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8/20/2019 Sullivan Paper1

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Michelle Sullivan2/9/2016

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Communications 305: Paper Option 1

Scarface is a well know movie released in 1983. It is known especially

for the end scene where the main character played by Al Pachino is holding a

M16 rifle equipped with a 40mm grenade launcher, and says “Say Hello to

my little friend.” This is when he shoots the grenade helping put the body

count in the movie to well over forty. Many people, however, do not know

about the original Scarface which was released almost fifty years before in

1932. The original movie holds the same plot with details being changed to

fit the eighties era. The 1932 movie was directed by Howard Hawks and

written by Ben Hecht. Howard Hawks was a very wealthy man interested in

primarily aviation, not directing. His movies were usually controversial in

content, just as seen in the original Scarface. The main character is Tony

Camonte which is played by Paul Muni. By the end of his career, he wouldonly star in twenty-five films total. The remake of Scarface was directed by

Brian De Palma. He is known primarily for his crime and suspense movies. It

was re-written by Oliver Stone, but original plot comes from the Ben Hecht,

the original writer. The remake of the movie was dedicated to Ben Hecht and

Howard Hawks. Oliver Stone and Brian De Palma were careful not to alter

the plot too much, which can be seen in the very identical scenes between

the movies. In the second Scarface, Al Pachino plays Tony Montana. Al

Pachino and Paul Muni did very well at portraying the crazed character. Al

Pachino is known as a method actor and would stay in character through the

filming of the whole movie even when he was off set and taking a break. Hewas Tony Montana from the day he started filming to the end of the movie.

Al Pachino has been nominated for eight Academy Awards. Likewise, Paul

Muni was nominated for six Academy Awards. Pachino was the only one to

go on to win an Oscar. For the 1983 remake of Scarface, it is listed in the

American Film Institute as being the tenth best gangster film, but the

original is listed as the sixth best.

Obviously, changes had to be made to alter the original movie to the

current era. The filming and production was done differently as times

changed. The most visible difference was clearly the black and white to colorfilm. The original movie was about an hour and a half long. The second was

almost twice as long at two hours and fifty minutes long. The dress style was

also different between to two films. The original was set in the 1930’s in

Chicago during prohibition. The gangsters of that era were very clean and

crisp. Paul Muni was usually in black, slim-fitted pantsuit with a clean light

colored shirt underneath. The hairstyles were slick and parted and




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sometimes topped off with a fedora. The women’s clothing were not as

nearly revealing as in the remake. In the remake, Al Pachino was usually in

colorful clothing, white and unbuttoned shirts. They were set in Miami and

had beach attire and tropical style clothing. In addition, the language wasmuch different between the movies. In the remake, the f-word was used

well over two-hundred times as well is many more curse words in between.

The movie is almost two-hundred minutes long. That means that the f-word

was used on average, more than one time per minute. In the original, there

was very few cursing. They had think Italian accents, filing the classic

mobster stereotype. This was done to help resemble one of the most

infamous mobsters at the time, Al Capone. He was a crime boss between

New York and Chicago. He found out about the movie and sent some of his

men to go check on the movie. They were convinced by the producers and

directors that the movie was not based on him. Al Capone’s same men werethen also hired as consultants to validate the legitimacy and accuracy of the

movie and its portrayal of the mobster and gangster world. Al Capone

supposedly loved the movie so much and considered it to be based upon

himself that he had his own copy he watched while in jail.

Since the original film was based on gangsters that were illegally

selling large quantities of beer to bars during the prohibition, there was a lot

of controversy over it. Especially since the movie was filmed and released

when prohibition had not ended yet. William Hays was the main reviewer of

scripts in Hollywood at the time. He wrote the guidelines called “TheFormula” to create an acceptable and appropriate movie. These included no

sex, illegal drugs, nudity, and much more while filming. The movies had to

be clean and could not include any of those types of scenes. Even so, the

movie was very violent for back then and even now today. The original

Scarface was banned in seven states and there were regulations set for the

movie. The full title of the movie is “Scarface: The Shame of the Nation”

which was added on. The movie was bringing attention to the shame of the

nation, the gang crimes that were going on at the time such as Al Capone’ s

gang. In addition, there is also a disclaimer at the beginning of the film

which criticizes the government and the lack thereof to subdue the crimes atthe time by the gangsters. The renaming of the film and getting it approved

for censoring delayed the release of the film. Just like the original, the

remake of Scarface was also delayed in releasing. After filming, it took three

times to get the movie to pass as R-rated and not X-rated by the MPAA. The

producers brought in narcotic officers who consulted and helped the movie

pass as R-rated. When it hit the theaters, it did not do as well as hoped with




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only $4.6 million opening. To this day, it has received much better reviews

and more praise than originally released after the shock died down of the

violence, cursing, and intense drug use

The storyline between the two movies stayed the same for the most

part. The remake was modernized to fit the eighties era, but was carefully

done so as to not alter too much from the original storyline. The original

movie was based upon a classic Italian gangster in Chicago. The gangs

illegally distributed beer to bars during prohibition. The remake is about a

Cuban immigrant landing in Miami and climbing his way up in a cocaine

distribution operation. A difference between them, is that the remake

focuses on the use of the illegal product by the main characters. Both Tony

and Elvira use cocaine a lot which helps lead to his downfall. In the original,

it seems more psychological rather than drinking profusely. In both movies,Tony is after the bosses spouse and is eager to climb to the top so he can

have her. Poppy is the woman from the original, she has a much more

pleasant feel to her and seems to have some affection towards Tony. In the

remake, Elvira is cold and is with whomever can supply her money and her

addiction. One of the most similar things between the two movies is the

relationship between him and her sister. Tony I obsessed with his sister and

is furious when she is with anyone else. In both movies, Tony’s mother says

that his sister has not been home. So, he goes to find her and finds her with

his partner, Manny and Guino. They are both shot in the gut as soon as

Tony’s sister appears. He soon finds out that they were going to surprisehim, as they had just been married the previous day. These scenes are the

beginning of the spiraling downfall for Tony. In the original, Tony’s sister

comes to avenge Guino’s death. She pulls a gun on him and can’t follow

through. Just then, the police arrive at Tony’s apartment and shoot his

sister, then gun him down, ending the movie. In the remake, when Tony’s

sister comes in to avenge Manny’s death, she shoots at him several times

and hits him in the leg. The rival gang has infiltrated Tony’s home. They

shoot his sister, and this begins the last scene just like the original. In the

remake, the final scene is much more violent than the original. It is a blood

bath, and Tony is finished off by a man from behind with a double barrelshotgun.

Currently, there is talk about a third Scarface. This one is not

supposed to be a remake or a sequel, so things may change drastically in

the new one. They are keeping the same producers, Marc Shmuger and

Martin Bregman, from the 1983 version. Al Pachino will not be staring in the




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movie. The writer is Jonathan Herman who recently scripted “Straight Outta

Compton.” The new remake will most likely have the same downfall at the

end with a bloodbath. The crime ring may be focused on the Texas/Mexico

border or California/Mexico area such as Los Angeles. It will get away fromthe mobster and gangster era and most likely focus on the Mexican Drug

Cartel. Hopefully, a good cast will be selected that can compare to the first

two versions of Scarface.

Sources

http://www.newsmax.com/TheWire/scarface-remake-miami-los-

angeles/2015/03/20/id/631359/

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