Scarface (1983)
Directed by Brian De Palma
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.
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6 films that influenced Scarface
What critics say influenced Scarface
Still, despite his foul mouth, Montana is definitely cut from the same mold as the gangster hero in Howard Hawks’ “Scarface,” a juiced-up version of Al Capone’s life story, starring Paul Muni.
Leading up to its Christmas release, “The Wolf of Wall Street” — which follows the true-life tale of ’90s stockbroker crook Jordan Belfort and, rather awesomely, feels like Martin Scorsese’s “Animal House” — drew comparisons to “Scarface,” Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake of Howard Hawks’ 1932 film, which follows a fictionalized Cuban drug lord named Tony Montana over a very similar rise and fall.
Some have compared what De Palma accomplishes in that sequence to what the director's hero, Alfred Hitchcock, did when Janet Leigh took a shower in Psycho .
Screenwriter Oliver Stone, who had recently won an Oscar for writing Midnight Express (1978), uses the basic narrative structure from Ben Hecht’s 1932 screenplay and most of its major themes, with a particular focus on Tony’s unrelenting need to prove himself; his rise to the top is pathological.
4. Giorgio Moroder (who also scored the Stone-scripted Midnight Express) gives us an immediately recognizable theme � a spaghetti-western sound weighed down by the Miami heat and piles of cocaine.
However, some may find its excess in all areas - especially the final massacre that outdoes The Wild Bunch - more off-putting than entertaining.
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And don't get me started on the songs, many of which turn up in Grand Theft Auto on the radio station.
Leading up to its Christmas release, “The Wolf of Wall Street” — which follows the true-life tale of ’90s stockbroker crook Jordan Belfort and, rather awesomely, feels like Martin Scorsese’s “Animal House” — drew comparisons to “Scarface,” Brian De Palma’s 1983 remake of Howard Hawks’ 1932 film, which follows a fictionalized Cuban drug lord named Tony Montana over a very similar rise and fall.