Scarface: Remake

Domestic:	$45,408,703
+ Foreign:	$20,476,000

ARE YOU SERIOUS? SCARFACE IS A REMAKE? THAT'S CRAZY! Yes I know these are your thoughts, and I said the same thing when I found out that the 1983 gangster thriller Scarface, was a remake of the 1932 film Scarface.....which is an adaptation of the 1929 book....Scarface...that's alot of scarfaces. The book and the first film were loosely based of of Al Capone, whose nickname was, well, Scarface.

The first film deals with a man named Tony Clamonte (played by Paul Muni) who works for a crime lord named John Lovo. Lovo has Tony kill the crime lord of the south side of Chicago, having Lovo take control of it. Lovo tells Tony not to mess with the North side gangs, but Tony gets swept up in a rush of power and disobeys. Him and hes partner Guino start trouble with the north side, causing death and trouble where they went. Lovo sees that Tony has gotten out of control and has eyes for his position and his woman. Tony and his own crew successfully takes over the north side and then successfully kills Lovo after Lovo tried to have Tony killed by a car bomb. Tony discovers that his sister Francesca has married Guino. In a fit of over protective rage, Tony kills Guino. As Tony and an upset Francesca return to Tony's mansion, they are ambushed bu cops. Francesca tries to help his sister but is killed. Tony tries to flee, but is then killed also.

The plot for the Scarface remake keeps the core plot, but is heavily beefed up with more story and modernized for the 80's culture. Tony Montana (Al Pacino) and his friend Manny are Cuban refugees. Being sent to a refugee camp, they encounter a rich drug lord named Frank Lopez who offers them green cards in exchange for doing an assassination job. Completing the job, they take a cocaine buying job from Omar Suarez, who is a worker of Franks. After the deal goes bad, Tony suspects that the deal was a setup by Omar. After wards, both Manny and Tony start to work for Frank. On a Bolivian job, Tony discovers from their cocaine kingpin Alejandro Sosa, that Omar is a cop Sosa's men hang Omar from a helicopter. Tony vouches for Frank and Sosa warns Tony never to betray him. Frank was not pleased about Omar and with Tony because of the secret transactions he was doing. Their partnership ends. Tony then begins his own operations and tries to take Frank's woman away from him. Tony is nearly killed by gunmen at a club but escapes. Tony and Manny visit Frank and kill him after Frank admits to calling the hit. Tony and Manny take over Frank's empire and wealth and Tony marries Frank's woman. Tony and his wife become addicted to crack and his operations begin to fail. The police raid Tony's house and jails him, but he makes bail. Sosa reaches an agreement with Tony, that Sosa would keep Tony out of Jail if Tony assassinated a Journalist set to expose Sosa in NYC. Tony and one of Sosa's men set a car bomb for the journalist and waited for him to leave. The journalist and his family get into the car and Tony has second doubts about killing innocent people. Before Sosa's man can detonate the bomb, Tony kills him and Sosa warned Tony again about betraying him.
Tony returns to Florida to learn that his sister Maria has married Manny. Tony Kills Manny in a blind rage because he is very protective of his sister. Later at Tony's mansion, Sosa's men crash in to kill Manny. Maria tries to help but is killed. High from Cocaine, Tony makes a last iconic stand to stay alive and kill everyone, but is killed.

As you can see, There are core similarities such as this Tony character working for a rich scumbag as a hit man and then some. Tony falls in love with the scumbag's woman and starts to create a name for himself. Tony and his friend succeed in killing the boss they worked for after the boss, in a jealous fit, tries to kill them first. They become wealthy and powerful. Tony's friend marries his sister and Tony Kills him. Then Tony and his sister are killed by an opposing force.

The Pacino remake offers a more updated and brutal story than the first film for obvious cultural reasons. There is more of a racial variety than the remake and due to that, a smart location change. The Tony of the remake seems more arrogant and prideful than the first Tony, and it shows in the ending. The ending of Scarface is historic, with Tony taking his final stand, unlike the first film where that Tony flees.
Original Ending


Remake Ending


The remake is clearly not for the faint of heart and the original has it's place in time. You can look at both films and take appreciation for the base plot. But if you need that rush, that thrill, that final scene where Tony refers to his "Little Friend" before blowing up half a room, than the remake is just for you!