The OTHER Scarface

Last Monday, The Manchester Odeon showed Scarface (1983) as their Flashbacks film.

I missed it due to the Metrolink shutting off the road I was going to park on. Oh well.

Scarface IS a classic, but what very few people realise is that this film is a remake of a 1932 film of the same name, directed by Howard Hawks and starring Paul Muni in the title role. Take a look.

The plot is more or less identical, only Tony is Italian, not Cuban, and he's selling guns, not drugs. The film is also more concise, lasting only 93 mins as opposed to Brian DePalma's sprawling 170 minute affair. Because there's less drawing-out of the action and plot, the pacing is much tighter in the original- Tony rockets to the top of his empire and falls with spectacular effect. His corrupt character and his twisted morals shine through with superior clarity- you really feel that this man is a walking disaster, ruining lives with every deal he makes. There's no need for details of the business side of his empire, which DePalma insisted on nose-diving into for the remake. That leaves more screen time for effective character study, and when the guns DO start blazing, and the plot DOES start to twist, the impact is profound.

Halliwell's Film Guide gave it full marks in their review- something that a remarkably small number of films have attained. Personally I like both versions, but I felt that a lot of the Italian accents in the original were a bit hammy. The original, however, still pips it. Would The Odeon dare give it a whirl, I wonder? Would you see it on the big screen? I know I would.