Despite being unsuccessful at the box office, Scarface was one of the most discussed films of 1932 due to its subject matter and its struggle and triumph over censor boards.[106] Scarface is cited (often with Little Caesar and The Public Enemy) as the archetype of the gangster film genre, because it set the early standard for the genre which continues to appear in Hollywood.[133] However, Scarface was the last of the three big gangsters films of the early 1930s, as the outrage at the pre-Code violence caused by the three films, particularly Scarface, sparked the creation of the Production Code Administration in 1934.[134] Howard Hawks cited Scarface as one of his favorite works, and the film was a subject of pride for Howard Hughes. Hughes locked the film in his vaults a few years after release, refusing many profitable offers to distribute the film or to buy its rights. In 1979, three years after his death, Summa Corporation, which controlled his estate, sold the rights to Scarface, along with seven other films to Universal Pictures, which sparked the 1983 remake starring Al Pacino.[135] Though rare for a remake, the 1983 version was also critically acclaimed.[136]
1940 Re-release newspaper adPaul Muni's performance in Scarface as "the quintessential gangster anti-hero" contributed greatly to his rapid ascent into his acclaimed film career.[137] Paul Muni received significant accolades for his performance as Tony Camonte. Critics praised Muni for his robust and fierce performance.[37] Al Pacino stated he was greatly inspired by Paul Muni, and Muni influenced his own performance in the 1983 Scarface remake.[138] However, despite the impressive portrayal of a rising gangster, critics claim the character minimally resembled Al Capone. Unlike Camonte, Capone avoided grunt work and typically employed others to do his dirty work for him. Moreover, Muni's Scarface at the end revealed the Capone character to be a coward as he pled for mercy and tried to escape before getting shot in the street. Capone was not known for his cowardice and did not die in battle.[139]
Scarface was Ann Dvorak's best known film.[140] The film launched Raft's lengthy career as a leading man. Raft, in the film's second lead, had learned to flip a coin without looking at it, a trait of his character, and he made a strong impression in the comparatively sympathetic but colorful role. Howard Hawks told Raft to use this in the film to camouflage his lack of acting experience.[141] A reference is made in Raft's later role as gangster Spats Columbo in Some Like It Hot (1959), wherein he asks a fellow gangster (who is flipping a coin) "Where did you pick up that cheap trick?"[142]
The movie Scarface may have had an influence on actual gangster life four years after the film was released. In 1936, Jack McGurn, who was thought to be responsible for the St. Valentine's Massacre depicted in the film, was murdered by rivals in a bowling alley.[143]
Home media
The film was one of the first films released on video by MCA Videocassette in May 1980.[144] The film was released on DVD on May 22, 2007, and was released again on August 28, 2012, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Universal Studios, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Both versions of the DVD include an introduction by Turner Classic Movies host and film historian Robert Osborne and the film's alternate ending.[145][146] On video and on television, the film maintains Hawks's original ending but still contains the other alterations he was required to make during filming.[147] A completely unaltered and uncensored version of the film was not known to exist until the limited-edition set of Scarface (1983) was released on October 15, 2019.[148]
Related films
After the rights for Scarface were obtained after the death of Howard Hughes, Brian de Palma released a remake of the film in 1983 featuring Al Pacino as Scarface. The film was set in contemporary 1980s Miami in the Hispanic underworld and is known for its inclusion of graphic violence and obscene language, considered "as violent and obscene for the 1980s" as the original film was considered for 1930s cinema.[68][149] The 2003 DVD "Anniversary Edition" limited-edition box set of the 1983 film includes its 1932 counterpart. At the end of the 1983 film, a title reading "This film is dedicated to Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht" appears over the final shot.[150][151][152]
Universal announced in 2011 that the studio is developing a new version of Scarface. The studio claims the new film is neither a sequel nor a remake, but will take elements from both the 1932 and the 1983 version,[153] including the basic premise of a man who becomes a kingpin in his quest for the American Dream.[154] In 2016, Antoine Fuqua was in talks to direct the remake,[155] but left the project the following year in February, with the Coen brothers rewriting the script.[156] Universal later hired David Ayer to direct and contracted Diego Luna to star, but dismissed Ayer because his script was too violent.[157] In 2018, Fuqua was back on the project,[158] but left again in May 2020. Instead, Luca Guadagnino has signed to direct the film, with the script from Coen brothers.[159]
Scarface is often associated with other pre-code crime films released in the early 1930s such as The Doorway to Hell (1930), Little Caesar (1931) and The Public Enemy (1931).[160] According to Fran Mason of the University of Winchester, Scarface is more similar to the film The Roaring Twenties than its early 1930s gangster film contemporaries because of its excess.[161]
