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| SCARFACE (1932) |
| aka. The Shame Of A Nation |
| Starring Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Osgood Perkins, George Raft, Karen Morely, and Boris Karloff. |
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| No, this isn't Brian De Palma's Scarface, but the original 1932 classic on which it's based. Scarface is based loosely on Chicago mobster Al Capone. It depicts a number of events that really happened, such as the St. Valentines day massacre. |
| The plot follows the violent exploits of Tony Camonte, a small time hood working for a small time organisation. He has a huge cross shaped scar on his cheek, which makes him stick out like a sore thumb in the Chicago underworld. |
| He's highly ambitious, and feels that his boss Johnny Lovo is too weak. Tony begins invading rival gangs territories, and generally causing carnage and mayhem. The more violent Tony becomes, the more his world begins to fall apart. |
| Scarface still holds up surprisingly well for a film that's 70 years old, and is fairly violent and raw for it's time. It may not have the squibs and graphic violence of contemporary crime films, but imagination can often conjure a more disturbing effect. The movie is also quite stylised. Every time someone is killed, we see crosses in the background or foreground. There's also a great scene where a Thompson sub-machine gun blasts away dates on a calendar. |
| Oliver Stone obviously took a lot from this film when he was writing the screenplay for the remake, and Martin Scorsese has often cited Scarface as a major influence. Without this movie, the crime genre may not have turned out quite the same. Scarface is proof that less is often more. If you're a fan of Goodfella's, Reservoir Dogs, or Lock,Stock,and Two Smoking Barrels, check this out to see where it all really started. |
| Entertainment : 3 out of 4 |
| Watchability : 3 out of 4 |
| Overall : 3 out of 4 |
| Reviewed by Blake |