thedarkknight-99999 Scarface is one of the most iconic, and one of the most quotable movies ever for a good reason. Throughout this movie I kept repeating WOW! There's no doubt that Oliver Stone is a great screenwriter, but with Brian De Palma behind the camera Oliver Stone's screenplay became very very entertaining, not just smart. I felt I was watching a movie its script is written by Aaron Sorkin, and is directed by Martin Scorsese! Al Pacino delivered a powerhouse performance as Tony Montana which, in my opinion, is the second best performance in his long career, just right behind his exceptional performance as Michael Corleone in The Godfather II. I don't want to say that Al Pacino's performance elevated the movie, because the movie is already great, but as a matter of fact, Scarface couldn't have become a classic without his iconic performance.Speaking of the Godfather, Scarface also is a movie that takes a bad guy and allow him to be a human. The result is a nasty, and vicious protagonist that you couldn't help but root for. But it doesn't stop here, In this movie I didn't only sympathized with Tony Montana, but I also sympathized with the people Tony Montana care about the most. I cared about his relatives that I was about to shed some tears, in a gangster flick!!!!The pacing is fast, and that was very acceptable. But at the last hour the movie dragged a little bit, but it picked up very quickly, and I found myself very engaged again.Also, I have to mention the De Palma's spectacular representation of the Magic City, Miami. And the movie's electrifying soundtrack. Scarface is one of the best gangster films of all-time that doesn't only entertain, but it also a great character study, and has an underlying moral philosophy. (9/10)

The Movie Diorama Brian De Palma remade the 1932 classic and exclaimed to Hollywood "say hello to my little friend!". Modernising it to colossal heights, thus creating one of the greatest gangster epics of all time. Relentlessly referenced in pop culture, my expectations were quite high. Suffice to say, they were met. We witness the irrepressible rise of Cuban refugee Tony Montana, as he enters the illegal drug business, and the eventual fall from decadence. The classic, to quote Drake, "starting from the bottom now we're here" narrative has consistently been a reliable structure. Enabling central character development whilst building an intimidating environment that allows for personality adaptation. The fictional Montana is a testament to this. Observing the manifestation of greed, lust and envy disguising the apparent loneliness and selfish behaviour of Montana. Money powers him, and De Palma's focus on the requirement of desiring the world makes him both ambitious and arrogant. Even when all can be achieved, his artificial greed beckons him to want more, consequently leading to his demise. A fascinating character study that was brought to life by the legend that is Pacino. Exaggerative, hyperactive, aggressive and commanding. Pacino embodied Montana and gave life to the drug kingpin. De Palma's lightning pace seamlessly combined frantic stylised action with punchy dialogue, whilst also introducing frequent long takes to spice up the Miami beach. Stone's screenplay is littered with memorability. "Her womb is polluted", "you want to play games?" and enough F-bombs to redefine the word profanity. Seriously, every other word! Plenty of exasperated action, particularly the mansion shootout, that excessively assist the visualisation of the crime world. My only criticism is with some of the song choices in the soundtrack, it comes off as trashy and I think Scarface is better than that. Despite the overlong runtime, this is 80s gangster mayhem and the sheer craziness from both Pacino and De Palma adds to the bloody charm.

amberduran-63919 This movie is just amazing and I could watch it over and over again. I never get sick if this movie. say hello to my little friend. I just love that part.

Nobody-27 I saw Scarface when it first came out, and then again some 35 years later. Through all those years only few images from that film stayed with me - mostly how gorgeous Michelle Pfeiffer was/is. This did not compare favorably to other great films which I remember to great detail, and upon watching it again recently, I found out why. First of all, the main character, well portrayed by Al Pacino is far from an interesting of likeable character. His love of violence, dirty money and drugs may be attractive to some, but even when I was much younger, I found him entirely forgettable. There was not much reason to root for him, or even feel for him. "A dumb, violent newcomer with (almost) no morals gets in trouble? Let's see what's on other channels..." Then there is the story which is entirely predictable. What can happen to a violent criminal other than violence? And that's what happens. Unless you like watching violence in all it's bloody glory, you don't get anything from watching this film. And then the story itself, or whatever story there is, is painfully long - overstretched to saga proportions to give it some weight. In the end, between all the "f" bombs, low-brow action and dialogues, and characters destined for self-destruction, I fail to see where the attraction that this film enjoys comes from. In a way, I think the audiences have been had by their own penchant for cheap thrills. Shock value? Sure. Blood and foul language? Galore. But artistic merit or inspirited storytelling with strong characters? Not even close. This is one of those films that managed to garner praise despite it's lack of quality on all fronts, except for decent acting. Oh, and don't get me started on terrible music score... it only made the film age terribly, although it's age shows even without the score. As I was watching it, I could not help but think of much older films which managed to stay fresh, films such as "M" by Fritz Lang or "Rififi" by Jules Dassin. Heck, even lighter fare such as "Pehlam 123" holds much better over time than this overrated, pretentious piece of sub-par, cheap "entertainment", for lack of better word. All in all, a forced three star. I had to watch something afterwards just to detox from the bad experience that left me wondering why did I even waste my time on it in the first place, when even on the first viewing in the theater, back in the 80's, I was not terribly impressed.