Scarface – Platinum Edition

Many of Hollywood's most memorable movies like The Exorcist or Star Wars were usually right-out-of-the-gate hits, from both the public and the critical establishment. Others fell into the realm of movies that the critical intelligentsia would usually slam due to elements that were considered in hindsight ahead of their time, the best example would be classics like It's a Wonderful Life or 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Scarface is such a film. Initially reviled by critics for its then-unheard-of level of violence as well as its notorious 223 uses of the f-word, it ended up being hailed in hindsight as a film that single-handedly rewrote the idea of what a gangster movie would be like. Beloved by fans of the genre, including particularly the entire gangsta hip-hop culture, it has gone on to be a modern-day gangster film classic in the ranks of The Godfather series, Goodfellas, and Reservoir Dogs.

The film tells of a man, Tony Montana (Al Pacino in one of his greatest roles) who went after what he perceived to be "The American Dream": a life of excess obtained through money, power, and women. He navigates from obscurity as one of many Cuban criminals in the 1980 Mariel boatlift through the higher echelons of the Miami drug underworld and soon enough, Tony takes control and reigns as its top dog.

Tony soon gains a vast wealth, his former boss's coked-up girlfriend (Michelle Pfeiffer) as his wife, and a nasty cocaine-fueled habit. Soon enough, his own lust for power becomes his undoing as Tony, in the film's most memorable final scene, meets his end at the hands of hitmen sent by a Bolivian drug lord after he refuses to abide by the rules of the game.

A remake of the 1932 Prohibition-era mobster classic directed by Howard Hawks, Brian De Palma's interpretation of the story succeeds as the story transcends its early 1980's coke-fueled, disco new wave period. The story of Tony Montana is one that can be easily identified with, of a bum who transforms himself into a powerful entity by what he quotes simply as "his balls and his word".

Credit for the film's greatness goes to many people. Oliver Stone's script, to start, is peppered with memorable dialogue and a well-crafted story set-up. This is then heightened to tremendous effect by not only director Brian De Palma's larger-than-life style and the fantastic performances of all the actors, including the legendary Pacino.

Pacino fuels the predominantly loathsome Tony Montana character with elements that make him an always complex, interesting presence. In his core, he's like an overgrown petulant child with not only a fearless, temperamental tough-guy arrogance, but also a sense of charm, charisma, and playful humor.

Much maligned is the film's coke-fueled atmosphere of its 1980's setting as well as the movie's new wave disco songs provided by Giorgio Moroder, the latter famously immortalized

in recent years by the video game Grand Theft Auto III. Even these are necessary components to serving the film's means. As well, they are part of what serves the film's nearly three-hour running time with constantly immersive and entertaining moments.

The film's legacy is often misread by the hip-hop gangsta element as its Bible for successfully playing the street game. If one really looks at the film, there's a cautionary element that shows the tragic consequences of obtaining a quick, superficial level of power and success through the temptations of the underworld. Montana's downfall at the end is caused primarily not only by his own false sense of invincibility and lust for power out of control, but also the shred of humanity that he reveals that ends up being the true key to his undoing.

The DVD's picture is digitally remastered with a gorgeous, ageless-looking 2:35 anamorphic widescreen print and enhanced with crystal-clear Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio. The film contains a wealth of special features. First are 20 minutes of fascinated, yet mostly rather extraneous deleted scenes

No audio commentary is provided, but there are three featurettes with interviews featuring De Palma, Stone, Pacino, actor Steven Bauer (who plays partner-in-crime Manny Ray), and the film's producer Martin Bregman. They each give substantial and fascinating information that more than makes up for the lack of commentary. Topics include the film's beginnings, its similarities and differences from the 1932 original, its creation, filming, and how the acting was approached, as well as the film's controversial butting of heads with the MPAA over the rating.

There are also some rather amusing special features that make this even more of a must-own for fans. One is a featurette showing the differences between the theatrical and network television cut of the film (Hilarious highlights include altered dialogue like "Where did you get the beauty scar, tough guy? Eating pinapple" and "Why don’t you try sticking your head up your toilet?"). Another is a "Scarface Scorecard", a fun feature, which, when activated, counts every F-bomb and bullet shot as you watch the film.

There's also a lighter featurette that pays tribute to Tony Montana. It's not as informative, but it does interview DEA agents that testify to how authentic much of the film's story and atmosphere was and still is and reveals through journalists and other personalities interviewed some of the misplaced glorification towards the character that has resulted from the film's legacy within genre fans and the hip-hop community.

The weakest of the special features, however, is a featurette that delves into the making of the film's video game, Scarface: The World Is Yours. It sort of reveals this new DVD release's guilt as a cash-in on the video game, but thankfully, this critic feels its better off within the special features rather than as a shameless tack-on you can't skip as the

DVD loads.

If you haven't purchased Scarface on DVD before, now more than ever is a better opportunity to do so. It's not only an excellent film, which despite the naysayers actually has aged better than expected. This is not only due to its ahead-of-its-time content and concept, but its violently realistic portrayal of rising and falling in the drug underworld, over-the-top and consistently entertaining atmosphere, and excellent characters portrayed by excellent actors. For not only gangster fans, but modern Hollywood cinephiles as a whole, Scarface is a must-own.

Movie Grade: A

DVD Grade: A+

Overall Grade: A