Scarface
1983 · Directed by Brian De Palma
Original language: English
- action
- crime
- drama
The story
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
What it’s like
Hot, saturated Miami nights under neon, pastel pinks and turquoise washing over stucco mansions and nightclub dance floors, then the sudden cold of fluorescent-lit offices and blood-spattered white marble. De Palma's camera glides in showy, operatic sweeps, with split-diopter close-ups, slow-motion gunfire and crane shots that make a room feel like a stage. Giorgio Moroder's synth score pulses under the action while the soundtrack leans on bright 80s pop, so the violence arrives with a glossy, almost festive sheen. Cocaine heightens everything: the rhythm turns frantic, the mood jittery and paranoid, and the film stays in that restless register for most of its long running time. Its vibe is glamorous excess tipping into dread, a rise-and-fall tragedy about ambition and self-destruction, with a sibling-like loyalty tested to breaking. Expect graphic, frequent violence, chainsaw and shotgun gore, strong profanity, nudity and drug use, all played with lurid intensity rather than restraint. It suits a loud, late-night watch for people who want a stylised, hard-edged crime epic with operatic flair and no gentleness.
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