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GeekAesthete t1_ir1d12m wrote

The novel and 1932 film are overtly based on Al Capone, who was nicknamed "Scarface". They use fictional names, but everyone knew it was supposed to be Capone.

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JasonStrode t1_ir1gfja wrote

Including Big Al himself, who approved.

/u/GeekAesthete is correct, thanks for adding the bit about Little Caesar. I can see where Hollywood saw the opportunity to make the claim, and Big Al was in no position to contradict them.

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GeekAesthete t1_ir1vagh wrote

Maybe. There’s an urban legend that Capone loved the film and owned his own print of it, however he was in prison by the time it came out (having been convicted a year earlier), so it’s unlikely that he ever saw it. The film’s screenwriter has said Capone actually sent heavies to the studio to make sure the film wasn’t too similar to his own life story.

Capone is reported to have liked Edward G Robinson’s role in Little Caesar, which was more loosely inspired by Capone and came out 9 months before he went to prison, so it’s possible that the stories of him liking Scarface are conflating it with Little Caesar.

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OldMork t1_ir1ib4k wrote

Its a entertaining movie but I cant see why so many bad guys identifies with him, in the end everybody hates him including his wife, he is addicted to cocaine and lost touch with reality and finally gets shot.

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cn45 t1_ir3vvro wrote

It’s the crescendo. A fast burn. Like the song white rabbit.

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itsmebarfyman392 t1_ir7xqqe wrote

“Wow, he’s literally me” type dudes find any garbage movie characters to latch onto and it’s weird lol.

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getbeaverootnabooteh t1_ir0ygk4 wrote

I told you a long time ago you fucking little m***** not to fuck me.

HEY! HEY! WHO THE FUCK YOU THINK I AM? YOUR FUCKING DOUGHBOY? YOU WANNA GO TO WAR? Wanna go to war?

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suterb42 t1_ir25mr0 wrote

Elizabeth Daily sang two songs ("Shake It Up" and "I'm Hot Tonight") on the soundtrack from the 1983 soundtrack. She later went into voice acting. (If you're a big Frank Zappa fan like me, then you'll like the fact that those two songs were co-written by Arthur Barrow.)

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Rossum81 t1_ir182cb wrote

The pre-Hays gangster films are really worth watching.

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Jskidmore1217 t1_ir3vkq7 wrote

Saw it at an arthouse theater once. Was really awesome watching this hyper violent gangster film (there’s like a 5 minute long sequence of people just mowing down crowds with machines guns hanging out of car windows) and then at the end waiting for the line of geriatric viewers slowly hobble on out of the theatre.

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democritusparadise t1_ir8gb33 wrote

The 1932 film is ground-breaking and, being pre-code, very violent and even has incest overtones to it as Scarface has a very weird relationship with his sister...in fact the film is cited as one of the reasons why Hollywood got censored in 1935.

The film also is notable for inventing the cinematography effect of a flipping calendar superimposed on a montage of events to represent time passing.

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[deleted] t1_is2vl48 wrote

Remakes all the way down.

Always has been

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SaltySteveD87 t1_ir1euw1 wrote

Is that really TIL material? Like, they dedicate the movie to the original director and actor at the end.

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Link70211 t1_ir2l6jn wrote

Did OP just learn this today? If so then yes. I also just learned this today as well. So it’s for sure worthy of TIL.

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