Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Scarface (1983) - Antonio "Tony" Montana

Al Pacino Scarface theatrical release poster
A film that give Pacino one of his iconic characters as Tony Montana, Cuban immigrant who became notorious drug lord, Scarface directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. Alongside with Al Pacino, the film starring Steven Bauer as Manolo "Manny" Ribera, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira Hancock, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Tony's sister, Gina Montana.

Brian De Palma's 1983 Scarface is based on Howard Hawks' 1932 film of the same name (but took place in Chicago). The film chronicles Tony Montana's rise from a poor Cuban refugee who comes to Florida to the top of Miami's narcotics underworld and his subsequent downfall, killed by a shotgun blast from behind by "The Skull", Alejandro Sosa's gunmen.

Pacino's appearance as Tony Montana in Scarface has become a cultural icon, inspiring many posters, merchandise, and clothing. Even Al Pacino himself reportedly stated that Tony Montana was one of his favorites of all the characters he's played. Scarface theatrical release poster is a popular decoration and is still in production. Scarface also has been an influence on hip-hop culture and rap music since the late 1980s. Many rappers claim Scarface is their favorite film. Rapper Brad Jordan even took the name of this film as his stage name.

Al Pacino Scarface Say Hello to my little friendThe movie was originally given an X rating three times by MPAA for its extreme violence, excessive strong language and hard drug usage depiction. The 20 members of the ratings board finally give the third cut an "R" (Restricted) rating after Brian De Palma pulled in a panel of experts, who stated that Scarface was an accurate portrayal of the real-life drug underworld and should be widely seen.

The film gaining mixed reaction among critics and general audience. Entertainment Weekly ranked the film #8 on their list of "The Top 50 Cult Films". Roger Ebert rated Scarface four stars out of four for what he decribe in his review "one of the fascinations of the movie is that we aren't watching crime-movie clichés, we're watching people who are criminals". In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its polling over 1,500 people from the creative community, rated Scarface as the tenth best in the gangster film genre.

Tony Montana's famous line "Say hello to my lil' friend!" took 61st place on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes list.

Cast:

Al Pacino ... Tony Montana
Steven Bauer ... Manny Ribera
Michelle Pfeiffer ... Elvira Hancock
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ... Gina Montana
Harris Yulin ... Mel Bernstein
F. Murray Abraham ... Omar Suarez
Robert Loggia ... Frank Lopez
Paul Shenar ... Alejandro Sosa
Miriam Colon ... Mama Montana
Al Israel ... Hector The Toad
Ángel Salazar ... Chi Chi
Arnaldo Santana ... Ernie
Dennis Holahan ... Jerry The Banker

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