Scarface (1983) on Netflix
In 1980, Tony Montana leaves Cuba for Miami on the Mariel boatlift, with Manny Ribera beside him. Drug lord Frank Lopez offers them green cards for a murder.
- Netflix4.1/5
- IMDb8.3/101,034,958 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
Tony Montana manages to leave Cuba during the Mariel exodus of 1980. He finds himself in a Florida refugee camp but his friend Manny has a way out for them: undertake a contract killing and arrangements will be made to get a green card. He's soon working for drug dealer Frank Lopez and shows his mettle when a deal with Columbian drug dealers goes bad. He also brings a new level of violence to Miami. Tony is protective of his younger sister but his mother knows what he does for a living and disowns him. Tony is impatient and wants it all however, including Frank's empire and his mistress Elvira Hancock. Once at the top however, Tony's outrageous actions make him a target and everything comes crumbling down.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Scarface (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Screenwriter Oliver Stone researched Scarface while battling his own cocaine addiction, and moved to Paris to actually write the script because he believed he could not break the habit while still in the United States.
- On 8 November an appeal board of 20 theater owners, studio executives and independent distributors overturned the X rating 17 to 3 in favour of an R. When the MPAA refused to let his original cut carry that rating, De Palma released the film uncut anyway, admitting it only months after release.
- The gunfight scene at the end of the film includes a single camera shot directed by Steven Spielberg, who happened to be visiting the set at the time.
- A 2012 police raid on the Naples home of an Italian Mafia gangster turned up a life-sized porcelain bust of Tony Montana, and another Naples drug lord had an exact replica of Tony Montana's Miami mansion built for himself in Naples.
- Weeks before release, the MPAA gave the film an X rating over its violence, even though director Brian De Palma had already re-cut it three times. He shot back that he had had it with the ratings board and would not cut anything more.
- In March, Al Pacino burned his left hand on the muzzle of a gun that had been fired when he tripped during a fight scene, shutting production down for more than a week while he recovered. A premature bomb explosion also injured two stuntmen during a scene shot in his absence.
- Michelle Pfeiffer was an unknown actress at the time, known primarily for her role in Grease 2; both Pacino and De Palma argued against her casting, but Bregman fought for her inclusion. Glenn Close was the original choice, with Melanie Griffith, Kim Basinger, Sharon Stone and Sigourney Weaver also considered.
- Al Pacino trained in knife combat and worked with world champion boxer Roberto Durán to build the physicality he wanted for Tony Montana, and Pacino said Durán, who had "a certain lion in him," helped inspire the character.
