Underrated, imitated and to hip hop artists...an American Classic!

Rating: 10/10 (8 December 2011)

Scarface had an impact on America at the worst time obviously in the 1980's. It was a rich character study that America wasn't ready for. Pacino's famous line "Say Hello To My Little Friend" was his large gun he was preparing for his enemies and viewers must have been afraid of that gun at that time.
Now, Scarface is widely appreciated by hip hop artists as an American classic because the film is so ambitious and Tony Montana had a drive like no other man for the American Dream whether it was crime or making it in a world where no rules can be broken. The only way a Cuban could come up in Tony's world was to break rules in a capitalist society and he showed that you don't have to conform to society in order to make it to the top. Viewers, the fact that he is selling drugs isn't the major point. It is the fact that he was jealous and driven to earn money the hard way. A lot of people admire Tony Montana for his drive but because he broke the rules, we lose sympathy for him but we will always admire him in the first act and the final act because he will protect what he has worked for.
Pacino has made the role of a lifetime. Sure Michael Corleone was a gangster but Scarface was the ultimate gangster who will be remembered for many of his memorable lines and his accent. Pacino does praise hip hop artists for understanding the movie well. A lot of songs in the hip hop industry have been inspired by this movie and slang such as "you're soft" and "yeyo" exist around the USA because of this movie.
I think the razzies made a big mistake of giving director DePalma the nomination for the worst director of the year. DePalma directs Pacino beautifully. The script goes a little aloof since his ally Manny doesn't have much credit but just muscle to his organization and some back story is just unclear in the world he lives in. Those are two things I point out about the script that I know in script writing formula but in a way, it makes Tony more dominant over Manny but it leaves him with no ally making Tony's world more unpleasant. DePalma's imagery of the glamorous 80's at this point in time will be trending and remembered.
Overall if anyone is interested in watching a gangster movie, you will have a good time watching Al Pacino do his thing as he will be compared to such gangster actors as Bogart, Cagney, De Niro, Brando...he basically destroys them all and leaves his mark in the gangster genre.