Arguably Al Pacino's best performance....

Rating: 9/10 (1 December 2003)

Scarface was seen as nothing but a violent, offensive, garbage movie to critics when it was originally released. It's still probably seen that way today. But I would imagine, to their disappointment, it has and continues to stand the test of time. Scarface will never be on a Top 100 list, but it is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion. The realism of Scarface, I could only guess, scared a lot of people away. This realism, along with its no holds barred, uncensored nature, makes this film great in my eyes. Now, many people use this to write off Scarface as an irresponsible, misguided movie with a tasteless overabundance of blood, drugs, killing and cursing. Those who can appreciate the grittiness of Scarface are who talk highly of it.
This is quite a departure for Brian DePalma as far as subject matter, but he handled it masterfully. Al Pacino's performance of Tony Montana is rivaled by only a few in the history of film...he's so good in the role it's scary. The fact that so many celebrated actors like John Travolta & Kevin Spacey all do good impersonations of Tony Montana is a testament to the influence of Pacino's performance. Pacino is so good that at times I can't believe that its actually him on screen. Appreciate this movie for the influence it has on film. It's not on the level of other classic gangster films like The Godfather & Goodfellas; but it's still one of the best of the genre. Probably Al Pacino's best performance.
*** 1/2 out of **** stars.