Congrats, very witty comment. Doesn't answer my question though.
Those are all vastly better movies.
Scarface is liked less due to its quality as a movie, and more because
a) it's a template for a specific style of hip-hop.
b) it's a template for a specific chapter in a video game series.
It's a movie who's references so saturated popular culture in the mid-90s that for lots of people watching it for the first time, it's a nonstop run of "Hey, I recognize this!" and that helps paper over a lot of the problems with the film.
It's also sorta like "My Buddy's First Gangster Epic." It's got the training wheels on, so far as drama is concerned. It's got the shape and the pace of something that's supposed to be meaningful, but it's all sugar and empty carbs inside. I can see enjoying the hell out of it if you haven't really seen what else that specific genre has to offer, but once stuff like Goodfellas, Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, DePalma's own Carlito's Way (which - I get the sense was a makeup for Scarface becoming the mess it became) get some run - I don't know how a rewatch of Scarface holds up beyond the initial "Hey! I recognize that!" pleasures, most of which wear off after a set amount of time.
I don't HATE Scarface. It's disappointing. I don't even hate the weird mall-culture, almost ICP-esque fetishizing of the film's imagery. I get it. I remember when Scarface posters first started seriously becoming a "thing" along with Bob Marley album covers and shitty 2pac posters with bad poetry plastered on it. It made sense.
But as a film - it's not very good.
I'm not saying that can't be entertaining. I am saying that being a 3 hour movie with no variations in tone or character across the full runtime does make it tedious as hell.
It's not a "hipster" thing. Jesus. It's a movies thing.
It's not a very good movie. Lots of people don't like it. This isn't surprising.
It should also be noted that Brian De Palma sucks.
ok, Mission Impossible is cool, but everything else he's done blows
Awesome poster.
Pacinos best.
I love that movie and I must have watched at least 10 times. It's an interesting storyline; Tony Montana is a very charismatic self-made character who started from nothing but ends up sabotaging himself due to his own greed. I love how everything feels like a snapshot of that particular era; the sets, the super over the top houses. Some people don't like the soundtrack but I like the synth heavy sounds.
It should also be noted that Brian De Palma sucks.
ok, Mission Impossible is cool, but everything else he's done blows
The movie is about the cocaine trade.
You reference it SPECIFICALLY in the 2nd to last sentence, and obliquely in the third (grit & excess).
It's about a guy who becomes a drug kingpin. It's not an accurate depiction of either the city, or the drug trade going on within it.
It's a neon cartoon about a coked-out Bugs Bunny who goes to seed and wants to fuck his sister. There's no love for the city, it's inhabitants, or the characters in the movie. The whole thing is sneering and contemptuous.
It's not a very good movie. Lots of people don't like it. This isn't surprising.
There's nothing witty in that comment; it's just a straight fact.
Are you suggesting that someone not liking Scarface means that all those films are off the table, as well?
I own this shirt and have worn it in public. What say you Scarface haters?
Did you miss me co-signing Bobby's post, or something?No, I'm not and I'm not even sure how you get that from my original question or why you are trying to teach me the obvious. So, do you have an answer like others in this thread or do you want keep playing this silly game?
It's a THREE HOUR LONG, badly paced, poorly acted, over-the-top cartoon that nearly everyone who watched still misunderstood somehow.
There is also zero arc for Tony. Nothing about him as a person ever changes, up until he gets his chest removed.
If it were 90min long? Maybe. But its 3 hours of the same dull shit.
Moroder's score is pretty great, though. Can't fault that. And if it hadn't existed, hip hop would never have been the same.
for a 3 hour gangster epic to have it's major positives be musical in nature (one completely unintentionally) is not a great sign of filmic quality
These are my thoughts. I'd also add that even though it's nearly 3 hours long, it feels twice as long because of the pacing being so lethargic.
What you call a cartoon, millions call style.
Did you miss me co-signing Bobby's post, or something?
People hate Scarface?
It should also be noted that Brian De Palma sucks.
ok, Mission Impossible is cool, but everything else he's done blows
How can people hate Scarface?
This movie is a masterpiece. It inspired most of GTA Vice City
The world is yours
That should tell you something about the quality of writing in the movie, when most it's plot can easily translate over to a PS2 era game.
Oh hell no, you fucked up.
My question wasn't about Scarface. It's quite obvious that you just want to mess around a little.
de niro is such a bad al capone
untouchables has aged real bad
scarface is a ton of fun though, love it
It seems like this place can't appreciate style > substance movies unless Ryan Gosling's goofy ass is in it
If you don't like the movie you have to at least recognize that it was shot quite well. De Palma always was an interesting visual director
Pretty crappy movie. The characters, story, and dialog exchange are all terrible.