*Slap* VIOLENCE

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2012)

IMDb Top 250: 152
That's how I described my first viewing of Scarface. For 20 minutes it stretches, jogs in place, then winds up and smacks you across the cheek with the first drug deal. But we'll discuss that later.
In a class with The Terminator and Back to the Future, Scarface is one of the defining 80's films, and is a cultural landmark on its own. Unless you live in a sheltered community, you've definitely heard some lyrics or reference to the film in TV or music. In my case, I've even seen a car with Scarface towels for seat covers. It's one of the great stories of greed and ambition, and while not being the most thematic or symbol-heavy film, it has a good story and it tells it well.
A simple plot: immigrant comes to America, won't work a crappy job, gets into the drug game, stays, rises, falls. There are a lot of them now but Scarface is one of the best.
One of the most iconic aspects is the setting- Miami, 1980. The city is beautiful (despite being LA). The sets are lavish, and filled with amazing golden and sparkling things. The costumes are also impressive. You'll wish your suits or dresses were are flashy as these ones. The bright visuals separate Scarface from many gritty city films.
As colourful as the locale is the characters that inhabit it, starting with the big man himself: Tony Montana is one of screen's great villains, and Al Pacino is an acting monster here. His amazing voice and brooding sneer are consistent and convincing. But everyone is amazing- it didn't register on the first viewing though. From Manny's girl crazy ways ( hilarious tongue flicking scene) to the cynical Elvira, the characters are larger than life and the performances match.
There are many memorable moments that seem to flow into each other. The informative credits, the club shootout, the ending... many things can jump out, but I'd say the best scene, and the most important, is the first deal. It says: 'this isn't a mob story' and whenever Tony does anything later in the film, it's in our minds and we can tell it's in Tonys.
This film could've gone wrong in many ways: it could've been shorter, or been cut down. But with Brian de Palma behind the camera, he made the film that he wanted. It's long and violent, even for today's standard. Maybe it is a bit too long- this certainly doesn't feel like a 2h 50min story- but that's a small complaint. Scarface takes its time, you cock- a-roach. The excellent script is filled with great lines like that one.
One of the infamous aspects of the film is how society has interpreted it. 'Gangstas' today would lead you to believe Scarface is about criminals succeeding. This is not true. It can be easy to see why one would want to be Tony Montana, but look closer: Tony paid brutal prices, never achieved true happiness, and falls. We never see him in his prime, only a montage video, because success is not the point of the film.
Many films are made to be like something else. Scarface spits on them. It sliced its own path, made its own mark, and is the inspiration for other films to this day. It's brutal and very memorable. 9.0/10