Scarface

Although this movie is a staple "gangster film" and hailed as a masterpiece, I had never watched it until this last Sunday. I'm glad I did. Although the runtime is a bit long, it didn't feel long at all. Every scene in the movie held its own and the performance by Al Pacino is despicably amazing. The mark of a true masterpiece is that by watching it, you can understand why other movies or shows were made in the way they were - the influence is crazy (Vince Gilligan!!). Tony Montana is truly about that life - and at no point in the movie did I question his values or actions; they all aligned with clashing values of self-sufficieny as well as his overwhelming pride. This movie is a non-stop adventure of someone who literally doesn't care about anything except himself. Even the scene with Hector Salamanca, which is arguably the only scene where he protects rather than destroys - I feel he made the choice he did because he woudln't be able to live with himself, rather than looking out for others. Brian De Palma sets my new standard for what a true gangster is; someone who isn't cool or slick, rather someone who is so far gone to truly believe that the world is solely for him.