The character Al Pacino compared to Icarus
Throughout his career, Al Pacino has played some of the most important characters in the history of cinema. After all, Pacino possesses an intensity and talent quite unlike any of his contemporaries and as such, he has been sought out time and time again by some of the most significant directors in the world.
Thankfully for Pacino, the producers of The Godfather took a punt on him when he played Michael Corleone at Francis Ford Coppola’s insistence. From that point, the New York-born actor never looked back, going on to perform in the likes of Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Carlito’s Way, Heat, Donnie Brasco and The Devil’s Advocate.
Many of Pacino’s character efforts have transcended the movies from which they came, and one of the most memorable is certainly his turn as Tony Montano in Brian De Palma’s 1983 crime drama Scarface, which is truly one of the most intoxicating and lavish entries in the genre.
In fact, Pacino once admitted that Scarface is one of his favourite movies that he made, telling AP, “Scarface is one of my favourites because of its whole evolution.” Indeed, upon release, De Palma’s film was slated by critics because of its overt violence and drug use, as well as the idea that it posited that Cuban ex-pats in Miami were all criminals and drug traffickers.
Scarface, written by Oliver Stone and based on the 1930 novel of the same name, was a remake of the 1932 original movie. It saw Pacino play Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who arrived in Miami without a dime to his name but rose through the criminal underworld to become a powerful drug lord.
Still, the movie, according to Pacino, was “sort of eviscerated after it opened by the press”. The actor explained, “Nobody was fond of it, except it had good audience participation.” Thankfully, years after Scarface was released, it was reappraised by critics, and it is now considered one of the best crime films of all time.
Pacino went on to explain his impression of Tony Montana and compare him to a classic Greek mythic figure. “At that time, there was this whole thing about greed, which was Wall Street and everything, and I think that’s part of it,” the Pacino said. “A great character, too, Tony Montana – a person who dares to do anything, who flies like a Phoenix, like Icarus, close to the sun.”
Indeed, Tony Montana is a figure who came from nothing and rose to everything. However, his addiction to cocaine, power and money seems to get the better of him and slowly, his luxurious lifestyle crumbles around him, leading to a showdown at his mansion in which he meets his tragic end.
Scarface had been of cultural importance, too, according to Pacino, as well as providing him with one of his favourite characters. He once noted, “I see what Brian De Palma was talking about when we made it. It was the crazy ’80s, the decade of avarice, greed and introducing that into the world; greed is good and the whole thing from Gecko in Wall Street. I know a lot of people who don’t deal drugs who are inspired by it. It’s about a kind of ingenuity, suddenly coming from the bottom and rising, which is why the original was so inspiring for me.”
