Tagarchief: Al Pacino

Scarface (1983)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘He loved the American dream. With a vengeance’

Directed by:
Brian De Palma

Written by:
Oliver Stone

Cast:
Al Pacino (Tony Montana), Steven Bauer (Manny Ribera), Michelle Pfeiffer (Elvira Hancock), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Gina Montana), Robert Loggia (Frank Lopez), F. Murray Abraham (Omar Suarez), Paul Shenar (Alejandro Soza), Miriam Colon (Mama Montana), Harris Yulin (Mel Bernstein), Angel Salazar (Chi Chi)

Miami, the 1980s: Bad fashion, worse music, neon-lit nightclubs, yeyo, Cubans, Colombians, chainsaws, bikini-clad women, submachine guns, swimming pools, sports cars, hot tubs, and DEA agents. Welcome to the world of Tony Montana, the world of Scarface!

Brian De Palma’s Scarface is a bold, brash remake of Howard Hawks’ classic. Scripted by Oliver Stone – who wrote it while recovering from cocaine addiction in France – the story remains largely the same as the original, but the setting shifts dramatically. Instead of Prohibition-era gangsters, we follow the ruthless rise and fall of Cuban drug kingpin Tony Montana in the seedy underworld of Miami’s cocaine boom.

The film tracks Tony’s journey from a penniless refugee to a feared drug lord. Arriving from Cuba on an immigrant boat alongside his best friend Manny (Steven Bauer), Tony starts off running small-time hustles before proving himself as a vicious enforcer. His brutal ambition propels him up the ranks of Miami’s drug empire, ultimately overthrowing his boss, Frank Lopez, and taking everything – his empire, his woman (Michelle Pfeiffer’s icy Elvira), and his lucrative Bolivian connections.

But the higher Tony climbs, the faster he spirals downward. Paranoia sets in, fueled by mountains of cocaine. His marriage crumbles. His violent possessiveness over his sister hints at some unsettling, unspoken obsession. His reckless decisions alienate his allies, and when he crosses his powerful supplier Alejandro Sosa, the consequences are deadly. The film hurtles toward its legendary, blood-soaked climax, culminating in one of cinema’s most iconic shootouts.

What makes Scarface so compelling is that Tony Montana never truly enjoys his success. Unlike typical gangster flicks that revel in the spoils of crime, Scarface portrays a hollow, joyless ascent. Tony achieves everything he ever wanted, yet the moment he reaches the top, his downfall begins. The film’s bleak tone lingers from start to finish, reinforcing the idea that whether under communism or capitalism, Tony is doomed by his own insatiable greed and self-destruction.

Should you watch it? Absolutely. If only to understand its massive influence on pop culture, especially hip-hop. It’s violent, darkly funny, and features Al Pacino burying his face in a literal mountain of cocaine. Jeppy says go watch it. Okay?

Rating:

Quote:
TONY MONTANA: “You wanna fuck with me? Okay. You wanna play rough? Okay. Say hello to my little friend!”

Trivia:
Bodycount: 42.

Fans of American Popular Culture Really Can’t Refuse This Show

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

How did I almost miss this show? It is fantastic. The Offer is about the making of The Godfather, which is still considered to be one of the greatest movies ever made. I had some knowledge about its troubled production history, but the movie still offers new insights. Especially about the involvement of the real Mafia in the production.

The limited series is based on the experiences of Albert S. Ruddy, the producer of the film. Ruddy (Miles Teller from Top Gun: Maverick) started his career as a television writer-producer and he wanted to make the transition to the more alluring (especially in those days!) big screen. He pleads for a job with Bob Evans, the brilliant head of Paramount Studios, who sees something in the passionate young man and decides to give him his shot at the title.

The mini-series then follows the typical film’s development process, which starts with the hiring of a screenplay writer (Ruddy hires the author of the book Mario Puzo and immediately breaks a golden rule in Hollywood) and a director (Coppola, who was supposed to be able to bring in the film low budget). At the same time, he gets Joe Colombo to deal with. Apart from being the boss of one of the five New York mob families, Colombo was leader of the Italian-American Civil Rights League and he thought The Godfather was a complete insult.

Then starts the casting process which is even more troubling. Coppola is in love with Al Pacino (“the shortest unknown actor in the world”), whom Bob Evens absolutely hates. And both Ruddy, Coppola and Puzo are dead set on Marlon Brando for the role of the Don, but he is known to be a major troublemaker by the studio’s.

Another storyline of The Offer revolves around Evans’ marriage with actress Ali McGraw. Due to the pressures of his work, he can’t go with her to Texas where she is to shoot The Getaway with womanizer Steve McQueen. When he loses her, the studio boss cannot bring himself to return to work, but The Godfather cannot succeed without him, as number cruncher Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) threatens to destroy all creativity in his absence.

It is a lot of fun watching Ruddy & Co deal with all these insurmountable challenges, and seeing the masterpiece that is to be The Godfather slowly emerging. The main cast members are all great. What was always gonna be impossible is to find suitable actors to play The Godfather’s cast members: Brando, Pacino, Caan, Duvall… Talking about insurmountable challenges, but they managed to at least not screw it up.

The Offer can best be compared with Mad Men: another show about the creative process mixed with business. But since this is the story about a fantastic period in American cinema, it is even more enjoyable for movie lovers such as myself. Also, seeing the dozen ways The Godfather could have gone off the rails, will make you appreciate this movie even more as the miracle that it is.

Double Bill #06: Angel Heart & The Devil’s Advocate

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

What these two movies have in common is quite a lot actually. Most importantly, they have the world’s heavyweight champions in acting – Robert De Niro and Al Pacino – playing Satan, The Dark Prince, Beelzebub, or in the case of Angel Heart Louis Cyphre (as in ‘Lucifer’). Both movies are based on novels (by William Hjortsberg and Andrew Neiderman respectively) and both involve a handsome lead (Mickey Rourke and Keanu Reeves) and equally handsome female co-star (Lisa Bonet and Charlize Theron). And in both cases, the couple falls prey to the evil machinations of the Dark One, because the man sold his soul to the devil. Both movies also involve seductive, violent and frightening sex scenes. So far what they have in common, because the movies are very different beasts. Angel Heart is a slow, dark and moody film, a psychological horror that takes place in the voodoo and jazz scene of New Orleans, and has a few shocking moments of bloody death in store. The Devil’s Advocate, which was made ten years later in 1997, is big time Hollywood entertainment with terrific production design and the corporate world of New York as its main setting. The way Satan is portrayed is quite different as well. De Niro plays him small; he’s only in a few scenes, working on collecting a debt (singer Johnny Favorite sold his soul to him to become famous and then he disappeared). Pacino, as always, is the definite lead of the film, and goes all the way in his fierce and memorable performance. Final coincidental connection; the movie’s directors – Alan Parker and Taylor Hackford – made a few iconic hits in the eighties and nineties, but both disappeared from mainstream Hollywood cinema in the zeroes. Both Angel Heart and The Devil’s Advocate are definitely amongst the finest films they made.

Recensie: Heat 2 (Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

De beste film ooit gemaakt over professionele overvallers en de politieagenten die op ze jagen is zonder twijfel Michael Mann’s Heat uit 1995. Alleen al die cast met Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer en vele andere topacteurs en actrices – en de fenomenale regie en het briljante script – maken dit tot een absolute klassieker en must-see.

Er is nu een vervolg in boekvorm – getiteld Heat 2 – en het is zowel een prequel als vervolg op het verhaal dat in de film wordt verteld. Want, zoals liefhebbers van Heat al weten (spoiler alert); er vallen nogal wat doden in de film, waaronder drie van de vier overvallers, inclusief het personage Neil McCauley gespeeld door De Niro.

McCauley had kunnen ontsnappen met zijn vriendin en een koffer vol geld, maar hij ging nog voor de wraakmoord op seriemoordenaar Waingro en dat was een valstrik van de politie. De enige overlevende overvaller is Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer), en hij is de hoofdpersoon van het vervolg-gedeelte van Heat 2 samen met Vincent Hanna (Pacino’s personage) aan de andere kant van de wet. Andere personages die in de post-Heat hoofdstukken terugkeren zijn o.a. Nate (Jon Voight), Lauren Gustafson (Natalie Portman) en Kelso (Tom Noonan).

In het prequel gedeelte keert McCauley uiteraard terug. Als jongere beroepscrimineel is hij nog een stuk roekelozer dan zijn oudere versie in de film. In 1988 pleegt hij met zijn oude crew (met naast Chris ook Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore) en Trejo (Danny Trejo)) een serie overvallen. Daarbij kruisen zij het pad met Otis Wardell, een sadistische moordenaar die met zijn crew extreem gewelddadige thuis-inbraken pleegt. Hanna jaagt op deze Wardell en daarbij schuwt hij niet om zelf buiten de wet te treden. Iets dat nogal verrassend is voor dit personage. Dat vond ik tenminste en dat maakt het boek interessant. Het neemt je dieper mee in de wereld van Heat en de levens van deze karakters van vlees en bloed.

Heat 2 is al een tijdje uit en verschijnt deze maand ook in het Nederlands. Het is, hoewel lang niet zo briljant als het originele verhaal, toch de moeite waard. Al is het alleen maar om meer tijd door te brengen met deze fantastische personages. Ook zit er duidelijk enorm veel research in naar misdaad en opsporingspraktijken. Een nadeel is dat de schrijvers meer gebeurtenissen door toeval laten plaatsvinden dan redelijkerwijs mogelijk is. In het laatste gedeelte van het boek komen alle personages door toeval bij elkaar en dat is teveel gevraagd van de welwillende lezer. Of er ook een film van komt weet ik niet. Van mij hoeft het niet; hoe ga je dit in vredesnaam casten? Het werkt denk ik beter zo als extended stories van de klassieke film.

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