I always tell the truth, even when I lie.

Rating: Null/10 (14 September 2011)

I admit it I want to be Tony, I mean...doesn't everybody? He's got the pretty girl, the pretty money and the not so pretty power but failing that I am happy to run around and start my cocaine empire from the safe confines of a Scarface video game. Al Pacino's Tony Mantana has over years,transcended all areas of pop culture and multi media and if he was still alive, in his famous Cuban accent he would be declaring 'I was a f*&ken icon then and I'm a f*&ken icon now' 226 F-Bombs in that film...thats why I originally wanted to watch it all those years ago sitting in that big house with my excited friends. Scarface, directed by Blow Out's Brian De Palma premiered in New York, December 1. 1983 to mixed reactions. The had been warning signs and gossip regarding the excessive violence through out the production but the sophisticated crowd were certainly not ready for such confronting images especially with Miami such a hotbed for on going violence with Escobar's drug gangs. Brian and producer Marty Bregman had submitted an original cut of Scarface and had garnished themselves a dreaded X rating from the censorship board. After a few edits they resubmitted but the board would not budge. Finally after intense negotiations Brian was able to release the film with an R rating allowing it to open in more cinemas for a hopefully bigger return. Scarface bombed. It wasn't Oliver Stone's script, It wasn't the actors and it wasn't the production values... it was just that no one was ready for such a movie. People still liked there Mob films to have class like Coppola's Godfather trilogy, up to number two at the time. People didn't want to see bodies in the street and blood on the walls, they could see these things on the news every night. The Godfather is an amazing movie no doubt but The story of Cuban immigrant Antonio Montana is the closest to the truth of what was going on in Miami and South America at the time. Al Pacino finished his most important decade with this film. He had been Marty Bregmans boy with his sensitive portrayal of Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon. The seventies had established him as a monumental talent but his career would suffer slightly because of Scarface and another harrowing film, Cruising...the gay hustler shocker. This film was crucified more than Scarface both critically and commercially. Why Pacino wanted to do two of the most controversial films of all time back to back is beyond me and it is said that his alcoholism was in full swing after these two films if not slightly before. Fast forward twenty years and Scarface has made back it's investment and trippled the profit. It's the same script, the same production and the same actors it's that the viewing audience has changed. Young up and coming savvy minded men have adopted Scarface as there own and are making millions off Mr Montanas strict business codes. People like Snoop Dogg, Sean Combs and other high level members of Hip Hop have been claiming for ages that Scarface was under appreciated. This word of mouth by some of Americas biggest entrepreneurs allowed Brian De Palma, Marty Bregman and Al Pacino to finally sweep the ghosts away. Scarface is an amazing film. I would hope there are easier ways to claim the American dream but as pure spectacle you can't find a better story of rags to riches that this. A film that suffered at the box office all those years ago but went on to make money with a more accepting generation at more accepting time. Live on Mr Montana, it only gets better from here.