Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1598 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-09-06
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 163 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Brian De Palma's update of the classic 1932 crime drama by Howard Hawks, Scarface is a sprawling epic of bloodshed and excess that sparked controversy over its outrageous violence when released in 1983. It's a wretched, fascinating car wreck of a movie, starring Al Pacino as a Cuban refugee who rises to the top of Miami's cocaine-driven underworld, only to fall hard into his own deadly trap of addiction and inevitable assassination. Scripted by Oliver Stone and running nearly three hours, it's the kind of film that can simultaneously disgust and amaze you (critic Pauline Kael wrote "this may be the only action picture that turns into an allegory of impotence"), with vivid supporting roles for Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Robert Loggia. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis
Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee's rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release; it's been referenced in rap songs and subsequent gangster movies and quoted the world over. Despite this lovefest with the dialogue, the film's brutal violence and lack of positive characters still make it controversial and disliked by certain critics. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire but whose eventual paranoia and incestuous desire for his kid sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) prove his undoing. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Tony's neglected coke-addicted trophy wife, and Steven Bauer is his concerned friend. F. Murray Abraham, Robert Loggia, and Paul Shenar are some of Tony's sleazy business partners and potential killers. Oliver Stone wrote the expletive-packed screenplay, based on Howard Hawks's 1932 version--which was ostensibly about Al Capone and starred Paul Muni and George Raft. The synth-heavy Giorgio Moroder score expertly evokes the drug-fueled decadence of 1980s Miami, and De Palma provides several of his elaborate set pieces, including a horrific showstopper in a motel room with a chain saw.

Customer Reviews

CLEAN DISC TRANSFER
I expect that if your buying this you'll know what its about so I'll review on the quality of the image if I may. Some films, especially older ones have a poor quality transfer onto DVD, though not this one. Colours and detail are first class, offering up a bright colourful image devoid of any nasties (blocking etc. If you've seen DVDs of the orignial Star Wars the picture quality is on a par with them.

Some of Al Pacino's Finest Acting - and That's Saying Something!
Scarface is one of those films that you just have to see. The story of Tony Montana, a Cuban who after being refused entry to the US, manages to get a green card through a slightly less legitimate route (killing a man), and once in the US will stop at nothing to work his way to the top of an empire built on blood and cocaine. It is a tale of greed, power, ambition, money with a slightly moral aspect - possesions don't buy you happiness.

Al Pacino is incredible in this - the character of Tony Montana is unforgettable, and despite being such a brutal, cold-hearted killer Montana comes across as endearing to the viewers - you at once think he's cool, envy him his success, whilst pity him the fact that though he has everything he in fact has nothing at all. Michelle Pfeiffer also gives an unforgettable performance as Elvira Hancock, though Manny River could have been far better cast than Steven Bauer in my opinion, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio had so much potential with Gina that was left un-found.

This type of film is not for everyone - plenty of murder, drugs and swearing, yet it is just one of those films that you have to watch at least once. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Al Pacino is incredible, and his portrayla of Tony montana will probably remain one of my favourite pieces of acting ever. If you haven't seen it, buy the DVD asap! You're missing out!!

Riveting
Who can resist Pacino's cocky charm? One of the most exciting movies ever made. The most (unintentionally) hilarious part of the movie was the scene where Michelle Pfeiffer's Elvira character is dancing at the nightclub. She REALLY can't dance.