Scarface: Unveiling The Dark Side Of The American Dream
“Me, I want what’s coming to me.”
“Oh well, what’s coming to you?”
“The world, chico, and everything in it.”
It has been a few years since I first watched Scarface; I was in high school and since then I have rewatched it at least two or three times. I remember that after the first viewing of the movie I was a little shocked, I was not really sure about what I had seen but before long it became part of the list of my all-time favorite movies. I could not say what I liked about the film in particular, but with each new vision I appreciated many different aspects about it; the plot, the dialogue, the iconic lines (which have become part of popular culture and have been reprised on several occasions), the music, the costumes, and a neon, acrylic, vibrant color palette in contrast with the tones of classic film noir.
I have always been a fan of gangster movies, of which I have particularly enjoyed The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990), Goodfellas (1990), Pulp Fiction (1994), Casino (1995), and, most recently, The Irishman (2019), which also stars Al Pacino. I think he is an outstanding actor and I have liked him in all the roles in which he has starred, particularly in Scarface, which, as he has often said himself, is still the film he is most asked about, even 40 years after its theatrical release. Scarface is the remake of a gangster movie released in 1932 as an adaptation of the eponymous 1925 novel by Armitage Trail. Probably the creators of Scarface themselves had no idea of the enormous influence the film would have on different areas of pop culture, from hip hop music to fashion.
The origins of Scarface go back to the real-life gangster Al Capone, but in the 1983 film directed by Brian De Palma the story has taken a trajectory all its own; it is the rise and fall of Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who arrives in the United States as part of the Fidel Castro/Jimmy Carter Mariel boatlift, so he is identified early on as a criminal as well as an illegal immigrant. After proclaiming himself a “political prisoner”, he begins his climb to success through the illicit drug business in the city of Miami. But everything has a price. As Ken Tucker stated in the nonfiction book Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie And How It Changed America: “Scarface is, above all, about surface, about the obviousness of man’s corruptibility, and about how superficial pleasures are at once the most immediately gratifying and the most enduringly corrosive. […] Soon enough, lines like «Never underestimate the greed of the other guy» began to cohere as a code of honor, as business ethics, as a declaration of loyalty, and of capitalism trickling down inexorably to Reaganomics.”
It is also amazing how a film that upon its release in the Christmas season was received with mixed reviews veering toward the negative gained more and more popularity and became so iconic as the years went by (a number of video games were also based on the movie, including Scarface: The World is Yours, which was released for the Xbox platform in 2006, while the movie also inspired the popular Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game series, released in the early 2000s).
In addition, Scarface has inspired and been frequently referenced within modern film and TV series such as Entourage (2004-2011), The Sopranos (1999-2007), South Park (1997-) and The Simpsons (1989-); there is also an incredible amount of Scarface merchandise for sale, including T-shirts with iconic quotes and coffee mugs, as well as some novels inspired by the film such as the novelized version of Oliver Stone’s screenplay, written by Paul Monette following the release of the movie. Besides touching on the theme of immigration and the concept of building a better life for oneself in the “land of opportunities”, many of the film’s meanings are related to the image of the self-made man, of being successful in the United States, and the negative connotations this can take on within a capitalist society such as America. Tony Montana undoubtedly follows a negative path such as drug-dealing to achieve economic success, but it is evident from the start that he lacks other essential tools to become successful in an honest way. His immense wealth and drug abuse go to his head (basically he forgets to follow his former boss’s advice: “Don’t get high on your own supply”) and prevent him from thinking straight, leading him to take such missteps as betraying the people who have always supported him and helped him achieve success in a kind of delusion of omnipotence and in what could be called hubris, a term used in ancient Greece to denote excessive pride and inordinate self-confidence. Geo Santini, director of numerous music videos who has been inspired by Scarface themes for some of his work, said, “That’s what drowns a lot of people: their egos, getting too infatuated with who they are. That was his downfall. That happens a lot with any person in business, in the music or movie game. It affects their work and they start to decline. […] It’s a movie about a young man who comes from the gutter, and doesn’t let anybody stand in his way. He just used whatever way he could to get to the top, to get the things he wanted. […] I think over the years what the movie has glamorized was that kind of rags to riches thing, but even more exotic is that this guy did something that, in order to make that kind of money, you had to take the riskiest job around which was, you know, selling drugs. People come to this country looking for the American Dream and several options are closed off to them and they find themselves saying «Wait, to hell with it – I’m going to be Scarface», which is unfortunate but it does happen, and Brian De Palma did an excellent job of evoking not just that world, but that attitude. If you take the drugs out of the equation, for guys who make an honest living, you can still apply a lot of the metaphors or a lot of those phrases in your own life. There was definitely a code of honor in that film. It becomes a profound experience to a lot of people who say, «You know, I’m not going to be a shy person. I’m not going to let people exploit or manipulate me. »“.
This is the point on which Scarface can provide viewers with food for thought: it should not be about living the American dream at any cost and by any means necessary, but about providing both American citizens and anyone who comes to this country with opportunities to create a prosperous future for themselves legally, without having to resort to violence and lawlessness, which will later account for the decline of Tony Montana himself, “a real contradiction – a real hero, and a real tragedy.” Although Tony Montana begins his rise to power wanting to maintain some sort of personal code of honor anyway (as it is often seen in old gangster movies), things begin to deteriorate for him precisely because of his addiction to drugs (which causes him to become paranoid) and the aforementioned hubris, an arrogance that becomes almost outrageous and the whole story feels like a modern-day parable of Icarus. Al Pacino himself stated, “There is something fable-like about Tony Montana. He is just like Icarus flying close to the sun, just going a little closer and closer, knowing as soon as he gets close enough those wings are going to get burned – he’s gonna soar right down. That’s what attracted me to that character. When were people ever not fascinated by the gangster world, that underworld, that world that’s illicit? It’s always fascinating to see how and why people go to the wrong side.”
A situation that probably originates from the need to achieve social redemption after a life of deprivation (which in this case necessarily has to pass through financial success), which will, however, lead to endless greed. The film was written by Oliver Stone, and I believe that some of the characteristics of Tony Montana are also present in the character of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) in Stone’s 1987 finance movie Wall Street (Gekko’s line, “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.”) remains one of the most famous and iconic in movie history.
There is something incredibly Shakespearean about the character of Tony Montana; unbridled pursuits of power have always characterized Shakespeare’s tragedies, so much so that they lead characters to destroy themselves. An article by Frames Cinema, an online Italian independent film magazine, wrote the following about this theme in the article Tony Montana – A Pop Macbeth: “The moment Tony finally succeeds in having the world at his feet and getting everything he has ever wanted, physically eliminating every obstacle in his path, he loses control over himself and begins to doubt everyone around him, seeing even in the people closest to him a possible threat to his power. Living in this climate of constant paranoia, the characters come to destroy with their own hands everything they have created […] in a now unstoppable delusion of omnipotence.”
Elvira Hancock (Michelle Pfeiffer), woman of the boss for whom Tony Montana works, has a key role in the plot as well; she becomes the object of the protagonist’s desire, a symbol of power that, however, is neglected once obtained because it is the result of superficial interest on the part of the main character, who loses his consciousness as the film progresses.
The role of Elvira is brilliantly played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who appears as a blond ice queen reminiscent of some of the female characters in Hitchcock’s cinema; she is not only a trophy wife but also a character who, while showing fragility and suffering, manages to make her own inner evolution. Her character is also notable for the fashion-related aspect (thanks to the great work done on each character’s look by the film’s costume designer Patricia Norris) and is still a source of style inspiration to this day, as can be seen in a video essay on the YouTube channel Clever & Chic (which I have already mentioned in the newsletter post Five YouTube Channels About Fashion) titled “Elvira Hancock Analysis: The Fundamental Truth of Scarface”: “From strong suiting to slinky gowns, the character is the epitome of disco chic glamour holding a radiance beyond her time. […] In a time of excess and abundance, Elvira’s look is reminiscent of the ’70s more so than the ’80s, specifically caring about the spirit of the fashion house Halston. Her codes of dress have been inspirational for sleek, slinky looks with a subtle and quiet confidence that doesn’t overtly grab the eye but catches it with allure. Her fashion holds simplicity in an effortlessly cool and chic way without sacrificing luxury or quality. The backless halter in lavish silks and pure satins are a staple in her wardrobe. Accenting her looks with smaller adornments such as a diamond ring, bracelet, and her go-to drop earrings.” Elvira often wears diamond jewelry because diamonds perfectly represent the concept of toughness and invincibility.
Michelle Pfeiffer’s wardrobe in Scarface has become iconic over the years and has inspired the collections of numerous designers, such as Balmain Spring/Summer 2015 and Celine Spring/Summer 2022, also mentioned in the Clever & Chic video. The classic white suit she wears in a scene of the film “held the tone of a Yves Saint Laurent suit, groundbreaking in the ’70s, over the coveted Armani ’80s power suit that would be in style.” In fact, Elvira’s outfits often look to the past and were inspired by classic movies such as The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), The Public Enemy (1931) and the first Scarface (1932). In her style analysis of Elvira’s character, Michelle Magda also delved into the importance of accessories such as sunglasses: “Elvira often wears sunglasses, which reduce visual communication of emotional responses. Elvira’s glasses of choice for sunny Miami days are an oversized cat-eye in a neutral rose-tone frame with lensed tinted black from the top down. Unlike other glasses, these lenses partially allow for the space around the eyes to be seen, letting people in a bit more, but retaining a distance while holding a sophistication and accent of effortless glamour.” Excellent work was done in the fashion of Scarface also with the look of other characters, which included flashy printed shirts, pointed boots and suits in pastel hues. Looks composed of blazers and vests in Prince of Wales fabric have inspired numerous menswear fashion collections, and so did the classic suit in white worn by Al Pacino in a few scenes.
The music in Scarface also contributes a lot in creating the right atmosphere for the film. Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer and music producer, worked on some of the most iconic pieces in Scarface (especially the ones played during the Babylon Club scenes), including Tony’s Theme, which is reprised during the moments leading up to something dangerous in the story thanks to the somber atmospheres created by the synthesizer, and Scarface (Push It To The Limit), an incredibly empowering piece. It all adds up to a wonderful disco-pop soundtrack (I own the Scarface OST CD but I would like to purchase the vinyl record for its beautiful sounds).
After all these years, much remains of Scarface that can relate to modern society as well. Some of its themes have been compared to those of The Great Gatsby (in Marilyn Roberts’ 2006 essay titled “Scarface, The Great Gatsby and the American Dream”) and many of the themes expressed in the film are still valid today in different parts of the world, such as government corruption and the downsides of capitalism. In Scarface Nation, Tucker writes:“Like Huck Finn and Gatsby, Tony Montana is a self-re-created man, one who throws off the shame and limitations of his low upbringing to enlighten and empower himself, to give himself some control over his world.” One need only think of the famous line Tony Montana utters at one point in the film, “Me, I want what’s coming to me…the world…and everything in it” and then to the tragic ending, with the last sequence dwelling on the neon sign “The World Is Yours”, which represents the closing of a descending parable for the main character. Scarface endures as a cinematic masterpiece, offering profound insights into the human condition. It delves into themes of individual agency, the allure and perils of power, and the destructive nature of unchecked ambition. Through its vibrant portrayal of excess and its exploration of the consequences of hubris, the film captivates audiences with its dark humor and tragic narrative. Each viewing unveils new layers of meaning, inviting audiences to immerse themselves in its rich complexity. Scarface remains a timeless classic, leaving an indelible mark on the crime genre and cementing its status as a must-watch cinematic experience.