A monster film, a vast story scripted by Oliver Stone on the rise and fall of a gangster, shown without concessions as the disgusting beast that he is, and at the same time humanised by Pacino's intense and profound performance. De Palma's direction is ultra-elaborate, exploiting the bombastic and colourful settings of Miami to give an almost mythological depth to what was basically a simple gangster story. Several scenes have passed into legend, as well as the very 1980s score by Giorgio Moroder which adds a unique colour to what has become a piece of cinematic and sociological history. The brilliant idea of transposing the story of the original Scarface, of which Pacino wanted to do a remake, to the Marielitos' Miami came from Sidney Lumet, who had originally been chosen to direct before giving his place to De Palma. When all the planets align like this...
Review of Scarface
