Scarface Biography

The 1983 movie Scarface starred Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a ruthless Cuban immigrant killing his way to the top of Miami’s cocaine-crazy underworld. (The film was loosely inspired by the 1932 film Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, which starred Paul Muni as blood-crazy gangster Tony Camonte. That film, in turn, was loosely inspired by the life of real-life mobster Al Capone, who was nicknamed Scarface.) The 1983 film, directed by Brian DePalma and written by Oliver Stone, was a modest hit when first released. However, it gained cult status in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to its popularity with hip-hop stars and other young movie fans. This second generation of fans seemed captivated by the movie’s rags-to-riches theme, along with Al Pacino’s over-the-top performance and the film’s absurd levels of violence and tough talk. The film was re-released with much fanfare in 2003.