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<blockquote data-quote="Willie Oleson" data-source="post: 439590" data-attributes="member: 8">Scarface (1983)[ATTACH=full]58951[/ATTACH]There is nothing special about the rise and fall of drug lords, criminal activities have a habit to backfire - if it&#039;s not the law then it&#039;s because of other criminals.Luckily it doesn&#039;t always take a great or novel story to make a great film, and the Scarface team proves it with this absolute powerhouse of a gangster giallo, an assault on the senses in the most entertaining way possible.The eye-popping set of Tony Montana&#039;s mansion is worth the admission alone, it kinda looks like a pornish replica of the Vatican.Tony Montana is a bad-tempered sociopath and you could sarcastically ask yourself &quot;what could possibly go wrong?&quot;, but this time I was intrigued by his racist resentment of white capitalism and the hypocrisy that goes with it, while simultaneously kicking against the Cuban communist system.It comes across as a war within himself, a battle that cannot be won even if he takes everything away from the WASP whores (to use one of his many infamous quotes).Tony doesn&#039;t have a serious plan, he just wants to move forwards and upwards with an unstoppable force only to imprison himself in an empire that needs to be protected from the dangerous ambitions of other Tony Montanas.The paranoia (though not entirely unjustified) needs to be snorted away, the coke increases his aggressive behaviour which alienates the few people who care about him, the lack of support that proves that nobody can be trusted etc etc.The most Palma-esque cinematography can be seen in the club shootout, it&#039;s quite similar to the prom massacre in Carrie.There&#039;s the thing with the lights and mirrors, the teasing, the unease about the expected-unexpected, the explosive violence, people running and screaming.Yes, he sure knows how to wank his audience.Speaking of which, the theme of incest (even if it&#039;s only implied) never fails to outrage entertainingly. It&#039;s that one fascinating taboo that always adds a sordid but also gothic vibe to a story.The magnificent finale is the icing on the cake and it&#039;s always great knowing that it&#039;s coming. The combination of violence and colours conjures up images of Dante&#039;s Inferno and there&#039;s even a quasi-supernatural moment when Tony takes the bullets laughing and screaming. This, also, kinda harks back to Margaret White&#039;s crucifixion, arms spread just like Tony before he plunges into the decorative pond.Michelle Pfeiffer adds a new layer to the description of &quot;ice queen&quot; and her bitchy scenes with husband Tony are quite humorous.I wonder what it&#039;s like to watch this film in a theatre filled with diehard Scarface fans.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Willie Oleson, post: 439590, member: 8"] Scarface (1983) [ATTACH type="full"]58951[/ATTACH] There is nothing special about the rise and fall of drug lords, criminal activities have a habit to backfire - if it's not the law then it's because of other criminals. Luckily it doesn't always take a great or novel story to make a great film, and the Scarface team proves it with this absolute powerhouse of a gangster giallo, an assault on the senses in the most entertaining way possible. The eye-popping set of Tony Montana's mansion is worth the admission alone, it kinda looks like a pornish replica of the Vatican. Tony Montana is a bad-tempered sociopath and you could sarcastically ask yourself "what could possibly go wrong?", but this time I was intrigued by his racist resentment of white capitalism and the hypocrisy that goes with it, while simultaneously kicking against the Cuban communist system. It comes across as a war within himself, a battle that cannot be won even if he takes everything away from the WASP whores (to use one of his many infamous quotes). Tony doesn't have a serious plan, he just wants to move forwards and upwards with an unstoppable force only to imprison himself in an empire that needs to be protected from the dangerous ambitions of other Tony Montanas. The paranoia (though not entirely unjustified) needs to be snorted away, the coke increases his aggressive behaviour which alienates the few people who care about him, the lack of support that proves that nobody can be trusted etc etc. The most Palma-esque cinematography can be seen in the club shootout, it's quite similar to the prom massacre in [I]Carrie[/I]. There's the thing with the lights and mirrors, the teasing, the unease about the expected-unexpected, the explosive violence, people running and screaming. Yes, he sure knows how to wank his audience. Speaking of which, the theme of incest (even if it's only implied) never fails to outrage entertainingly. It's that one fascinating taboo that always adds a sordid but also gothic vibe to a story. The magnificent finale is the icing on the cake and it's always great knowing that it's coming. The combination of violence and colours conjures up images of Dante's Inferno and there's even a quasi-supernatural moment when Tony takes the bullets laughing and screaming. This, also, kinda harks back to Margaret White's crucifixion, arms spread just like Tony before he plunges into the decorative pond. Michelle Pfeiffer adds a new layer to the description of "ice queen" and her bitchy scenes with husband Tony are quite humorous. I wonder what it's like to watch this film in a theatre filled with diehard Scarface fans. [/QUOTE]

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