'Scarface'

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the original and the remake of the film 'Scarface' and compares the two. According to the paper, a change in the gangster genre can be seen when comparing the two versions. The paper further discusses how while attitudes toward crime changed in some degree between these two films, both films are based on the primary view that the criminal will ultimately fail, a victim of his own evil actions, leading to a well-deserved death.

From the Paper:

"The first version of Scarface was actually produced in 1930 and not released for two years while the filmmakers battled "with industry censors over its sensationalism and glorification of the gangster menace" (Dirks para. 1). When the film was released, it had as its subtitle "The Shame of a Nation," a way of telling the public that the production company disapproved of the main character and his style of life. Such disclaimers were a response to public concerns raised after the release of films like Little Caesar (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931), films cited both for glorifying criminals and for excessive violence (though given the way the gangsters in each film were killed, it is difficult to see the film as a whole glorifying them or their crimes). "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Elsaesser, Thomas. "Tales of Sound and Fury: Observations on the Family Melodrama." In In Movies and Methods Volume II, Bill Nochils (ed.), 165-189. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.
• De Palma, Brian. Scarface. Universal Pictures, 1983.
• Dirks, Tim. "Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)." 2006. May 4, 2006. http://www.filmsite.org/scar.html.
• Hawks, Howard. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation. United Artists, 1932.
• Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981.

More papers on 'Scarface':

• Film Review # 64996 : "Scarface"
• Comparison Essay # 111197 : "Crime and Violence in Film"
• Comparison Essay # 10644 : "Gangster Films"

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