Captialistic Views In 80's America

Rating: Null/10 (23 November 2003)

While watching this movie in the year 2003, I cannot help feeling that this movie actually defined the mood of America in the eighties. The excess of drugs and money, the concept of one man for himself, succeeding the American Dream. However there is a major twist in this little fable of De Palma's; this man is not a honest working WASP, however an illegal Cuban immigrant who delves in the world of Cocaine.
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
The plot is like this. Tony Montana arrives in America, with nothing more but the ideals of the American Dream, to succeed in life. However he does not have the patience to wait for that dream, but try to achieve it in the quickest way possible and the only way; through drugs. So he works for a drugs baron, keeping his loyalty to this one person. Yet his mind wonders, when the big man's girlfriend enters the scene. For Tony, he wants everything to work for himself; to get the girl, to get rich and to get powerful. However when this occured to him, via some violent and bloody battles, his grasp on power turned him slowly paranoid. First he does not trust his own friends, then his own girlfriend, and finally his own sister. It ends with his own demise, fighting a graphic fight scene on his own.
The plot that I have written about is quite similar to Shakespeare's Richard III. The story of betrayal and paranoia in the bid to become powerful and rich seems like the parallel link in the two movies. The acting is quite surperb from those involved in the film, especially Al Pacino. His Cuban accent makes you believe that he is a native of Central America.

In conclusion, this movie is probably one of few that got the essence of the 80's to a tee and which would be shown throughout in history.