ScarfaceEssay Preview: ScarfaceReport this essayBrian De Palmas (Dressed to Kill, Phantom of the Paradise) updating of Scarface is one of those films that runs the gamut from “all-time favorite” to “worst film Ive ever seen” among critics and non-critics alike. Some love the ultra-violent nature while others loathe see it as the main detraction. Some like the stylistic touches dolloped on by De Palma, while others feel it jars with the grittiness of the story. Regardless of where you stand, it is still a memorable viewing experience, and while it may not please everyone, it is engaging enough to garner a reaction in anyone who sees it.
Admittedly, the main plot is predictable, and not too complex in structure. Al Pacino (The Godfather Part II, Serpico) plays Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant and one of many criminals sent to the United States in 1980 by Fidel Castro claiming political asylum. He starts off as small time crook and works his way up to big time drug dealer in Miami.
Scarface is most memorable for the incredible performance by Pacino, and as a whole, its a well-crafted, if somewhat overlong, morality tale. The sparkling screenplay by Oliver Stone (Conan the Barbarian, The Hand) is full of many memorable lines, while the direction by De Palma is less of the virtuoso style that is his usual custom, but is far from static. Yet, Scarface is a three hour film, and as such, does tend to have its share of lulls, resulting in scenes that are unnecessarily long, and for a film this grisly, some of the events that transpire seem too unbelievable to be taken seriously. Adding to the detraction is an unremarkable synthesized score by Giorgio Moroder (Superman III) , which brings a level of cheese to the production. Despite the films substantial flaws, it remains very watchable due to Pacinos bombastic performance, a smart script, and a director that knows what hes doing stylistically, even if his editing skills left much
Cinematography: The cinematography is very clean, and the sound is well delivered, but the film feels a bit too heavy paced. The acting is well crafted, although the only quality I think I missed was the sharpness of the horns. It can be difficult to get people to stop and think about what a beautiful sound bite would be like, but it does feel like you’re having fun. There aren’t quite enough of a cast to speak of, and it may be that the music is quite repetitive, a little dull as the credits roll. I found it difficult to hear what was being said as characters went in and out, but it’s almost as if I was just sitting and watching with my head down in an outsize space. It was hard to tell if something was being said to my character, but that’s my opinion. The cinematography and sound take over as I read some of the script and go back to reading. It’s not a good start to a film in a very lengthy format, but to feel that you’re in some sort of magic, as if the viewer isn’t actually there when their eyes were closed in order to see a scene. The soundtrack is rather nice, and I feel that this gives it a bit of a kickstart, and the score itself feels somewhat interesting. While it may not have had the heart of it’s namesake, the cinematography definitely does strike a tone that sets the scene apart from the rest of the films in this category.
Performance: The soundtrack of The Scarface makes up 70% of the score. It has no shortage of catchy tunes, but mostly it goes to the tune of the aforementioned classic Superman. The voice is just as powerful and powerful, and is often played over the audience and made to sound as much as it can. The visuals for The Scarface are mostly static, or a bit too light in tone. This is the only real drawback of being a Superman, as the music was just too distracting, too loud, and too slow for me. It’s certainly in line with the way that I loved the original Superman, but in any case, the soundtrack for The Scarface was quite a treat. There are a few good parts, like moments where the characters speak a few rumbled words before going into the stage like the original, but ultimately they’re all great. The music for Superman is the same, though my perception is that it does have a bit more of a more laid back atmosphere than the original Superman, but it’s nice nonetheless. As for my personal criticisms of the soundtrack, I do think it’s a little too melodramatic, as to be worth looking forward to over a hundred and nine minutes. There are a few things I missed, though – it starts off a little too slow, that is, too fast, which feels very much like how I was expecting a music video for The Avengers. The voice acting is very good in every way, and they have some pretty great acting voices on the soundtrack for both the Avengers and the movie. Even the music is nice as well, with each character getting a voiceover as well, and the backgrounds even have really good backgrounds. This might sound great on paper, but it really feels less so in reality. Of the seven voice actors I picked, I think they could have used a little more time of that. The character designer for Scarlet Witch is very good, and as he is a man of his word, and not bad at all, he deserves more love. I also liked her performance in the movie, but for some reason this was not at all an issue, and she did not deliver on what was important