Scarface
The 80s was such an expansive decade in the field of artistic expression that it’s a very real possibility that the best movies of the era were as such that we will never see their kind again. That being said, the one movie that probably defined the decade of excess was this 1983 Classic directed by Brian DePalma which in itself was a remake of a 1932 gangster movie of the same name, a true crime and gangster epic that failed to garner any deserved Oscar noms most likely for being too raw and extreme, but nonetheless has stood the test of time to be thought of as one of the most entertaining movies ever made. Al Pacino (in perhaps his career-best performance, a bold statement given his body of work) stars as Tony Montana, a Cuban criminal given the chance to come to America in 1980 when Castro decided to clean out his jail cells and send all the unwanted criminals off to the good old U.S.A. Once there, he gets his shot at a green card by simply murdering a former government official also tossed out by Fidel. At this early point in the film, DePalma has already taken charge with his filmmaking prowess, showing the desperation inherent in the detention camp and actually making the doomed Communist a sympathetic figure as he is stalked around the area before his demise. From there it’s onto the streets of Miami, as Montana rises up in the cocaine drug syndicate until he’s undisputed top dog, only to outsmart himself due to his own greed and everything unravels apart from then on until the ending, with the irony being that Montana is probably the ultimate right wing capitalist, basically screwing himself by wanting to give up as little of his money as possible for the cost of doing business to the bank that safely washes his profits from the IRS. Pacino’s work here as the crude, ruthless Latino criminal is actually so authentic, so in the moment, that we forget that we’re watching the same guy who played Michael Corleone and a host of other legendary characters and just accept Montana on his own terms, as a scummy yet charismatic, entertainingly funny yet highly dangerous, totally original individual who we come to be invested in even as we despise him for his actions. In addition, even though Pacino was in his early to mid forties at the time of filming, he brings so much energy, so much life to the performance that we could easily mistake him as someone at least 10 years younger without the aid of any makeup outside of the trademark scar. THIS is the role that should have won Pacino the Oscar instead of Scent Of A Woman, and it’s a shame that the best he could garner was a mere Golden Globe nomination. In other roles, there’s Steven Bauer (also nominated for a Globe) as Manny Ray, Tony’s lifelong friend and partner in crime, completely and utterly into pretty girls instead of the money and power, but an engaging, likable guy in his own right whom the viewer cares just as much about; Michelle Pffeiffer on the cusp of stardom as the cartel boss’ girlfriend who winds up marrying Tony, completely addicted to the drugs that her man sells, and a sad, shallow shell of a beautiful woman as a result; Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Tony’s sister that he is, umm, “protective” of, as she yearns to get out and live her own life of freedom that includes sleeping with any guy she pleases; Robert Loggia as the boss, Frank Lopez, a man who tries to teach Tony that moderation is the key to a long successful life in the cartels, but is really just a big softie who winds up debasing himself by pathetically begging for his life when the moment of truth comes down between him and Tony; along with Miriam Colan in a powerful turn as Tony’s mother; F. Murray Abraham as a shady associate in the business; Paul Shenar as the too smooth for words Bolivian connection; and Harris Yulin making the most of limited screen time as the cheerfully corrupt cop who comes looking to get his beak wet. A great cast certainly, but the real draw of the film is the spectacular set pieces staged by DePalma, from the internment camp murder, to the drug buy that turns into a gruesome display with a chainsaw, to the execution of a police informant in Bolivia, to a wild assassination attempt in a nightclub, to a series of mishaps on a trip to New York, to eventually the final act, as the last twenty minutes where the main characters meet their fate is as heart wrenching as it is explosive (with Pacino doing the best acting of his career), and the final battle almost immediately becoming the stuff of movie legend (and parody) as it closes out a nearly three hour movie loaded with profanity, violence, and Giorgio Moroder’s throbbing synth score, a classic in every sense of the word topped off by one of the greatest and most brilliantly insane lead performances in the history of cinema…
10/10