|
|
|
1932
|
SCARFACE
|
|
|
STARRING:PAUL
MUNI,VINCE BARNETT,ANN DVORAK,C.HENRY GORDON, BORIS KARLOFF,TULLY
MARSHALL,EDWIN MAXWELLKAREN MORLEY,INEZ PALANGE,OSGOOD PERKINS,PURNELL
PRATT,GEORGE RAFT
BASED
ON THE NOVEL BY ARMITAGE TRAIL
SCREENPLAY
BY W.R. BURNETT,BEN HACHT,HOWARD HAWKS,JOHN LEE MAHIN,SETON
I.MILLER & FRED PASLEY
PRODUCED
BY HOWARD HAWKS & HOWARD HUGHES
DIRECTED
BY HOWARD HAWKS
GENRE:CRIME/DRAMA/FILM-NOIR/THRILLER
RATED:AUSTRALIA:M//UK:15USA:PG
RUNNING
TIME:93 MIN
|
When
one says Scarface, a picture of an f-bomb dropping, coked up
Al Pacino as ruthless gangster Tony Montana would no doubt pop into
your head. Yet after watching the Howard Hughes produced, Howard Hawks
directed 1932 gangster morality play original, Pacino et al. will
become a faded memory when compared to this originator of violent
gangster pictures which has inspired crime illuminati's Martin Scorsese,
Francis Ford Coppola, and of course, Brian De Palma, who directed
the 1983 remake.
Loosely based by the exploits of infamous gangster Al Capone, who
ruled the mean streets of Chicago during the prohibition era of the
1920's, Scarface focuses on the rise and fall of ferocious
criminal Tony Camonte, a new breed of gun loving gangster who lives
by the creed "Do it first, do it yourself, and keep on doing
it".
Camonte was played by celebrated 1930's character actor Paul Muni
with all of the flamboyance he could muster. This was to be expected:
with such a flashy character, an equally flashy performance is needed,
and Muni provides an exceptional example on how to play over the top
without losing his characters emotional grounding. Ironically, the
only other actor who could do this as well as Muni would be Al Pacino.
The beginning of the film has Camonte playing hitman for mob boss
Johnny Lovo (Oswood Perkins). Yet his lofty aspirations for power
quickly see him climb to the top of the Chicago mafia, taking out
Lovo and stealing his girl (Karen Morley) in the process. However,
his fierce love for his sister Cesca (Ann Dvorak) places everything
on the line when she falls in love with Camonte's right hand man,
Rinaldo (George Raft).
Whilst reviewing Scarface, I had to take into account that
this film is a product of its time. It's depictions of Italian's in
particular relies heavily on stereotype, especially in its use of
speech, with "eh?" placed on the tail end of any sentence.
For example, "I gotta do a this; I gotta do a that, eh?"
Also, while the films violence is tame compared to the intense standards
of today's cinema, one must also appreciate that Scarface circa 1932
was a very violent film for its time which brought on the wrath on
censors and saw producer Howard Hughes battling the Hays Office and
regional censor boards, delaying the films release for up to a year.
So viewing the film in a historical context is a must.
However, this does not deter from the fact that Scarface is
a highly entertaining film due do its daring, extravagance, engrossing
plot developments, and strong emotional centre, in particular the
relationship between Camonte and his sister, which is developed further
in the 1983 remake.
Yet - outside of Muni's performance - the most memorable feature of
Scarface has to be Howard Hawks' brilliant direction and use
of visual symbolic touches: a dead body slumped on the corner of Under
and Taker Streets; the use of the letter "X" as a prophetic
tool towards death; the use of shadow (with thanks to cinematographers
Lee Garmes and L. William O'Connell).
A trend setter and instigator, dated in some parts, ageless in many
others, Scarface is essential viewing not only for lovers of
crime movies, but for lovers of cinema. |
|
|
