Scarface is an American crime movie from 1983. It was written by Oliver Stone and directed by Brian De Palma. It is loosely based on the same-named 1929 novel and is a loose remake of the 1932 film.
It tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who comes to Miami during the Mariel boatlift without any money and grows up to be a powerful and very murderous drug lord. Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Robert Loggia all have parts in the movie.
De Palma made this version of Scarface in honor of the original movie’s writers, Howard Hawks, and Ben Hecht.
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Does Scarface come from a real story?
Part of the movie “Scarface” is based on a real event. The current crime drama was based on the movie “Scarface: The Shame of the Nation,” which was made in 1932. The classic Hollywood movie from the time of Howard Hawks was partly based on Armitage Trail’s book of the same name.
The movie’s screenplay was written by Ben Hecht, who also wrote the stories for “It’s a Wonderful World” and “Notorious” by Alfred Hitchcock.
People will be surprised to find out that the book is loosely based on the life of the notorious American gangster Al Capone. In real life, Al Capone was known as “Scarface,” which was also his nickname. Pacino went to see the first movie at the famous Tiffany Theater on Sunset Boulevard, and he fell in love with it right away. He told producer Martin Bregman about the idea of a remake, and the two of them started working on the story. Sidney Lumet came on board as the director.
Lumet and Pacino worked together in “Dog Day Afternoon,” so they knew each other well. In “Scarface,” Pacino keeps the psychotic anger he showed in that Lumet movie. Even though Pacino was very excited, Robert De Niro was offered the role of Tony Montana at first, but he turned it down. But Al Pacino got the part in the end, and his tough personality and Spanish accent are hard to beat.
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Some Surprising Facts About Scarface
It wasn’t the First Time He Got a Scar.
Scarface by Brian De Palma is a loose remake of the same-named movie from 1932, which was also about an American immigrant gangster’s rise and fall. Martin Bregman, who made the 1983 version, saw the first one on late-night TV and thought the idea could be updated, though it still stays true to the first one.
The director of the first movie, Howard Hawks, and the writer of the script, Ben Hecht, are honored in De Palma’s movie.
It could Have Been Directed by Sidney Lumet.
Sidney Lumet, the socially aware director of such classics as Dog Day Afternoon and 12 Angry Men, was brought on as the film’s director at one point. “Sidney Lumet came up with the idea of what’s going on in Miami today, and it gave Bregman ideas,” Pacino told Empire Magazine.
“He worked with Oliver Stone to write a script that was full of action and very well written. Oliver Stone wrote about things that were happening in the world at the time. He was in touch with that energy, that anger, and that dark side.”
Stone Knew About the Subject from His Own Experience.
Stone spent time in Florida and the Caribbean talking to people on both sides of the law to get the most accurate picture he could. Stone said of the research process, “It got hairy.” “It made me feel this way. I wanted to make a sun-drenched, tropical, Third World gangster, cigar, sexy Miami movie.”
Yes, a lot of Swearing Goes On.
The Family Media Guide, which keeps track of swearing, sexual content, and violence in movies, says that Scarface uses the “F” word 207 times, which is about 1.21 F-bombs per minute. In 2014, Martin Scorsese’s movie The Wolf of Wall Street had 506 F-bombs, which was a record.
Tony Montana Was Named a Football Star.
Stone was a fan of the San Francisco 49ers, so he named the character Tony Montana after his favorite football player, Joe Montana.
Steven Spielberg Directed a Single Shot.
Since the mid-1970s, when they both started making studio movies, De Palma and Spielberg were friends, and they often went to each other’s sets. Spielberg was there when the Colombians attacked Tony Montana’s house for the first time at the end of the movie.
Because of this, De Palma let Spielberg direct the low-angle shot of the first attackers entering the house.
Saddam Hussein Liked the Movie.
The former Iraqi dictator set up a trust fund called “Montana Management” to launder money. This was a nod to the company Tony uses to launder money in the movie.