Wednesday, August 24, 2011

History's Greatest MacGuffin

What makes a great film?
You’ll never hear me make any apologies for my unqualified love of this film. It’s just a fact (admit it) that when you’re in the right mood and have three-hours to kill, Brian DePalma’s completely over-the-top gangster pic feels like the greatest movie ever made. Among my perversely large DVD collection (yes, I have a problem), “Scarface” ranks in the Top 10 Most Re-watchable.

For me, the movie takes off during the chainsaw scene; when a handcuffed Tony Montana (Al Pacino) is splattered with gore as his partner is cut to pieces. He refuses to talk, even when faced with the most gruesome death imaginable. The look of defiance and fear on the actor’s face is unforgettable. Furthermore, DePalma’s crafting of the scene is masterful. The director is famous for exploitation and yet he chooses not to show the chainsaw doing its dirty work. You only hear it, which allows your mind’s eye to vividly picture what’s far worse than anything any special effect could cheat.

Best of all, everything that happens is Jimmy Carter’s fault. He’s the idiot who got duped by Castro and let Tony Montana into Miami.
Yes of course that is John Nolte.

13 comments:

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

All that, and Jimmy Carter practiced his love of tentacle porn on an innocent world.
~

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

Wow. That is astonishingly stupid. And I worry about the merit of my movie reviews...

Can they not enjoy any movie before they work out if it fits their worldview first? Sheesh.

But if we were talking about actual Hitchock-inspired genius Macguffins, I always heartily recommend to everyone in earshot "What Lies Beneath."

mikey said...

Carter gets the blame and Castro gets a pass? That's...interesting.

Bias is a funny thing. But it can be harsh taskmaster, requiring one to start with a premise and work backwards, ultimately arriving at at a red metal cabinet labeled Sears Craftsman with a neat place for their conclusion...

W/V tells me it's time to change into my lingero

tigris said...

Where there's a population of refugees there's gonna be a Tony Montana.

So... Moses?

I've never seen Scarface, but Wikipedia tells me Sosa offers to get Tony off via US DoJ corruption... in 1983. CAAAAAARTERRRRR!

Dr.KennethNoisewater said...

I can't resist...wait for it

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

saw Star Wars well over a hundred times in the theaters, and gushed over The Empire Strikes Back. (Return of the Jedi has the seeds of Lucas' insulting the intelligence of his fans and pandering to the children's toy market.)

I bet you have, universalspectator.

(I am reminded of the 2nd photo.)
~

Smut Clyde said...

"Pleasure or satisfaction derived from observing the misfortunes of another person and knowing that they were all the fault of Jimmy Carter."

I'm pretty sure that German does not have a word for this concept.

"pookette". I think I have received a W/V meant for VS.

J— said...

It is true, all marielitos are horrible people. All 120,000 of them, or however many they were.

Fun note for wingnut movie critics: The "undesirables" Fidel duped Carter into receiving included gays, because at the time in Cuba gays fell under the category of mentall ill.

A very good thing about Scarface: One can type it with one hand!

J— said...

It appears Big Hollywood has a resident linguistic anthropologist.

Pacino was great in it, and that accent, I forget the actual name for it, it's something different than the Arnaz accent, it's an actual cuban patios was difficult to master but right on.

Substance McGravitas said...

Cuban patios are the best patios. Until the police take you away for illegal grilling.

mikey said...

But honestly, the ham and mustard, pickles and mustard are all pretty easy to duplicate.

But the fucking bread...

Now that's a whole nother country...

fish said...

Fun note for wingnut movie critics: The "undesirables" Fidel duped Carter into receiving included gays, because at the time in Cuba gays fell under the category of mentall ill.

And now look at the Miami nightclub scene...

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Cuban patios are the best patios. Until the police take you away for illegal grilling.

Ain't no grilling with a caja china!