One of Pacino's finest roles

Rating: 7/10 (10 September 2006)

This one had so much about the 1980s it's hard to know where to start. I remember when this one came out & was getting rave reviews; I wanted to see it badly but my parents always said "no way" as they were very strict about these kinds of movies. However, 2 years later I was finally able to watch it for the first time with my dad. It left an impression that has stuck with me since then.
Pacino is at one of his best roles here; admittedly he is over-the-top sometimes but that is also part of the character. As others have remarked he is not playing a Corleone-type gangster here; he is playing a violent drug dealer that gradually replaced the gangster-types of Corleone & even Al Capone. The supporting cast is solid as well; Robert Loggia, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio & Steve Bauer are all excellent performers.
Some of the scenes, especially the infamous chainsaw scene, are disturbing, although the violence in the drug underworld is arguably more extreme than in the times of Al Capone or Michael Corleone. Oliver Stone's screenplay gets dull in places; while it does tell a good story, I got tired of hearing the F-word in almost every line. One does expect a fair amount of swearing from these characters in order to make them believable; however the extreme use of the F-word made the dialog lag in places.
Brian DePalma is a solid director; while this is not his best effort by far, it is fine work just the same. He followed up this effort with another gangster film - 'The Untouchables' - four years later, which portrayed the 'classic' images of the early 30's gangsters. Martin Scorsese's 'Goodfellas' also fit the mold of the 'crime family' gangsters. 'Scarface' certainly dispelled the traditional movie stereotypes of the gangster lifestyle; it showed that it is gritty, messy, and frequently outright savage.
This one is the movie that got me interested in Pacino's films; his finest since this one was his role on the other side of the law in 'Heat', playing an intense Los Angeles policeman.
This 1983 classic is terrific viewing for those who grew up in the 1980s. However, I would strongly advise anyone with a weak stomach or nerves to avoid it - it is EXTREMELY graphic!