Scarface (1983)

Release date: 1983-12-09
Country: USA
Language: English|Spanish
Director: Brian De Palma
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Drama, Crime
Rating: 8.3/10
Length: 2h 50min

Storyline

Tony Montana manages to leave Cuba during the Mariel exodus of 1980. He finds himself in a Florida refugee camp but his friend Manny has a way out for them: undertake a contract killing and arrangements will be made to get a green card. He's soon working for drug dealer Frank Lopez and shows his mettle when a deal with Colombian drug dealers goes bad. He also brings a new level of violence to Miami. Tony is protective of his younger sister but his mother knows what he does for a living and disowns him. Tony is impatient and wants it all however, including Frank's empire and his mistress Elvira Hancock. Once at the top however, Tony's outrageous actions make him a target and everything comes crumbling down.

Plot Keywords

cocaine, gangster, remake, organized crime, power, scar, husband wife relationship, cult film, political corruption, drug dealing, mafia, cuban, 1980s, chainsaw, lawyer, wedding, car bomb, self destructiveness, drugs, capitalism

Short Review

Other than an unflinching, intense and extraordinary performance from Al Pacino as the Cuban-born gangster Tony Montana, this gruesome offering has little to recommend.