Armitage Trail's original novel "Scarface" was first published in 1930, and traces the rise and fall of the vicious gangster Tony "Scarface" Guarino, who took over the Chicago bootlegging underground during Prohibition. Clearly, Tony Guarino is an analog to Al Capone, and many true crime fans find it tantalizingly suspicious that Armitage Trail (real name: Maurice R. Coons) died of a heart attack at age 28, only six months after the publication of "Scarface." Coons, after all, had to hobnob with real gangsters in order to get ideas for his novel, and he would have been known in certain corners of the underground.
In 1932, director Howard Hawks made the first film version of "Scarface," starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. Hawks' film was well-received, with some critics citing its naturalness and lack of melodrama. Indeed, it was so natural and treated crime with such frankness that some markets refused to show it.
In 1932, director Howard Hawks made the first film version of "Scarface," starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. Hawks' film was well-received, with some critics citing its naturalness and lack of melodrama. Indeed, it was so natural and treated crime with such frankness that some markets refused to show it.
- 1/11/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Gangster icons aren’t always determined by top billing. Sometimes it’s decided by a flip of a coin. Director Howard Hawks’ 1932 gangster classic Scarface recently celebrated its 90th anniversary. Producer Howard Hughes was so committed to presenting a realistic depiction of mob violence that the film pushed the Motion Picture Production Code to its limit. Paul Muni puts in a gritty, animalistic performance in the title role of Antonio “Tony” Carmonte, modeled after Al Capone, but the actor with the gangland bona fides was the co-star, George Raft.
Hired for his dark and menacing presence, Raft doesn’t have many lines in Scarface. To give the inexperienced actor something to do, Hawks directed him to flip a nickel. Raft practiced the toss to perfection, setting the film up for one of the most memorable mob movie moments: a coin rolling across a floor to a dead stop.
Raft would...
Hired for his dark and menacing presence, Raft doesn’t have many lines in Scarface. To give the inexperienced actor something to do, Hawks directed him to flip a nickel. Raft practiced the toss to perfection, setting the film up for one of the most memorable mob movie moments: a coin rolling across a floor to a dead stop.
Raft would...
- 5/8/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Still the fiercest and most cinematic of the first wave of gangster classics, Howards Hughes and Hawks’s pre-Code rule-breaker was the one that brought down the ban on ‘glamorous’ gangster movies. In this case classic hardly means dated: the cars and clothes are vintage but the sex and violence are sizzling hot. Paul Muni is the primitive killer who falls in love with submachine guns and George Raft is his loyal trigger man. Karen Morley and especially Ann Dvorak are indeed the hottest pre-Code seducers in film. Plus, Boris Karloff contributes a mobster snarl as a lightly-disguised Bugs Moran. It’s a bullet-ridden city, that’s for sure, and the filmmakers frequently use expressionist effects: like X Marks The Spot!
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
Scarface
Blu-ray
Viavision [Imprint] 37
1932 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 93 min. 33 sec. + 95 min. 34 sec. / Scarface, Shame of a Nation / Street Date April 28, 2021 / Available from / 34.95 (au)
Starring: Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak, Karen Morley,...
- 6/5/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
After a streak of projects with A Bigger Splash, Call Me by Your Name, and Suspiria in the back half of the last decade, director Luca Guadagnino has taken his time to decide what to helm next. Most recently he was prepping a Bob Dylan adaptation with Blood on the Tracks, but with his former collaborator Timothée Chalamet getting his own Dylan biopic, we haven’t heard any updates. Now, it looks like he’s finally set his sights on a new film–and it’s certainly an expected choice.
Variety reports he’s getting back into the I.P. reimagining game and will direct the long-gestating reboot of Scarface for Universal. Scripted by none other than Joel and Ethan Coen, who expanded on earlier drafts by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Jonathan Herman and Paul Attanasio, this modern update will be set in Los Angeles following a Mexican immigrant.
Way back in...
Variety reports he’s getting back into the I.P. reimagining game and will direct the long-gestating reboot of Scarface for Universal. Scripted by none other than Joel and Ethan Coen, who expanded on earlier drafts by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, Jonathan Herman and Paul Attanasio, this modern update will be set in Los Angeles following a Mexican immigrant.
Way back in...
- 5/14/2020
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Brian De Palma’s 1983 saga of hoodlum Tony Montana is an exceptional remake that’s become a classic almost by default — it’s too strikingly original to ignore. De Palma did the Latin male stereotype no favors, while bringing attention to the outrageous drug trafficking aided by law enforcement and criminal banks in a shameful decade of excess. Al Pacino added a page to his catalog of great performances, and the careers of Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio were duly launched. De Palma gives this one ‘classical’ direction: he skips his former film school cinema games and homages to Hitch the Master.
Scarface
“The World is Yours” Limited Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
1983 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 170 min. / Street Date October 15, 2019 / 57.22
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Pepe Serna, Victor Campos,...
Scarface
“The World is Yours” Limited Edition
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
1983 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 170 min. / Street Date October 15, 2019 / 57.22
Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Pepe Serna, Victor Campos,...
- 10/26/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Can you imagine a Scarface remake from the Coen brothers? It's not like they haven't done a remake before -- see their takes on The Ladykillers and True Grit. And it is like they're masters of crime films, both serious and comedic, from their debut with Blood Simple through their Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men, not including movies they've only scripted. Well, we are actually going to get a smidgen of what a Scarface made by Joel and Ethan would be like, as that's another project they've co-written. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo recently polished the script for the latest cinematic incarnation of the gangster story, originally a novel by Armitage Trail, loosely based on the...
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- 2/11/2017
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
The word “remake” is certainly tarnished in the eyes of many modern film fans. Most of us tend to think very highly of our own story sensibilities, but let’s face it, brand recognition is huge in the industry. As much as we’d love to believe we’d choose original content over remakes, sequels, or reboots, the box office receipts prove otherewise.
Luckily for us, not all remakes have to be utter garbage. I’m talking about the Scarface films. Many don’t realize this, but the Brian De Palma film that starred Al Pacino was actually a remake of a 1932 film of the same name. That film was directed by Howard Hawks and was, itself, based on the Armitage Trail novel of the same name, which was written in 1929. That movie in particular was based in Chicago, and the film we all grew up loving ultimately shared little...
Luckily for us, not all remakes have to be utter garbage. I’m talking about the Scarface films. Many don’t realize this, but the Brian De Palma film that starred Al Pacino was actually a remake of a 1932 film of the same name. That film was directed by Howard Hawks and was, itself, based on the Armitage Trail novel of the same name, which was written in 1929. That movie in particular was based in Chicago, and the film we all grew up loving ultimately shared little...
- 9/28/2016
- by Joseph Medina
- LRMonline.com
Antoine Fuqua's upcoming remake of the classic western film The Magnificent Seven is less than a month away from release, but the director's already looking at new prospects. According to Deadline, Fuqua is currently considering taking the helm for a remake of the classic Scarface.
I know, it's I'm sure you just rolled your eyes at the very idea. "Enough with remakes already," right? "Al Pacino already nailed the role, so no one else can even try."
I hear you, I hear you. But we can't forget that the 1983 Brian DePalma-directed flick itself was a remake of a 1932 film of the same name (which itself was based on the source material from the novel of the same name by Armitage Trail). Remakes will always be a thing, and all we can do is hope that the filmmakers create the best product possible.
Director Antoine Fuqua.
That being said,...
I know, it's I'm sure you just rolled your eyes at the very idea. "Enough with remakes already," right? "Al Pacino already nailed the role, so no one else can even try."
I hear you, I hear you. But we can't forget that the 1983 Brian DePalma-directed flick itself was a remake of a 1932 film of the same name (which itself was based on the source material from the novel of the same name by Armitage Trail). Remakes will always be a thing, and all we can do is hope that the filmmakers create the best product possible.
Director Antoine Fuqua.
That being said,...
- 8/10/2016
- by Joseph Medina
- LRMonline.com
Universal Pictures has set Chilean director Pablo Larrain ( No ) to helm its upcoming reboot of Scarface , TheWrap reports. Originally directed for the screen by Howard Hawks in 1932, the story of a gangster's rise to power was based on the 1929 Armitage Trail novel of the same name. In 1983, Brian De Palma offered a modernized update of the story with Al Pacino in the lead, which is the version best known today. Now, producers Martin Bregma and Marc Shmuger (the former of which produced De Palma's version) are moving forward with a third big screen take, which will follow a Mexican lead in present-day Los Angeles. The character, the outlet reports, will keep the first name of Tony from the De Palma version, but will have a different last name. Donnie Brasco scribe Paul...
- 3/24/2014
- Comingsoon.net
"Scarface" co-star Steven Bauer recalled a decade ago that, during the 1983 premiere for the over-the-top epic of the rise and fall of a violent, foul-mouthed, cocaine kingpin, Martin Scorsese turned to him and said, "You guys are great -- but be prepared, because they're going to hate it in Hollywood" Bauer said he asked why, and that Scorsese replied, "Because it's about them."
Thirty years after the release of "Scarface" (on December 9, 1983), Brian De Palma's glitzy, coke-fueled tale of Cuban immigrant druglord Tony Montana now seems like a landmark of '80s cinema. It provided major early career breaks for a number of stars, from Michelle Pfeiffer to Bauer to F. Murray Abraham, as well as for screenwriter Oliver Stone. Along with fellow gangster Michael Corleone of the "Godfather" trilogy, Tony Montana is the role Al Pacino is most likely to be remembered for. And of course, the movie...
Thirty years after the release of "Scarface" (on December 9, 1983), Brian De Palma's glitzy, coke-fueled tale of Cuban immigrant druglord Tony Montana now seems like a landmark of '80s cinema. It provided major early career breaks for a number of stars, from Michelle Pfeiffer to Bauer to F. Murray Abraham, as well as for screenwriter Oliver Stone. Along with fellow gangster Michael Corleone of the "Godfather" trilogy, Tony Montana is the role Al Pacino is most likely to be remembered for. And of course, the movie...
- 12/9/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Brian De Palma's Scarface is one of the most iconic gangsters ever set to film. So, even though that feature is a remake of Howard Hawks's 1932 adaptation of Armitage Trail's novel of the same name, many movie fans have been up in arms about Universal's plans to create another Scarface remake. Still, the project was off to a good start with screenwriter David Ayer, whose most recent effort End of Watch garnered rave reviews, signed on. Then, back in October Donnie Brasco adapter Paul Attanasio was brought in to punch up the script, and with that news item came some insight into Universal's new take on Tony. At the time, it was revealed that the rise and fall tale of a gangster gone mad would be transplanted into modern-day America. And while Tony would still be an immigrant, Universal was keeping...
- 12/5/2012
- cinemablend.com
Scarface's contemporary remake is to have its script rewritten at the order of Universal Pictures. The studio has brought in Quiz Show writer Paul Attanasio to redraft the screenplay for the gangster project, according to Deadline. Training Day scribe David Ayer provided the original script for the movie, which is expected to borrow from both previous cinematic adaptations of Armitage Trail's 1929 novel. (more)...
- 10/17/2012
- by By Mark Langshaw
- Digital Spy
It was announced last year that Universal Pictures was developing a contemporary remake of Scarface and shortly thereafter, Training Day David Ayer was brought aboard to provide a screenplay. Today, Deadline reports that the project is still moving forward and that Quiz Show writer Paul Attanasio has signed on to rewrite. Originally directed for the screen by Howard Hawks in 1932, the story of a gangster's rise to power was based on the 1929 Armitage Trail novel of the same name. In 1983, Brian De Palma offered a modernized update of the story with Al Pacino in the lead, which is the version best known today. Producers Martin Bregma and Marc Shmuger (the former of which produced De Palma's version) are working on the new version which is expected to borrow elements from...
- 10/17/2012
- Comingsoon.net
The Scarface remake will be drafted by David Ayer. The Training Day writer is working on the screenplay, which will update the original 1929 novel by Armitage Trail into a contemporary setting. "This is a fantasy for me, I can still remember when I saw the film at 13 and it blew my mind," Ayer told Deadline. "I sought it out; I went after it hard. I see it as the story of the American dream, with a character whose moral compass points in a different direction. That puts it right in my wheelhouse. "I studied both the original Ben Hecht-Howard Hawks movie and the DePalma-Pacino version and found some universal themes. I'm still under the hood figuring out the wiring that will translate, but both films had (more)...
- 11/30/2011
- by By Hugh Armitage
- Digital Spy
Word broke in September that a new version of Scarface is being developed for theaters. Today, Deadline has the update that David Ayer will tackle the new film's screenplay. Originally directed for the screen by Howard Hawks in 1932, the story of a gangster's rise to power was based on the 1929 Armitage Trail novel of the same name. In 1983, Brian De Palma offered a modernized update of the story with Al Pacino in the lead, which is the version best known today. Now producers Martin Bregma and Marc Shmuger (the former of which produced De Palma's version) have hired Ayer to again update the story to present day. The new version will likely steer away from any specific remake elements outside of the basic storyline, though Ayer tells the site that he's been studying both...
- 11/29/2011
- Comingsoon.net
A new version of Scarface is on the way, Deadline reports. Originally directed for the screen by Howard Hawks in 1932, the story of a gangster's rise to power was based on the 1929 Armitage Trail novel of the same name. In 1983, Brian De Palma offered a modernized update of the story with Al Pacino in the lead, which is the version best known today. Now, producers Martin Bregma and Marc Shmuger (the former of which produced De Palma's version) are looking for a writer to again update the story to present day with the hint that the new version will steer away from any specific remake elements outside of the basic storyline and the title.
- 9/21/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Growing up in the '80s, Scarface was always one of those films I watched when I was younger because of the violence and Al Pacino's over-the-top, yet mesmerizing, portrayal of the title character and my enjoyment of it continues to this day. I notice a bit more than I did then, but the point of emphasis remains.
Of course, those were the days of VHS and I remember back in 2003 when Universal finally reissued Scarface on DVD for its 20th anniversary as eBay had been swarmed with bootlegged copies for years selling anywhere from $50-100. I know because I almost bought a copy on several occasions.
Eight years later and not only do fans of this '80s gangster classic no longer have to spend upwards of $100 on a cheap DVD bootleg, but you can spend $35 on a pristine high-definition Blu-ray edition that also includes the DVD edition of...
Of course, those were the days of VHS and I remember back in 2003 when Universal finally reissued Scarface on DVD for its 20th anniversary as eBay had been swarmed with bootlegged copies for years selling anywhere from $50-100. I know because I almost bought a copy on several occasions.
Eight years later and not only do fans of this '80s gangster classic no longer have to spend upwards of $100 on a cheap DVD bootleg, but you can spend $35 on a pristine high-definition Blu-ray edition that also includes the DVD edition of...
- 9/7/2011
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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