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Scarface (1983) DVD Review
Scarface (1983) DVD Credits:
Scarface (1983) Directed by:
Brian De Palma, David Dreyfuss
Scarface (1983) Written by:
Oliver Stone
Scarface (1983) Cast:
Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Miriam Colon, F Abraham, Paul Shenar, Harris Yulin, Angel Salazar
Scarface (1983) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Scarface (1983) DVD Release Date:
2nd October 2006
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Scarface (1983) Synopsis:

After years of diplomatic silence between the United States and Cuba, Castro opens the port of Mariel Harbor, Cuba, to thousands emmigrating to the United States in search of the American dream. Shrewdly, Castro also unlocks the overpacked prisons, allowing hordes of criminals to join the refugees. Tony Montana, a small time hood, is one of them. In Florida, Montana connects with gangster Frank Lopez, and guns his way through the sun washed streets of Miami where he finds power, wealth and passion. He kills Lopez and marries his mistress, Elvira. Montana, better known as "Scarface," soon becomes the leader of a bloody cocaine-smuggling empire but at a terrible cost to his sister, Gina and his loyal friend, Manny. However, like that of others before him, Montana's reign is brief and a violent end is guaranteed as rival gangster compete to become the next drug lord.

Scarface (1983) DVD Review:

The first and most obvious question is what the difference is between the Platinum Edition and the Two-Disc Anniversary Edition which came out just a couple years back. The Platinum Edition claims an “All-new enhanced Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 audio and digitally remastered picture,” but the anniversary edition was also digitally remastered. I suppose the picture quality is slightly better, but it is difficult to say. The audio does seem noticeably different. There is also an assortment of new features to choose from. Whether or not this is the package you want to buy for your collection depends on how much you love Scarface. Some people might be satisfied with the anniversary edition, but some fans might stress if they don’t get every new feature, and there are a few fun ones on this new set.

Scarface is an amazing phenomenon, especially considering the fact that it has returned in popularity in each generation since it was released. There are even new video games based on this film from the early eighties, with a featurette on the game included on disc two. The story of Tony Montana made legendary by Al Pacino is a rags to riches story about a gangster with a specific moral code. It made a hero out of a drug dealer and brought Pacino to a whole new level of celebrity.

The World of Tony Montana is a new featurette with a number of law enforcement agents giving their opinion about the situations in Scarface. It’s an interesting take, looking at the realism behind the film. Another great new feature is a Scarface Scorecard which allows you to keep track of how many times the “F” word is said and how many bullets are fired. This could be a very dangerous set-up for a wicked drinking game. The featurette about the video game, which starts as Tony shoots his way out of the final scene and survives to continue the legacy, has a number of great interviews with actors connected giving their opinion about the film and the video game.

The other features were included on the anniversary edition, including featurettes The Rebirth, The Creating and The Acting, as well as a montage of edited scenes for television and deleted scenes. The Rebirth has Brian De Palma, Al Pacino and writer Oliver Stone examining the history of Scarface from the original 1932 film to the shooting script of the 1983 version. The Creating is about the production of the film including the problems they had during the shoot. The Acting is mostly just interviews with the actors as they talk about their characters.

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Scarface (1983) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

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