SCARFACE -- 1932 v. 1983 Poll

guess?

also, Boris Karloff > F Murray Abraham

yeah, i forgot about Boris Karloff -- very memorable scene. also, he looked a lot like Phil Leotardo from The Sopranos.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ynpXE4BgpGE/SQDg5813wRI/AAAAAAAAGLA/MYPaEbji5s0/s400/karloff.jpg vs. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/65/Phil_Leotardo.jpg

muni

Hawks > De Palma

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what a bunch of fronters we have here on this ilx thing!!!

i'd like to think you're wrong, ally ... but i am afraid that you are probably correct!

i got the same thrill from watching the 1932 scarface as i do playing grand theft auto. this is a good thing.

I strongly suspect most of the '83 fans had the grace to abstain as they haven't seen the original. And have no intention of ever seeing it.

http://www.break.com/index/scarface-school-play.html

I strongly suspect most of the '83 fans had the grace to abstain as they haven't seen the original. And have no intention of ever seeing it.

I'd agree that this is likely, but I'd also wonder whether the opposite was true tbh.

I've never seen the original but that's also because around the time I was watching the '83 version, the original only existed in some wack-expensive boxed set. Now of course it's readily available in cheap form - I have a desire to see it but haven't gotten around to it.

I've always found the Pacino version to be overrated. I mean I like it and all, and I really enjoy watching it when I'm pissed off, as catharsis, but for organized crime movies, this one is pretty lightweight. It doesn't really say much of anything, and Scarface is essentially a comic book character who spouts out catchy one-liners and has little to no redeeming qualities other than his "no baby killing" moment at the end.

The story arc is weird in that his rapid fall from grace occurs almost minutes after he hits his summit - there's just no reason for the movie to be three hours. There's great eye candy and cinematography, but this isn't a 'classic' gangster film in these eyes, just a 'very good' one.

I've always preferred Carlito's Way (ducks). I mean it's much shorter, has a sympathetic character, a decent story, good acting (yea ok say what you want about Penelope Ann Miller or whatever her name is). Plus the 'pursuit' at the end is extremely tense and they sustain that tension for a good, what, 15 minutes? Love it.

When you need catharsis, walk around the block.

I obviously wasn't intimating that every time I'm pissed off I pop in a three hour movie, just saying it's good for those moments - ya know. It's also good when I'm not pissed off but the movie has one note that it plays for 3 hours, so ya know...when I'm in a better mood I often like to watch something with more substance.

Apparently I overestimated the shock value of seeing real 10-year-olds do the DePalma Gotterdammerung Rushmore-style at school.

hilarious

the hawks 'scarface' is one of the best films of the '30s -- taut, scary, hilarious.

Apparently I overestimated the shock value of seeing real 10-year-olds do the DePalma Gotterdammerung Rushmore-style at school gullibility of ILX: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2010/03/scarface-school-play-creators-step-forward-.html

hey, it was still a laugh.

I've never understood the hold the De Palma Scarface has on people. In the hiphop world, the thing is on the same level as Goodfellas/Godfather. But I find it pretty boring and some of it is just wack. Like the "push it to the limit" montage-- wtf?

Famous references become referential to the point where u can't get what made them a famous reference in the first place tbh

Feel the same way about Goodfellas, tbh.

Oh man can't believe you don't get Goodfellas.

i get it- it's a trashy movie about some trashy gangsters.

prefer casino. pretty sure i'm not alone on this from some thread before.

Ha, there are peeps who prefer Casino, I might even have said I found it more fun on that thread, but I was wrong really. Goodfellas is more perfectly formed and not in any conceivable way trashy, its morality is near identical to the 30s Warner Bros gangster flicks, and I shd stop arguing for it on the Scarface thread I guess.

^^^^ goodfellas is a hearty meal, scarface is a bump of cheap coke and a Wham! bar

Was gonna do a Nandos/KFC comparison

yeah but chicken's good for you

don't eat at KFC for the actual chicken

one day they'll just introduce the bucket of skin and cut out the waste

Casino was my fav as well, never got the appropriate respect from a lot of the critics.

Love this exchange from the second season Dead to Me:

Jen: We are not in Snow White. We are in fucking Scarface!
Judy: Well, I've never seen that.
Jen: Well, neither have I. No girls have.

Really surprised the '32 Scarface won by such a margin. Does it even get a late hours showing on Britishes TV?

very rare if it's shown but i did see it on broadcast TV a few years back

it's the better film

83 Scarface = comic book gangster. I enjoy it for what it is but kinda embarrassed at its reach.

The rise of Tony Montana is just so much fun but yeah I'll have a look at '32 Scarface.

We just watched the '32 Scarface having seen the '83 many times. The latter is awesome dumb fun, but we were blown away by the original. Some random thoughts and SPOILERS:

• I always thought the remake was more a loose homage sharing mostly just the title and the protagonist's facial mark, but it's literally all in the original right down to the side plot involving Tony's sister and compatriot.
• They play up Tony's Italian heritage, having him speak with an almost comically thick accent, but I don't remember them mentioning him being Italian or that the mob that opposed him was Irish, even though they are both obvious. I don't know what the first Italian gangster film was, but every one since owes a debt to Scarface.
• I had to look up when the Production Code became effective because I could not believe how sensational and lascivious this movie is. The women wear what must have been some revealing dresses for the time and the doubletalk that stands in for sex is more blunt than movies from the 50s it seemed.
• The OG (haha) does not give an inch to the remake when it comes to the gleefulness of the violence, especially the scene where Tony gets his first Tommy Gun and proceeds to drive around Chicago doing drive-bys.
• Lol at the prologue condemning gangsters that they were required to add as a fig leaf. DePalma should have added a po-faced prologue to his remake.

Hawks was such a confident visual stylist during this era.

Yeah, it looks great.

I also forgot that after Tony gets his Tommy Gun there was an incredible exchange between two of the law enforcement characters about how the guns were not illegal and even if they were they couldn't stop them from coming across state lines. It felt like a scene transported from the 2000s.

Especially in it's cynicism and portrayal of the cops being inept.