Scarface (1983)

In 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel while succumbing to greed.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Oliver Stone (screenplay)

Stars:

Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer

Top 250 #127 | Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Al Pacino	...	Tony Montana
Steven Bauer	...	Manny Ribera
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Elvira Hancock
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio	...	Gina Montana
Robert Loggia	...	Frank Lopez
Miriam Colon	...	Mama Montana
F. Murray Abraham	...	Omar Suarez
Paul Shenar	...	Alejandro Sosa
Harris Yulin	...	Mel Bernstein
Ángel Salazar	...	Chi Chi
Arnaldo Santana	...	Ernie
Pepe Serna	...	Angel
Michael P. Moran	...	Nick The Pig
Al Israel	...	Hector The Toad
Dennis Holahan	...	Jerry The Banker

Storyline

When Fidel Castro opens the harbor at Mariel, Cuba, he sends 125,000 Cuban refugees to reunite with their relatives in the United States. Among all the refugees, there is one who wants it all, his name is Tony Montana. Tony and his friend Manny arrive in the United States and start in small time jobs. Soon, they are hired by Omar Suarez to pay money to a group of Colombians. When the deal goes wrong, Tony and Manny leave with the money and succeed in their job. Soon Tony meets with drug kingpin Frank Lopez and falls for his boss's girl, Elvira. Pretty soon Tony will know that those who want it all, do not last forever; that is the price of power. The world will know Montana by one name....SCARFACE.

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Plot Keywords:

cuban | refugee | friend | cocaine | drugs | 

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Taglines:

The world is yours...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 December 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caracortada

Filming Locations:

485 West Matheson Drive, Key Biscayne, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$242,821 (USA) (19 September 2003)

Gross:

$656,161 (USA) (26 September 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

170 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Spanish title of the film, "El Precio del Poder", literally translates to "The Price of Power".

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Goofs

When Tony, Manny and Elvira are in the restaurant, Elvira changes position between shots. In one shot she's holding a cigarette in her left hand with her arm above the table. In the next shot her left arm is down and her right is above the table, holding her glass.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Fidel Castro: ...al esfuerzo y al heroísmo de una revolución... ¡No los queremos! ¡No los necesitamos!
[translated... to the effort and heroism of a revolution... We don't want them! We don't need them!]

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Crazy Credits

In the opening we see a crawl text (with narrator) that reads: "In May of 1980, Fidel Castro in an effort to normalize relations with the Carter Administration opened the harbor at Mariel, Cuba with the apparent intention of letting some of his people join their relatives in the United States. Within seventy-two hours, 3,000 U.S. boats were headed for Cuba. In the next few weeks, it became evident that Castro was forcing the boat owners to carry back with them not only their relatives but the dregs of his jail population. By the time the port was closed 125,000 'Marielitos' had landed in Florida. An estimated 25,000 had criminal records. This is the story of that minority those they call 'Los Bandidos'."

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Connections

Referenced in Barely Legal (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Dance Dance Dance"
Performed by Beth Andersen
Music by Giorgio Moroder
Lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Arthur Barrow

User Reviews

Scarface

I find myself enjoying this film when I watch it. Well, perhaps enjoying is a bit of an odd verb when you think of the storyline, its characters, the amount of violence and of course, the f-bomb being dropped about 15,000 times.

I like Pacino in this film. He shows us the violent anger we didn't see in Michael Corleone. We're Michael would say, "Never hate your enemies, it clouds your judgement," Tony Montana's out killing everybody. Now granted, there are moments in his performance...or in the script where you have to laugh. The questioning scene in the beginning of the film is a fine example of this. When asked where he got that scar on his cheek...well, I can't write what he says in the regular version, but I will tell you that on edited version on TNT, it from was "eating pine apple."

There is a great performance from Robert Loggia. He's the only character I truly believed in the film. Frank was a businessman, not a killer. All he wanted was the money. Greed killed him, as it has killed so many people. I enjoyed the direction Loggia went with Frank. It has carried over his recent work and has made Loggia one of Hollywood's must durable supporting actors.

Brian DePalma adds his usual blend of violence, but it seemed that for once, he was trying to make his own film. Not borrowed. No guessing games on who he stole from this time. Although he's blasted for the film's content, it is a new beginning to his career which took off, but it was really "The Untouchables" that made me consider him a serious director.