04/19/10 - Scarface

Scarface (1983, 170 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086250/

The local cinema decided to show Scarface in glorious 4K. What the means is basically they showed a version that was about four times the quality of Blu-ray. Since I'd already seen Scarface twice and loved it each time I jumped at this opportunity.

The film follows the rise to power of Tony Montana (Al Pacino) as he arrives in Miami from Cuba. His main help in this effort is his Cuban friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer). The first real boss Tony works for is Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) and after Tony has ousted him and replaced him he subsequently takes his wife Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer) for his own. Tony then works mainly with Alejandro Sosa (Paul Shenar).

First, I'd like to say I think Scarface is loved for all the wrong reasons. It seems most people love the movie for it's frequent depiction of drugs and how Tony rises to the top. While this is cool for the most part I really don't like it for this reason. Instead, I like how over-the-top the whole film is. As it goes on it seems to go more and more bizarre and more and more outlandish. It somehow manages to walk this fine line between realism and absurdism. And even though the film frequently crosses over to the obscene and crazy I still love it immensely. I get the impression it never takes itself so seriously that it can't still have fun. Maybe this is the work of writer Oliver Stone who I get the impression takes reality and bends it just enough to make it more appealing and exciting. Throw in Brian De Palma as director and we are treated to an excellent combination. Anyway, my whole point here is that I love Scarface because it manages to be both somewhat realistic but also incredibly entertaining and over-the-top. It's hard to place my finger on how exactly it manages this balance so well but it does.

The next piece of praise I will give Scarface is for Pacino's acting. Pacino always does a top-notch job so this performance really doesn't surprise me in that regard. However, I still need to say how awesome his Cuban accent is. I don't know how accurate it is (I get the impression it's pretty good) but it makes his character really stand out. Tony Montana is never Al Pacino playing Tony Montana but rather Tony Montana existing as an individual if that makes sense. Sure he has some of Pacino's characteristics (more on that later) but Pacino gives him this unique personality that makes him stand out perhaps more than any of Pacino's roles. I really think the Cuban accent is a huge factor in this. Next, Pacino is the best (in my opinion) at giving these really emotional stares filled with pent-up rage. The best example of this is the finale of The Godfather: Part II where we are treated to perhaps the best close-up of any character ever. Here we get a ton of similar moments. Pacino can just stare at someone or something and have this fiery passion in his eyes that is just remarkable. He provides this stare to Tony a lot and it makes the character all that more powerful. I really don't think enough good things can be said about Pacino's performance here. It's easily one of his best.

While Pacino carries the film, the supporting cast is pretty good as well. I think most notable are Bauer as Ribera and Loggia as Frank. Both of these characters are real and flawed and have to meet unfortunate demises. But the secret to making the viewer like the character lies in the great acting of Bauer and Loggia. The rest of the cast does a fine job as well but these two stand out even among the gigantic triumph that is Pacino's acting.

Next, I'd like to say how great the soundtrack is for this film. I can't think of a more 1980s soundtrack that pulses with the Miami and gangster atmosphere. It's simply untouched in this niche. But really, it stands as one of the single best soundtracks ever. With songs like "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)," "She's on Fire," and "I'm Hot Tonight" it's great. Though they have lame names, these songs all work great for when they are used in the film. I mean, it's not Scorsese caliber where I will always remember when "She's on Fire" was used or will forever associate it to a specific scene. It's not that same type of great soundtrack. Instead, they just create the perfect atmosphere for which this whole film takes place. And finally there's "Tony's Theme" which is underappreciated. I forgot how great this song was. It doesn't have lyrics so that's probably why I forgot it, as it is instead just a pulsating beat that creeps louder and louder in intensity. It's used frequently throughout the film and goes amazingly well with those Pacino stares I mentioned above. As I've said again and again, the difference between a great movie and an amazing movie is the quality of the soundtrack. Scarface succeeds amazingly well in that regard.

The finale of Scarface also deserves its own mention. After all, it is from this segment of the film where we are treated to the iconic "Say hello to my little friend!" line. Anyway, I actually think this is one of the worse parts of the film. It's not that I don't like the acting or anything here, but rather that I don't like how Tony meets his demise. The random no-name character that kills Tony is given this quiet and intimidating persona for no reason. Who is this guy? Where did he come from? He's clearly unlike anyone else that Sosa hired. Was he the same guy that just stands around when Tony visits Sosa earlier in the film? I think so, but he doesn't do anything there so it's hard to tell. Basically, this guy just comes from nowhere and mechanically delivers the fatal blow to Tony. However, for action and iconic images this scene is really well done. It's fun to watch a Tony that is clearly drugged out of his mind somehow manage to take out a bunch of thugs with a grenade launcher in his house. It's just that I just don't like this one guy in it.

Finally, there's the pacing of Scarface. Here might rest my only major complaint. Sometimes I felt like 170 minutes was just a bit too long. The movie handles itself well for the most part with lots of stuff happening and there never really being any long lull in the film. However, as I was watching I did feel like sometimes the film covered too much ground too quickly a few times. I mean, it takes Tony a long time to work his way up to being a significant somebody in the world and then it seems like the second after that happens we get a montage of his power and then he's immediately one of the most powerful and richest people in Miami. This happened way too quickly in my opinion. But as for the pacing of the film as a whole, it's pretty good. Like I said above, the 170 minute runtime might be a tad long but the film easily handles almost three hours' worth of story.

One complaint I think many people have with the film is the constant cursing. Really I don't think it's an issue. The reason I think this is the case is that the curses always come in bunches. Tony will go a long time without saying anything obscene and then he'll say three sentences that contain about 20 curse words. Thus, for the most part, the film isn't riddled with swearing. I mean, sure it was probably the "filthiest" movie upon it's release but I never see this as a negative factor in the overall quality.

Overall, I gave this film a 9/10. Scarface balances realism and absurdism perfectly well. Somehow. I don't quite know the secret to this success but it works. To top it off we then throw in an amazing performance by Pacino as Tony Montana and a great 1980s soundtrack. The result is a superb film.