Al Pacino relives ‘Scarface’ at reunion
spray-painted donkey whose documents are Old Scarface friends said hello again at a 35th anniversary screening that reunited stars Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer and Steven Bauer and filmmaker Brian De Palma for an evening full of reflection on how the ferocious and garish gangster epic — like Tony Montana’s rise from dishwasher to drug lord — has grown in stature.
The reunion, held at New York’s Beacon Theatre, was one of the main events of the just kicked-off Tribeca Film Festival.
De Palma suggested the arc of Montana in Scarface was reminiscent of President Donald Trump’s.
“I’ve always been interested about making movies about people who start rather humbly and then acquire a great deal of power and then ultimately isolate themselves and live in their own world. Could that be anything we’re experiencing now?” said De Palma with a laugh.
De Palma’s 1983 film, penned by Oliver Stone, was a remake of the Howard Hawksdirected 1932 gangster film of the same name. (De Palma even dedicated the film to Hawks and screenwriter Ben Hecht.) The project began with Pacino being enthralled by the original.
“I was completely taken with Paul Muni’s performance,” said Pacino. “After I saw that, I thought: I want to be Paul Muni. I want to act like that.” — screening ‘Scarface’ at the Beacon Festival on Thursday.