Some masterpieces are misunderstood and maligned or simply not understood when they are published. Later, through re-evaluation by critics or ardent fan love, they develop into cult classics. This happened, for example, with the classic war film Apocalypse Now, the visionary sci-fi epic Blade Runner and Brian De Palma’s gangster flick Scarface.
Coming out on November 9th Scarface new in the elegant 4K steelbook, but if you want to get another one, you’ll have to be quick. The Steelbook is already sold out at Amazon and you can only get it at MediaMarkt *, Saturn * and JPC *.
Scarface Uncut in an elegant 4K steelbook
deal
To the deal
The 4K Steelbook contains two discs, a 4K UHD and a Blu-ray including some bonus material that is not yet known. The German and English audio tracks of the 4K version offer DTS:X and DTS-HD 7.1, while you have to be satisfied with DTS 2.0 in the German edition of the Blu-ray disc.
Why Scarface was torn apart and then adored
Oliver Stone’s script tested boundaries in many ways. He met with police, lawyers and real drug lords in Miami and Bimini (Bahamas) for research. He has clearly succeeded in his goal of producing a tough but extremely authentic script. According to his own statement, the goal was to shine a magnifying glass on America’s problems surrounding immigration, drug wars and the politics associated with them.
The result was a gangster milieu study excessive violence, blunt language (The English F-word occurs 226 times) and very open depiction of drug use. Some Cuban exiles were also bothered by the one-sided criminal and drug narrative in which they felt the film placed them. At the center of the story is the Cuban refugee and former convict Tony Montana (Al Pacino), who first works as a dishwasher in Miami and then quickly becomes a henchman of the drug lord Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia).
The perhaps the most disturbing scene in the entire film happens even before Tony meets Frank Lopez. On his first assignment, Tony and his friend Angel Hernandez are ambushed. When Tony refuses to hand over the money for the drugs to the Colombian drug dealer Hector, he brutally kills Angel with a chainsaw. A scene that exemplified the high level of violence and was therefore the target of criticism.
Universal
Scarface cover
But today this scene in particular shows that Brilliant and directing skills of Brian de Palma. Because at no time do we see the brutal dismemberment itself. The audience is only shown Tony Montana’s disturbed reaction, alongside brief close-up shots of the bloody murder instrument. Meanwhile, Tony’s friend Manny (Steven Bauer) tries his flirting skills on an American woman on the street across the street. This harmless, playful counter-image makes the chainsaw scene seem even more brutal, even though we as viewers don’t actually see anything concrete.
Over the years, the opinion of Scarface became positive and experts and audiences alike recognized the film one of the most important gangster epics ever. Al Pacino’s “Larger than life” performance also shaped the gangster drama. It is so exaggerated that it almost seems surreal in a film that is otherwise so raw and authentic in a way that we were not used to before.
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