The reason to buy this DVD is simple: one of the most influential films of the 20th century has finally been released in a newly restored, pristine transfer. As an owner of the original DVD release, I can testify that the difference is like night and day. With every viewing, I come to appreciate Brian DePalma's Scarface more and more. Although not perfect, there is much more right with this film than wrong. It helps to compare it with its countless imitations: where most subsequent crime films rush headlong from one bloody gunfight to the next, Scarface takes its time. Its languid, gliding camera has a certain elegance in the way it reveals story points without relying on clunky Dick-and-Jane dialog or overwrought MTV pyrotechnics. A prime example is the infamous scene where Tony Montana (Al Pacino) attemps to buy two kilos of cocaine from some Coloumbians for his boss, Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia). Watch the way the camera drifts from the Miami Beach hotel room, across a peaceful sun-drenched street, over to the car where Tony's associates are waiting for him, then slowly back up to the bathroom window, where the sound of the idling chainsaw grows louder. Creepy. Insinuating. It's comparable to the best work of Hitchcock a day-lit nightmare where the ordinary becomes sinister. Watch closely as the Columbian dismembers Tony's friend limb by limb. In spite of the scene's reputation, we never actually see what's happening. Like the shower murder in Psycho, all the violence is implied so strongly, in fact, that DePalma had to fight the MPAA in a well-publicized battle to keep Scarface from receiving an X rating.
It's interesting the way that the improved picture and sound seem to contribute to every aspect of the film. Subtleties in Pacino's largely unsubtle performance become clear. We can better see what he does with his face in those famously shadowy close-ups; the way he registers what he's thinking privately, even as he swaggers with exaggerated bravado. Where once it seemed he was over-acting at times, it is now apparent that he was carefully playing his character's machismo against a darker undercurrent of great hunger so intense that it defies articulation. Tony Montana's great tragedy is his utter lack of self-knowlege. Beneath the clouds of cordite and testosterone, he is so painfully needy that he will draw everyone around him into a decaying orbit of destruction. He is a criminal, but he is not immoral. He is a black hole of a man, a vacuous human being whose desires eclipse whatever soul that a life of deprivation and decay may have left him. He acts without apology, or even much thought. He's an animal in both the best and worst senses of the word. The tragedy is not so much that he is killed at the end he brings that on himself it is that so many others, not least the addicts that buy his product, must suffer and die as well. It's downright Shakespearean, but with (lots of) f-words in place of gilded Elizabethan speech.
Once you get past those 160-odd f-variants, Oliver Stone's screenplay begins to seem as thoughtful as it is blunt. The language is harsh, but also truthful, with plenty of quotable lines (though you would not want to quote them in polite company).
The improved sound mix also brings into relief something that I had always looked upon as a liability of Scarface the very "80's" music score, which had always seemed to me the newer equivalent of those ham-handed "jazz" scores from certain 50's melodramas like Man With the Golden Arm. But now the music seems "dated" more in the way of an early James Bond score; it is appropriate to the era. Were Scarface made now, it would still be a legitimate choice of styles.
The extras are thorough, though the "making of" documentary seems to be a longer version of the one from the original DVD release. There is also a documentary on Scarface's considerable influence on hip-hop music, but I smell an Obvious Plug for a CD of music "inspired" by the film. (The package insert proclaims that it's In Stores Now! from DefJam records.)
In any case, Scarface has finally received its due respect in a form that showcases the late John Alonso's brightly-hued, yet somehow gritty cinematography. Alonso also photographed the sumptuous Chinatown. This DVD is also a tribute to him a master of light and shadow, whose old-fashioned, hard-lit chiaroscuro images contributed in no small way to Scarface's status as a modern classic.
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"Scarface" is one of the greatest of all mob movies. It's an epic crime drama done with style and care. Brian DePalma presents a film that ignites the screen with a great screenplay by Oliver Stone and an amazing performance by Al Pacino. Unlike "The Godfather," which was more about family and relationships between father and son, "Scarface" is an exhilarating and intriguing journey into Miami's mob underworld, seen through the eyes of Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee with some of the greatest lines in movie history. The degree of excess here is brilliantly done and adds even more realism to a great work. DePalma shows a wonderful touch of style in the sets, costumes, cars, even in the violence. Look at the brilliant eye for composition he shows in a scene where an assassination attempt is carried out on Tony in a nigh club. The movie is full of that Latin style and intensity. The screeenplay By Oliver Stone is brilliant because it's complex in the way in which we are not just interested in the action, but characters and events as well. We really care about what happens with these people, least of all Tony. Pacino gives one of the greatest and most intense performances, always believable. He steals the show entirely through his accent and facial expressions. The action sequences aren't dim-witted, but smart and stylish. "Scarface" vibrates with style and realism like few gangster dramas have. It stands as a masterpiece. One of the greatest crime pictures of all time.Read Best Reviews of Scarface Limited Edition Steelbook Triple Play (1983) Here
Brian De Palma's epic blood soaked remake of the 1932 Paul Muni gangster classic may not have gotten all the critical acclaim in the world, but it stands as a landmark performance of the great Al Pacino. Pacino brings to the screen one of his most well known characters in his career as Tony Montana; a cuban refugee who rises to power in Miami's cocaine underworld. Along with him is his best friend Manny (Steve Bauer) and the two begin working for Frank (Robert Loggia), a slimy, manipulative excess driven drug kingpin whose wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) Tony soon develops an obsession for. Oliver Stone wrote the script and helped make Tony one of the most unforgettable characters in all of American cinema. Scarface has since become a cult classic and contains some of the most memorable lines of dialogue in film, not to mention the most rampant use of profanity that would not be topped for years to come. The only problem I ever had with Scarface was it's length; clocking in at nearly 3 hours, there are times when the film drags, but that is only a minor complaint. All in all, if you want to see one of Al Pacino's finest performances (aside from Devil's Advocate, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, or anything beginning with the title The Godfather), then consider Scarface essential viewing, but be warned, this is not a film for all tastes.Want Scarface Limited Edition Steelbook Triple Play (1983) Discount?
While I own the 2 disc Standard Def set that came out a few years ago, I thought I would buy this Blu Ray edition without the Digital Copy. Very glad to have made the purchase.In past version I often wondered why it appeared so blanched out, especially in the early scenes as Tony Montana, Manny, Angel and a friend were going to do the deal with the Columbians. The new Blu Ray edition brings back all the color and vitality to the original image and stays vital though out the film. The Blu Ray version truly has provided a significant improvement over previous Scarface releases. It's not perfect, there is some grain here and there, easy to see in the sky shots and when the cement walls are in the shots. However, this grain is not exceedingly so and does not distract, nor is it there in most of the film. At the end of the movie, as Tony and associates bring Gina back to his mansion after Tony kills Manny, there is a wide shot of the red carpeted staircase. I did notice some aliasing at the bottom of the staircase, but as the camera zooms in, it goes away. Red has always been a very difficult color to reproduce which is why it is rarely used in credits as it can cause stair-stepping and aliasing, however, this was the only instance where I saw any and it last but a few seconds.
The blu ray transfer is really very, very good.
The two disc Standard Def version used DTS 5.1 audio while the Blu Ray provides 7.1 DTSHD audio. The score is spread very nicely though out the entire speaker system,(mine is 5.1) however, there really is very little use of any of the channels for discreet directionality making the 7.1 possibilities only useful for the music score itself. Audio always seems to get the short end of the financial straw in film releases and transfers, and Scarface is no different. There were plenty of opportunities for surround foley fx in the riot at the holding camp as well as the final mansion shootout. Sides and rears are sometimes used for slight panning of the vehicles and not much more. The dialogue is clear and properly leveled so once you set your volume you should not have to reset at any time.
The video transfer and movie gets 5 stars from me, while the audio gets 3.
All my movie reviews are of this nature and focus only on the quality of the transfer to BluRay so check them and see if they are of help as well.
Hopefully, this review has been of some help to you in determining your purchase, hope I am on the correct path with a review of the transfer quality as opposed to providing plot summaries.
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