Scarface
<PERSON> operatic epic motion picture turned 40 this weekend. "Scarface" along with <PERSON> "Christine" opened on December 9th (what a weekend!). Since it's one of my favorite films of all time and having just watched <PERSON>, in another one of my all-time favorites, "The Abyss", not to mention a rainy gloomy day in NYC, it was the perfect time to revisit. I watched it with my 80-year old mother, who is also a fan. She introduced it to me in the first place. Her love for <PERSON> overshadows all the obscenities, drug use, and ultra violence, that she might otherwise protest about.
Before I close, I must mention <PERSON>. What an absolute "lady tiger"! This was the palate cleanser she needed after the badly received "Grease 2". Both her banter and vicious back and forth with <PERSON> make for some of the most entertaining scenes.
Then there's the filmmaking. 217
OMG! <PERSON> goes all out, which is par for the course, but here he has three hours to show off. <PERSON> widescreen cinematography is gorgeous. Then there's the legendary "father of disco" <PERSON>, who's the perfect choice for a film that's both about excess and one of the most excessive films, in the best possible way. ever made.
*If you haven't seen it you might want to avoid reading the rest. Though it's pretty vague and I don't consider it really spoilery.
The rise and fall of <PERSON> is one of the great human tragedies. There are three major factors the coalesce to lead to <PERSON>'s epic downfall.
As morally bankrupt as <PERSON> is, he draws the line at killing a woman and two kids. This is a big no-no for the cartels he works for. His fall begins in earnest.
His possessiveness of his sister <PERSON> leads to perhaps his most tragic loss.
Last but not least his cocaine use, plunges him into the abyss.
Oh wait there's the most important one at all. The false idolization of the American dream. 295