Ranking on IMDb Top 25o: #160Year: 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Starring: Al Pacino and Steven Bauer
I'll be perfectly honest with you right now, dear readers: I haven't seen Scarface in a long time, and the only reason I'm blogging it without it fresh in my mind is because I never want to see it again. I think it's a bad movie, I think it feeds negative stereotypes about both real-life Cubans and gangster films, I think its so-called immortal lines and scenes are rather poorly written, I think it embodies the 1980s (my least favorite decade of film since the advent of the talkie) in all the wrong ways, I think Al Pacino is bad in it, I think its popularity among rappers somehow made people want to reconsider it and give it the benefit of the doubt, and I know for a fact that I'd rather play Grand Theft Auto III – the reason I watched the movie in the first place – than ever, ever have to sit through Scarface again.
I know that wasn't really much of a review, and I do feel like I owe you all more, but I know myself well enough to admit that I wasn't going to watch this movie again, and without more recently acquired insights, it's really all I can give you. I promise a more in-depth, thoughtful post later tonight once I watch another film. For Scarface, this is the best I can do.
The Good: I can't remember if there's good things. I can only remember the bad.
The Bad: Probably the unofficial and constant post-production it has undergone, with every fucking rapper who ever appeared on MTV Cribs bumping it and every goddamn frat boy finding an excuse to appropriate "Say hello to my little friend!" at least once a day.
The Skinny: No, I don't think it should be on the list.
Well, it definetly is no masterpiece, but I am fine with it being in the second half of the list.
ReplyDeleteEh, it's an over-the-top movie about a larger-than-life character. You take it at face value and appreciate all the crazy one-liners and memorable quotes that come from it. Al Pacino is not the biggest guy, but his presence commands the screen. Another story about the rise and fall from a money-hungry thug. If you see it in this vein, then it was great. Betrayal, drama, bravado.
ReplyDeleteThis was a weak review. Just because young people and certain musicians liked this movie doesn't mean it's crap. You could have put more effort into what was wrong for you.
Anyway, I found your blog by way of IMDB, just thought you'd like to know.
Ouch, I'm really sorry if this is the first review you read, because it is admittedly pretty awful - I was exhausted, behind, and had no intentions of providing an in-depth analysis of Scarface. Hopefully you've poked around a little and realized most of my write-ups are a lot better haha.
ReplyDeleteMatter of fact, everything else that appears on the main page right now I'm pretty proud of, so check out some of those! :D
ReplyDelete