Film remains 'unscarred' after 20 years

As Tony Montana sits at his throne, face buried in a mound of cocaine, gunfire rings out into the night. His sister dead, his wife gone and his empire collapsing, Tony arms himself to the teeth, firing a grenade into the path of unsuspecting assassins as he warns, "Say hello to my little 'fren!'" At this point, if you're not cheering, you don't have any business watching movies. \nThis is cinematic history -- the pinnacle standoff in one of the greatest endings to one of the greatest gangster films ever fleshed: Scarface. Finally, Universal Studios has wised up and released a loaded two-disc DVD of the flick in honor of its 20th birthday. God bless us, everyone. \nI'm going on the assumption that there are seldom few Scarface virgins out there. If you happen to be one of the untainted, then you're in for a real treat. But be warned, this epic will not be gentle with you if it's your first time. This is a raw, hardcore, slamfest of the senses. You're gonna cheer, laugh, spit and curse before all is said and done -- your mother will be proud.\nScarface is the result of a rare collaboration of talent, a cinematic wet dream come true, if you will. You've got Brian DePalma at the helm, Oliver Stone penning the word and Al Pacino cussing in a Cuban accent. The story's compelling, the cinematography is astute, but most of all, the film's got balls -- it pulls no punches and isn't afraid of anything. In fact, this opera of violence was so intense at the time of its 1983 release that it earned an X rating three times and underwent a trial before being granted an R.\nYet DePalma handles the material quite tastefully. The famed chainsaw scene calls to mind Hitchcock's shower scene from Psycho, or Tarantino's hillbilly rape/samurai revenge scene in Pulp Fiction -- violence is suggested, but never explicitly depicted. The fact that everyone remembers Tony's story as graphically violent proves one thing: Scarface's power is in its lingering effect on one's overactive imagination. \nThe flick's ramifications can be seen everywhere. More than any other film, Scarface has had a tremendous impact on the hip hop community. There isn't an episode of "Cribs" where some rapper doesn't flaunt his copy, seemingly valuing it more than the dozen exotic imports sitting in the two-story garage. The DVD reissue has a feature by Def Jam, where everyone including P. Diddy, Snoop Dogg, the incredibly annoying Sean Paul and the none-too-subtly named Scarface talk of their love for Tony Montana and his building of an empire. \nThey respect Tony as a true gangsta, having risen from the streets to achieving the glam life. And the cinematic references abound -- Scarface is hands down one of the most quoted movies of all-time.\nBesides said filmic references, Scarface's influences trickle down to other media. Of particular note, the recent "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" (the greatest game ever, I might add) could well have been titled "Scarface: The Video Game."\nDePalma's career hosts some other powerhouses (The Untouchables, Dressed to Kill) and some real crap (Femme Fatale and Snake Eyes -- though the opening sequence is one of the best directed moments in '90s cinema). \nPacino is the reigning king of cinematic anger -- nobody gets pissed like him. Aside from being a two-time Oscar contender for his immortal portrayal of Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, he almost nabbed an Oscar for his legendary work in Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon (among others), finally winning by declaring everyone out of order in Scent of a Woman. Sadly, like DePalma, Al's been slipping as of late (S1m0ne and Gigli???).\nSmack dab in the middle of their repertoire lays Scarface -- their golden goose. The guys tried to recapture said goose in another collaboration, Carlito's Way, and while impressive, it's evident lightning will never strike twice. \nThis 170-minute opus is not for everyone but is never easily dismissed. It's the kind of film that needs to be controversial. Tony is your prototypical anti-hero on steroids. You root for him even though you know he's a bastard and must go down. All things considered, everyone (and I mean everyone, dammit) should pick up the re-release of Scarface. Whether you like it or not, it's a landmark film and one helluva ride, going 20 years strong and still coked up enough to kick anyone's ass. So whether it's your first time or your last, turn out the lights, turn up the sound and say good night to the bad guy one more time.