Scarface (1932)

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The World is Yours

Tony Camonte (Paul Muni) is an ambitious small-time thug who claws his way to power. His rule of thumb? Kill the other guy before he can kill you.

It's not all guns and glory. Tony is socially inept and suffers complex relationships with his family, particularly his sister. Despite the dangerous world he lives in, it's this weakness -- vaguely Oedipal and perfectly at home in a Greek tragedy -- that causes his downfall.

It's also surprisingly funny for something so dark; particularly notable is Tony's loyal but incompetent "secretary", a bumbling idiot whose dialogue seems to have been borrowed from Chico Marx.

Overshadowed in recent years by the phenomenal success of Brian De Palma's remake, it original still holds up as a brilliant example of gangster film-noir. See it.

- Sam - 2006-11-10 03:49:48