Scarface Movie Analysis

Cristal Cruz Mest 60 11/26/15 Film title and year of release: Scarface 1983 1. What are the main themes of the film? What are the central ideas or the message you think you are left with after watching? A theme is not the plot; it has more to do with figuring out what the main point of the film is. For example, do you think there is a moral lesson? The main theme of the film is that money doesn’t bring happiness. The protagonist did anything or killed anybody to obtain money, but he was very unhappy throughout the movie. He started doing cocaine because it numbs the pain of his reality even with a huge mansion, and a tiger in his backyard he still was unhappy. 2. Describe a main character. What are his/her defining personality traits? How does the character change over the course of the film? The protagonist, Tony Montana, is a driven, arrogant, flamboyant, and impulsive character. He doesn’t change, instead his characteristics get stronger with the drugs. His arrogance and impulse is shown when he kills his best friend because his best friend was dating his sister when he told him not to. The character is constant throughout the movie with his beliefs and traits. The only moment where there was a bit of change is when he refused to blow up a car because there were children in the vehicle. 3. Describe a formal element of the film that stuck out to you. What was this element, why did it stand out, and why do you think this element was used? The formal element that stuck out in Scarface is the background music. The movie has music under the voices of the actors. In specifically the scene where Tony and Omar were negotiating for their boss. The music in the background suggested that something negative was going to happen then Omar dies. Anytime something important is being said the music lets the audience know. 4. What kind of mood or emotion was created when you were watching the film? How did the film make you feel? Why? How does this relate to the genre of the film? (Note the genre in your answer.) The film made me excited. The whole film has the audience excited more. The protagonist attitude makes for the audience curiosity on what will happen in the next scene. Films is in the drama and crime genre, and being able to keep the audience excited made this movie a classic. Drama films are known for their dramatic climaxes, and this film doesn’t disappoint. 5. Look closely at one area of identity that is usually discussed when doing a cultural studies analysis: race, class, gender/sexuality, age. How is one of these social roles addressed and/or represented in the film? The films representation of class is a major part of the film. The protagonist comes from being very poor to finding out that in order to be respected money was necessary. The point where he starts getting money the protagonist stop …show more content…
Did reading the review change your mind about anything? Reviews are very vital to whether a movie is worth watching, but the reviews aren’t always whether a person would enjoy the movie. The many times I have seen the movie Scarface I have always maintained my opinion about the movie being great. This is the first time I have read a review for Scarface, and it surprises me. There’s a few interesting parts from the review like, “Pacino, who has turned in his share of powerful and forceful portrayals over the years, is so over-the-top as Tony that the character turns into a live-action cartoon character” (Berardinelli). The acting of Pacino made the movie exciting to me, and I didn’t see him as a cartoon character, so the comment was surprising. In addition, “Three prominent Cubans are played by Italian Americans, and all of them are awful. In addition to Pacino, there are Robert Loggia and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (making her feature debut). It's hard to say whether Loggia and Mastrantonio are simply bad or whether they are undone by their accents” (Berardinelli). I didn’t realize the over the top accents until reading this review, and I would have to agree because this time