Scarface

"He loved the American Dream. With a vengeance."

1983 2h 50m EN

🙌

8.2

BANGER

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

8.3

IMDB

★8.2TMDB · 13,530🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●65Metacritic★8.3IMDB · 1,012,928

ActionCrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

“He loved the American Dream. With a vengeance.”

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Cast

Al Pacino
Tony Montana
Steven Bauer
Manny Ray
Michelle Pfeiffer
Elvira
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Gina
Robert Loggia
Frank Lopez
Miriam Colon
Mama Montana
F. Murray Abraham
Omar
Paul Shenar
Alejandro Sosa

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Oliver Stone, Ben Hecht, Armitage Trail
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 170 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

221+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by John A. Alonzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Giorgio Moroder. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Ray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Al Pacino and Steven Bauer and Michelle Pfeiffer carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian De Palma directs. John A. Alonzo behind the camera. Giorgio Moroder scores. David Ray cuts. A long sit — settle in. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 170 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4221+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by John A. Alonzo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Giorgio Moroder. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor David Ray shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Al Pacino and Steven Bauer and Michelle Pfeiffer carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "He loved the American Dream. With a vengeance.".
10IMDB entry: tt0086250 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1113,530 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
12Classified under 20 themes, including "corruption", "sibling relationship", "miami, florida", "cuba".
13Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John A. Alonzo
Original score: Giorgio Moroder
Editing: David Ray
Production design: Ferdinando Scarfiotti
Costume design: Patricia Norris
Makeup / hair: Toni-Ann Walker
Stunt coordinator: Jophery C. Brown
Runtime: 170 min · 2h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $66,023,329
Return: 264% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Scarface (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 65/100
IMDB rating: 8.3/10 · 1,012,928 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

8 nominations total

Also by

Brian De Palma

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-10-23
★ 9/10
Immensely great crime-drama that features some great performances and excellent writing from Oliver Stone (and this coming from someone who isn't a big fan of his) to the direction by Brian De Palma. The score is great though still love the song "Take It to the Limit" during the money laundering scene. Still a few slots below the likes of The Godfather and Heat, yet still a amazing film that holds up so well. 4.5/5
CinemaSerf2023-06-08
★ 6/10
Despite all the hype and plaudits, I don't think this film is as good as Paul Muni's 1932 iteration. That's not to say it isn't a good film, nor that Al Pacino doesn't turn in a good effort - it's that it is all so brash. The language and action has no subtlety or finesse to it. It glorifies violence - it's not just that it is a necessary evil in the world in which "Tony Montana" works, it just comes across as if there was nothing in the script and the film had to be padded out somehow - so let's shove in some more brutality. There is precious little sophistication with the characterisation either - and after a while that all just grates. Top drawer production and scoring, though - and some fine supporting efforts from Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer but for me it was all just a bit in my face when just a little more effort and better scripting could have improved it no end. Good, but not great.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-10-28
★ 5/10
A very violent film about drug trafficking and paranoia, with a great cast and a great production, but where everything is histrionic and exaggerated. I caught this film yesterday on television and decided to watch it in full. I had already heard about it, and the good dramatic performance that Al Pacino had, and so I decided it was time to see for myself. Directed by Brian de Palma, it marked its time, but is currently somewhat forgotten. It's understandable: in addition to the gratuitous violence and the crudeness with which it approaches the topic of drug trafficking, we don't have any character here that we are capable of liking, and this puts a wall between the film and the viewer. Brian de Palma is a very solid director. Unfortunately, I didn't see as many of his films as I would have liked: I really liked “Carrie”, which for me is his masterpiece so far, and “Untouchables”. In this film, he did a very competent job, especially from a technical point of view, but the film has no soul and, after a while, it just seems like pure carnage. The chainsaw scene, as well as the final shootout, are worthy of an anthology. Technically, the film is impeccable and has luxurious production touches: the cinematography is beautiful, it highlights the sun and brightness of Florida very well and gives us a real feeling of the tropical climate. The sets and costumes not only fit well into the decade, but also manage to emphasize the characters' sense of nouveau riche and fast ascent. Of course, it's absurdly kitsch, even the soundtrack tells us that! However, we can't expect anything else from characters with no taste, no culture, no education and tons of money to show off! However, I will agree if someone tell me that the film is too long, with some scenes a bit incidental or unbelievable (that scene where Gina, enraged, gives herself sexually to her brother, was a good example). With little effort, about half an hour could have been removed from this film, making it more palatable. The film's script is based on a remake of an original from 1932, which very few people know, and which was made by Howard Hughes. Perhaps the name of this film is slightly inspired by the figure of Al Capone, who had the unflattering nickname of “scarface”. In one of the most notable performances of his career, Al Pacino is histrionic, unpleasant and paranoid to the extreme. The intentional exaggeration may be off-putting, but it seems to be in line with a film where everything is exaggerated. However, I don't consider this to be one of the actor's best, I enjoyed seeing him in other roles. Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer provide very happy support, but Michelle Pfeiffer has little to do other than look sexy and vain. However, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and F. Murray Abraham have frankly underutilized characters.