Scarface
He loved the American Dream. With a vengeance.
Scarface (1983)
Production
Budget
$25 000 000
Revenue
$65 144 798
Director
Scenario
Composer
Producer
Martin Bregman
Actors
Al Pacino
Tony Montana
Steven Bauer
Manny Ray
Michelle Pfeiffer
Elvira
Robert Loggia
Frank Lopez
Miriam Colon
Mama Montana
Paul Shenar
Alejandro Sosa
Short description
Set in early 1980s Florida, the film follows Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who arrives in Miami as part of the Mariel boatlift and sets out to make a place for himself in the drug trade. Alongside his friend Manny Ray, he works his way up through the Miami cocaine business, answering to the dealer Frank Lopez before building his own operation. His rise brings him wealth and power, but also conflict with the Colombian suppliers, police attention and a growing instability that threatens everything he has gained.
Brian De Palma directed the film, the tenth of the twenty-four he has made in chronological order, following Blow Out and preceding Body Double. Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay, and Martin Bregman produced it for Universal Pictures. Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, with Steven Bauer as Manny Ray, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Gina, Robert Loggia as Frank Lopez and Miriam Colon as Mama Montana. The production had a budget of 25 million dollars and took about 65 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb the film holds 8.3 out of 10 from around a million votes, and on TMDB 8.2 out of 10 from more than thirteen thousand votes, both indicating a strong and widely held audience regard. A film critics' rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 82 reviews is somewhat lower, though still clearly positive.
What's left behind the scenes
- In the final scene of the film, at one point Al Pacino grabs the barrel of the machine gun. Despite the use of blank cartridges during filming, the barrel was so hot that, upon grabbing it, Pacino received a serious burn to his hand, which led to a suspension of filming for several weeks.
- The inscription on the airship is exactly the same as the inscription that appears on the building in the 1932 film 'Scarface'.
- The word “fuck” is used 218 times in the film.
- There were heated debates during filming regarding permission to film in Miami. Ultimately, the Miami tourism department decided not to issue a permit, as they believed the film could seriously harm the development of tourism in the city.
- Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay while battling a cocaine addiction.
- In the scene where Tony is lying in the bathtub and watching television, he says to Manny, "Look at dem pelicangs fly." Pacino used this exact phrase while trying to develop a Cuban accent.
- The film influenced the development of hip-hop culture and rap music in the late 1980s. For example, "The Geto Boys" used several quotes from the film in their songs, and one of the rappers in this group took the pseudonym "Scarface" (this was Brad Jordan, currently one of the heads of "Def Jam South").
- The film is dedicated to Ben Hecht and Howard Hawks.
- It was initially planned for the film to take place in Chicago, but this idea had to be abandoned due to budgetary constraints.
- The producers' initial choice for director was Sidney Lumet. He was the one who suggested that the main characters of the film be Cubans.
- Oliver Stone named Tony Montana after Joe Montana, his favorite football player.
- Brian De Palma liked the film's script so much that he turned down directing 'Flashdance' (1983).
- Steven Spielberg visited the film set and directed a small episode – one of the shots with the Bolivians in the final scene.
- The number of corpses in the painting: 42.
- Almost the entire film was shot in Los Angeles, which was specially made to look like Miami. This was done after numerous protests by Cuban emigrants living in Miami.
- Steven Bauer is the only Cuban to play one of the main roles.
- Elizabeth Daily performed two songs for the film – “Shake it Up” and “I’m Hot Tonight.” She was only 21 years old at the time.
- It was originally intended to use powdered milk as a substitute for cocaine, but the idea had to be abandoned.
- When Sosa (Paul Shenar) slams the phone down during his conversation with Tony Montana shortly before the final scene in the film, a faint gunshot sound can be heard.
- Miriam Colon, who played Tony Montana's mother, is only four years older than Pacino.
- John Travolta could have played the role of Manolo Ray.
- Although Tony Montana is Cuban and his native language is Spanish, he speaks only one complete sentence in Spanish throughout the film.
- The opening scene of the film with Tony Montana and immigration officials was re-dubbed during the editing process. One of the immigration officials was voiced by Charles Durning. The other officials were voiced by Brian De Palma and Dennis Franz.
- The game GTA: Vice City was inspired by the atmosphere of the film.
- One of the prototypes for Tony Montana was Al Capone himself. Capone also had a scar on his face, and he was just as ruthless.
- Although the film is titled 'Scarface,' Tony is only called that once throughout the entire film, and even then in Spanish ('Caracicatriz').
- Robert De Niro could have played the role of Tony, but he declined.
- Actress and model Tammy Lynn Leppert, who played the episodic role of the girl in the blue swimsuit that Manolo Ribera flirted with, disappeared on July 6, 1983, 5 months before the film's premiere.
- An international company founded by Saddam Hussein for laundering money from various sources was called “Montana Management”.
- When Montana comes to kill Frank, he receives a phone call at 3:00 (as Montana arranged). Exactly 6.5 minutes pass (the plot time and film time coincide perfectly in this scene) before we see the same clock on screen again – it reads 3:03. Notably, 2.5 minutes after the first shot of the clock, it shows 3:01.
- The film is based on Armitage Trail's novel "Scarface" (1932).
- When the film was planned for a re-release in 2003, the studio wanted De Palma to change the soundtrack, including compositions that emerged due to the film's influence on rap music. De Palma rejected this proposal.
- The film received an “X” rating three times. After that, Brian De Palma invited a group of experts, including narcotics agents. According to this expert group, "Scarface" is an accurate depiction of real life, therefore the film deserves a milder rating. The expert commission's statement convinced 20 members of the film rating commission. They agreed to give the film an “R” rating (18 votes “for”, 2 – “against”). Ultimately, the cut version differed little from the original version, so De Palma decided not to change anything and released the original version.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
