Research Paper On Scarface

At the beginning of the 1970s, two men, by the names of Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro, met and started an extremely successful and world renowned string of movie director/actor collaborations. Over the course of 22 years,spawning from 1973, with their first film Mean Streets, to 1995, with their most recent work Casino, the duo paired up for 8 movies, most of which are considered some of the greatest films of all time. The most notable, however, would have to be their 1990 movie Goodfellas, a classic film which was nominated for 6 oscars, winning one, and named the greatest film of all time by British film magazine Total Film, an organized crime movie which is one of my favorite movies.

Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was a notorious hero. Capone has given himself to something bigger or other than himself such as sacrificing himself to stand up for others rights, help others who struggled financially, and create a better security throughout cities.

When we think of the mafia and gangs, one name comes to mind, Al Capone. Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was an infamous mafia leader who was active in Chicago during the Prohibition era. Having committed numerous criminal deeds and being the man behind countless murders, Capone was finally arrested for tax evasion . Now, you might ask, “How was he able to commit all these violent deeds without being imprisoned?” Well, we first have to go to the beginning of Capone’s life.

The Gangster film ‘Scarface’ (DePalma) is about the rise and eventual fall of Cuban immigrant, Tony Montana. Throughout the film the viewer witnesses how Tony Montana goes from a criminal in Cuba to a drug overlord in America. The average viewer cannot connect to the arc of Tony Montana. But, the average viewer can connect to what Tony Montana is working for, the American dream. Brain DePalma chooses purposefully to have a hyper-masculine, narcissistic, megalomaniac immigrant as the main character of a story of American dream. In ‘Scarface’, DePalma show the universality of the American dream. By utilizing various filming techniques, DePalma shows how the American dream is available for everyone.

The critically acclaimed film, Goodfellas, is a gangster crime drama that features an incredible amount of talent. Household names such as: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito), Paul Sorvino (Paul Cicero), and promising stars like Ray Liotta (Henry Hill) and Lorraine Bracco (Karen Hill), attracted numerous Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. That type of cast power, linked with the signature talent of Martin Scorsese as a director, made for cinematic gold. Unquestionably, the actors and actresses did an excellent job augmenting the verisimilitude of this film and compelling audiences to empathize with their characters. But the cinematography in this film plays just as large a role in having audiences feel what the characters are feeling at a specific moment. Through the use of freeze frames, we learn of significant moments that shape Henry into the man that he is. By means of first-person narration we are able to know exactly what is going through a particular character’s mind. Finally, wonderful editing made great use of point of view and multiple jump cuts, which added to the sensation that we are undergoing the same experiences as the characters on screen. I will go into further detail and specify scenes that convey these elements as the essay progresses. Altogether, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas effectively depicts paramount scenes and allows the audience to empathize with the characters by virtue of stylistic editing and cinematography.

Introduction A child from an Italian immigrant family, Al Capone, a.k.a “Scarface,” rose to infamy as the leader of the Chicago mafia during the Prohibition era. Al Capone was one of the most notorious American gangsters. Before being sent to Alcatraz Prison for tax evasion conviction, he had a personal fortune of about $100 million as the head of the infamous crime syndicate. Early Life Alphonse Gabriel Capone, also well-known as Al Capone, was born into a life of poverty on January 17, 1899 to Gabriel and Teresa Capone.

“As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster.” Henry Hill played by Ray Liotta says this as the film Goodfellas starts. That is just one of the memorable things about this movie. Goodfellas is a well-known film directed by Martin Scorsese. The few who have not watched are truly missing out on a great movie. It is among the best crime movies ever created by Martin Scorsese. Goodfellas is known to be a great film because it is not like the typical mob movie. When people are asked about about this movie, he/she might talk about how much cursing there is, or how the ending was kind of a plot twist, most will say it is a good movie. The way the movie is recorded makes the audience feels like they know him personally. It

The film, the Untouchables, was directed by Brian De Palma. It was set in the prohibition era, which was right at the start of the 1920’s. Prohibition can be described as a law that made selling and manufacturing alcohol illegal. By putting this law into effect, it actually increased the amount of crime and violence throughout cities in the US. This was ultimately due to the rise in organized crime, also known as gangs. In the movie specifically, it was centered around the rise of the Mafia in Chicago. By looking at the production of the movie, we can see how during prohibition, the Mafia controls everything and the violence ultimately it leads to.

Scarface is a crime-drama film that is famously known for being one of the most violent and profanes films during its time of release. Focusing on the rise of Tony Montana (Al Pacino) on the criminal ladder and becoming more psychotic as his career as the leader of his drug empire progresses, leading to his eventual downfall. Directed by Brian de Palma, written by Oliver Stone and with performance of the cast with the lead Al Pacino, Scarface became a cult classic among the masses.

Second, I want to cover the cause and effects registered in this movie. A very reoccurring cause and effect in this movie is whenever Scarface gets angry or mad he snorts more and more cocaine. I found this relatively funny because by the end of the movie he is snorting a ton of cocaine that leads up to his demise. Another effect that is shown throughout the movie is Scarface growing in success and reputation. The cause of this is the many successful business deals that he undertakes and engages in. Another effect is that he makes more and more enemies along the way. This is due to his reputation and power rising. Another cause and effect occurs when Scarface has an argument with his wife and yells at her about her not being able to produce any children for him. This later on causes him to fail a mission because he is not able to bring himself to kill children. A major cause and effect in the story occurs when Scarface sees that his best friend is with his sister. At this point Scarface kills his best friend, which causes his sister to go into major depression, and which pushes him to indulge in even more cocaine which leads to disaster.

Scorsese uses various dramatic elements in The Goodfellas to make the film the superior mob film. The acting in The Goodfellas is superb, the combination of actors and their unique contributions to the movie make for dynamic and realistic portrayal of mob life. Specifically, Joe Pesci, who plays Tommy DeVito, uses his improv and wild mood changes to create an unpredictable and all-too-terrifying mob hitster. There is one scene in particular that highlights the wild moods and indifference to bloodshed where Tommy shoots the errand boy, Spider. Tommy believed Spider, who was fetching drinks for the men, was disrespecting him. Tommy, who is already shown previously in the movie to not be able to handle “ballbusting”, retaliates with extreme anger and murders the young boy on the spot.

The crime genre is about a crime that is being committed or was committed and may sometimes be an account of a criminal's life. Scarface displays many criminal that can blow one's mind and is in many ways an account of Montana's life as a drug lord. The film falls into the subgenre of crime, as a "gangster" film for the simple fact that it portrays a criminal organization with a level of organization and resources that

The story follows the New York based Corleone crime family over the course of ten years, from 1945-1955. The main character and namesake of the film is Don Vito Corleone, played masterfully by Marlon Brando. However, the main arc of the story centers on the unlikely transformation of his youngest son Michael played by the magnificent Al Pacino. Michael starts out as a disapproving outsider who rebelliously went off to serve in World War II rather than become part of the “family business.”

THE GODFATHER, made in 1974, details the Corleone crime family in Manhattan during the mid 1930s. The Don, Vito Corleone, played by Marlon Brando, leads his organization against a relentless narcotics push by a rival family, the Sollozzos. Vito Caleone does not want anything to do with drugs because he believes they will be the downfall of the Mafia. The story, covering a ten year time period, offers a rich tapestry of Mafia life from the inside, drawing the audience into witnessing the transfer of power within a close-knit family

All "gangster movies" have been judged by the standards of this one, it has a very strong script that is well plotted, although at times difficult to understand. Two other gangster directors are Quentin Tarantino, famous for many films but 'Pulp Fiction' stands out, and Guy Ritchie, the writer of 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels .' and 'Snatch'.