RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Scarface
Scarface

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Scarface (1983)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
88 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:49

Fresh:43

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.4/10

Rated: 18

Runtime: 2 hrs 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:23-08-2009

Synopsis: Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee's rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release; it's been referenced in... Brian De Palma's blood-and-sun-drenched saga of a Cuban deportee's rise to the top of Miami's cocaine business has become something of a popular classic since its release; it's been referenced in rap songs and subsequent gangster movies and quoted the world over. Despite this lovefest with the dialogue, the film's brutal violence and lack of positive characters still make it controversial and disliked by certain critics. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire but whose eventual paranoia and incestuous desire for his kid sister (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) prove his undoing. Michelle Pfeiffer plays Tony's neglected coke-addicted trophy wife, and Steven Bauer is his concerned friend. F. Murray Abraham, Robert Loggia, and Paul Shenar are some of Tony's sleazy business partners and potential killers. Oliver Stone wrote the expletive-packed screenplay, based on Howard Hawks's 1932 version--which was ostensibly about Al Capone and starred Paul Muni and George Raft. The synth-heavy Giorgio Moroder score expertly evokes the drug-fueled decadence of 1980s Miami, and De Palma provides several of his elaborate set pieces, including a horrific showstopper in a motel room with a chain saw. [More]

Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

Starring: Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia

Director: Brian De Palma

Director: Brian De Palma
Screenwriter: Oliver Stone
Producer: Martin Bregman

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Scarface

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Pacino's bravura performance dominates, making no concessions to our sensibilities. And the final shootout is a tour de force of editing.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment 1 Comment
08/24/09
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Still a must-see for Pacino's potent and influential performance.

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/09
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Scarface has become a touchstone of pop culture, one of the half dozen or so most frequently referenced films of our era.

Full Review Source: Times [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/09
Toby Young
Toby Young
Times [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This almost Jacobean tale of drug gangsters in 1980s Miami is rather too long for the points it makes, but is nevertheless riveting and still, after 26 years, remarkably fresh.

Full Review Source: Sunday Times (UK) | comment Comment
08/24/09
Peter Whittle
Peter Whittle
Sunday Times (UK)

De Palma's film is now back on the big screen and looking better than ever.

Full Review Source: Observer [UK] | comment Comment
08/24/09
Philip French
Philip French
Observer [UK]

Pacino's drug-crazed, bloodshot performance gives this gangster movie a terrifying edge.

Full Review Source: Sky Movies | comment Comment
08/24/09
Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel
Sky Movies

[Pacino's] grandstanding performance is still hard to resist and symbolises the baroque excess of this shockingly violent gangster classic.

Full Review Source: Daily Express | comment Comment
08/24/09
Allan Hunter
Allan Hunter
Daily Express

As overrated as it is overlong.

Full Review Source: Total Film | comment Comment
08/21/09
Total Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

To call the whole thing visceral is a palpable understatement.

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
08/21/09
Derek Malcolm
Derek Malcolm
This is London

An unashamed study of selfish, sadistic criminality, and all the better for it.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Tom Huddleston
Tom Huddleston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is very much a film of the 80s in its portrayal not of moral decline (there is little declining left to do) but of unstoppable ego-centrism. With guns.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Nick Hilditch
Nick Hilditch
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Perfomances are excellent, and despite its moralistic conclusion, the film has since become de rigueur viewing for crack barons, who know a good shoot-em-up when they see one.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment 2 Comments
04/30/09
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews

Pacino, of course, goes way over the top and through the floor on the other side.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
08/13/07
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Scarface could be the male moviegoer's answer to Mommie Dearest ... when it's not grotesquely melodramatic, it somehow manages to be incredibly dull.

Full Review Source: DVD Review | comment 12 Comments
07/10/07
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
05/31/07
J.B. Mitchell
J.B. Mitchell
Orlando Weekly

Painted in exuberant, extravagant swaths of red, Brian De Palma's foolhardy epic is a thing of delirious grandeur

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
08/28/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Ugly and overrated

comment 6 Comments
10/21/05
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

What's left to say?

comment Comment
08/15/05
Bill Clark
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Scarface

March 21, 2006: "Godfather" Video Game Debuts Today
Variety was kind enough to remind me that the new "Godfather" video game hits the shelves today, which is good news because I'm kind of a sucker for (GOOD) movie-based... More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
14% 14% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
14
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
0
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
117
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
40
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • First Iron Man 2 Poster Released Source: Yahoo! Movies
80
  • Ryan Reynolds Talks Green Lantern Source: MTV
16
  • Paul Greengrass Quits Fourth Bourne Source: The Playlist
36
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
99
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
91
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
36
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
30
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
22
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
18
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Scarface at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.