Mặt Sẹo

A friend of mine was so incensed when he told me that the Al Pacino film Scarface was contemplating to be remade. 'Why do they want to spoil the classics?'

I told him that the the 1983 version that he loves so much was a remake!

Howard Hawks 1932 original is a pre Hays code version based on mobsters in Chicago at the time. Tony 'Scarface' Camonte (Paul Muni) is a bodyguard for a bootlegger Big Louis Costillo who he kills. The ambitious Tony wants a piece of the action, a step up the ladder and joins up with another mobster, Johnny Lovo who arranged the hit and got Tony out of police custody.

This is the beginning of the gang wars in Chicago as Lovo expands his operation, Tony who is more aggressive in taking out his rivals is aided by his coin flipping sidekick Guino Rinaldo (George Raft.)

Tony is attracted by Lovo's dame Poppy (Karen Morley) and plans to one day bump off Lovo. After all Tony thinks the world is his and there for the taking. However he also has an almost incestous obsession with his sister, the floozy Cesca who herself is attracted to Guino.

This is a violent gangster film, with some grisly dark humour. There is a tabloid feel to this picture. It starts of with some moralising that the government is doing nothing to stop the gang warfare, there is talk at one point of deporting these thugs, they are not even American citizens.

I was rather taken aback with how strong the violent action scenes would be for the audience of the time. Tony loves firing that machine gun. The film rattles along at quite a pace and yet also feels strangely offbeat.

It is noticeable how much of the fundamental story is later used by Brian De Palma for his updated version.