing alot of reviewers give the whole story. Before I give my REVIEW, let me say to all those "Reviewers"; "It's not a SYNOPSIS, it's a R-E-V-I-E-W!! We don't need to hear your version of what the whole movie is about!!!

OK, now I can start. The movie is good. Al Pacino is brilliant. What makes a great actor is story and great supporting actors. Each of the actors/actresses in this movie really stand out on their own so you don't get a sense that Al Pacino carries the movie. Violent, Yes. Excessive Language, Yes. But, it's reality. I like the movie because of it's pace, it's wit and sometimes humor. Very engaging performances.

Rating:
Summary: "Say hello" to one of the greatest movies ever made...
Review: "You wanna play rough? Say hello to my little friend!"
- Tony Montana, a.k.a. Scarface.

"Scarface" chronicles the life of a Cuban refugee who came to America in May, 1980, when Fidel Castro opened the harbor at Mariel Bay, Cuba, with the apparent intention of letting some of his people join their families back in America. As the movie's opening intro explains, it soon became obvious that Castro was doing little more than sending the scum of Cuba to America in hopes of ridding his domain of filth. Of the 125,000 Cubans who came to America that year, an estimated 25,000 had criminal backgrounds.

Antonio Montana (Al Pacino) was one of those criminals who came to America from Cuba and successfully set up his own kingdom of cocaine, wealth and greed. We see him in the first few minutes of the film being interviewed by police regarding his background. He's asked about the scar that stretches from his eyebrow down to his cheek. He gives all the right responses and is sent off to a quarantine camp along with his long-time friend, Manny (Steven Bauer). After murdering a man in the camp as a favor for a Mafia kingpin named Frank (Robert Loggia), the two buddies are given green cards and released from the camp. Eventually they land another job for Frank. Their wealth and greed starts to grow.

Every time we see Tony Montana he is a bit better off. Better clothes, better means of transportation. He visits his mother at her small little home in Miami to show off his fortune. He tries to give her money but she says that people like him give bad names to the hard-working Cubans (like herself) who have come to America and work legitimately for a living.

But Tony's sister, Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) doesn't think so. She adores her brother and accepts 1,000 dollars from him as a present. But it backfires--soon Gina is hanging out in the fancy clubs and getting felt up by men. Tony sees this and anger lights up in his eyes like fire. This happens twice in the movie. Both times are in regards to his sister. Manny explains to Gina that Tony doesn't want her to turn out like him because she is the only thing pure left in his life.

Soon Tony is so powerful that he overthrows Frank and marries his girl (Michelle Pfeiffer), who becomes so depressed that she sleeps all day and snorts all night. "Nothing exceeds like excess. You should know that, Tony."

"Scarface" is based on Howard Hawks' 1932 film of the same title that starred Paul Muni as the title character. Both movies were accused of being overly violent. Both characters from the films had a strange infatuation with their sisters. Both characters fell in love with their boss' girlfriend. But the similarities end there. The 1932 version was not about a Cuban, it was not about an empire built on drugs, and it was not very similar by any account. Al Pacino said that Muni's performance inspired him to become Tony Montana. And while some critics accuse Pacino's performance of being over the top and too flamboyant, think about this: His character is a Cuban refugee who came to America and killed people for a living before taking over an empire built on drugs and crime. He lives in fear of not only others but himself. As his life proceeds he snorts cocaine so often that he can barely think. Then he has the underlying guilt of his life bearing down on his shoulders. How over the top would you act?

The movie was written by Oliver Stone, who completed a final draft after many attempts by other writers, including one attempt by the director of the movie, Brian DePalma, who claims that his script was not going the way he wanted it to go. Stone made the story his, and succeeds on almost all levels of storytelling. Back when "Scarface" was released drugs, violence and big blowouts at the end of a movie were hardly run-o'-the-mill. The 160 + F-words in the film were not exactly standard, either. But the story is involving and sad. It is the best film about the American Dream ever made. Tony Montana wanted the world, and when he finally got what he wanted, he realized that even the world was not enough. Perhaps the best and most important scene in "Scarface" is the subtlest one--when Tony is sitting at his desk after he has killed Manny. He has everything he ever dreamed about and wanted in front of him--drugs, drinks, a luxurious mansion, a beautiful wife. Yet it isn't enough for him. And the reason he sits there in silence for so long is because it is then that he realizes happiness does not come from material wealth, but from the inside. And, to be honest, Tony Montana doesn't really have much of a soul inside. And he knows it.

"Scarface" opens with its own theme song and closes with it, as well. It is more than just coincidence--when it is played in the beginning of the movie, it is during the time of Mariel Bay, and hope is everywhere for criminals. When it plays at the end, we have witnessed the American Dream from start to finish. When it plays at the end, there is no hope left for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: You will love this classic!
Review: No I'm not a rapper or even a fan of rap music, but I still love Scarface. I won't get into the plot since everyone has already. Let me just say that he plot is simple but it lures you in and doesn't let go until those closing credits begin to roll. I've always loved Al Pacino and I have to say that this is his best performance! The movie is gritty and violent but hey that's the world Tony Montana lives in so don't expect anything sweet and rosey. You have been warned. Also I wish these ignorant rappers would stop comparing themselves to Tony Montana, they're nothing but a bunch of wannabes and need to find their own niche. You guys aren't Tony and you never will be. That whole Def Jam crap is the only thing that ruins this DVD, just pretend it doesn't exist and enjoy everything else.