Brian De Palma’s Scarface might be a pretty divisive film (I’m personally a fan), but it’s experienced something over the last few decades its creators didn’t envision. The film has become a cult icon for the rap community, with clothes, jewelry, lyrics and hell, there’s even a rapper straight up called “Scarface.”
The fact that a Cuban character played by an Italian American actor would be so embraced by that community is a bit strange, and one would wonder what Al Pacino thinks of the subculture it’s found. He shares his thoughts at a recent part for the Blu-ray release of the film.
“The hip-hop people and the rappers got together and they made a video and they talked about the movie. I don’t think anybody’s ever talked about it as articulately and clearly. I understood it better having heard them talk about it. I mean, they really get it and they understand it, and that’s a great thing. They’ve been very supportive all these years. I think they’ve helped us tremendously.”
So what IS the message of the film, according to these rappers and Pacino?
“When I saw it for the first time — and I don’t mean mine, I mean Paul Muni’s from [the] 1930s — I had that feeling about it too,” he said. “Anything when the hero is just reaching for something.”
“Man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for? That’s a great expression, and I think that’s Tony Montana,” Pacino poetically explained. “Reaching for something he can’t get but he keeps going. There is an element of hope in it, believe it or not.”
I get the whole “American dream” aspect, and becoming something from nothing through “hard work” (read: extreme violence), but Tony Montana still strikes me as a strange role model, especially given the catastrophic end to his tale. Maybe man’s reach shouldn’t exceed his grasp after all.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed