Scarface (1983)

Friday, May 25

Film at 8 PM

$5.00

Rated R

Box Office opens 30 minutes prior to screening

He loved the American Dream. With a Vengeance.

Scarface (1983) is an American cult hit crime film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone. A contemporary remake of the original 1932 film of the same name, the film tells the story of Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who comes to Miami in 1980 as a result of the Mariel Boatlift, and becomes a drug cartel kingpin during the cocaine boom of the 1980s. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, who goes to work for Miami drug lord Robert Loggia. Montana rises to the top of Florida’s crime chain, appropriating Loggia’s cokehead mistress (Michelle Pfeiffer) in the process. Howard Hawks’ “X Marks the Spot” motif in depicting the story line’s many murders is dispensed with in the 1983 Scarface; instead, we are inundated with blood by the bucketful, especially in the now-infamous buzz saw scene. One carry-over from the original Scarface is Tony Montana’s incestuous yearnings for his sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio). The film has gathered a cult following and become an important cultural icon, inspiring posters, clothing, and other references. The film’s grainy black and white poster has become an often parodied icon. The film is dedicated to Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht, the director and principal screenwriter of the original 1932 film, respectively.