Brian de Palma's Masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2002)

Scarface throbs with sleazy eighties energy which is repulsive and compelling. Brain de Palma created a masterpiece with this powerhouse remake of the Jimmy Cagney original, and it stands tall alongside The Godfather as an epic, empirical tragedy.
I have never seen Al Pacino play any role that comes close to the power of Tony Montana. Even his magnificent portrayals of Michael Corleone are little more than a warm-up to this. Put simply, he pulls off the greatest performance of his career.
Watching Tony Montana go from nervous, edgy firecracker to ambition-fuelled rising star to frenzied burn-out is an exhausting ride, but worth the two and a half hours. He literally fills every scene with trembling, pent-up fury. You can forget about the excellent support he gets (including a wonderful Michelle Pfeiffer), you cannot take your eyes off Pacino.
De Palma's direction takes in an oversize, glitzy, tacky early eighties Miami and makes it the kingdom of power and sleaze that Tony Montana sees as the good-life. He constructs a plastic and neon empire around him, and covers everything in a fine layer of uncut cocaine.
Best bits? The acutely tense club scenes, the chainsaw drug-deal, the riot at the beginning and of course the astonishing last 15 minutes. Really, though, there is nothing I can think of that is lacking here.
Emphatically one of the most powerful movies ever made. Puts all subsequent drug movies in the shade. Makes Blow look like Zoolander. Utterly, utterly unmissable.