FILMFACTS
TRIVIA
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He loved the American Dream. With a Vengeance.
Crossed, Tony Montana wreaks revenge
Totally Trivia
Film facts for the 1983 Drama movie starring Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Paul Shenar, Ángel Salazar
Steven Bauer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, Harris Yulin, Miriam Colon, F. Murray Abraham Update Cast
We believe the following trivia is all legit. If it's bogus or you have additional info, please update us.
Thanks to KrisMontana
In the video game GTA Vice City go to your mansion / Vercetti Estate. In the office, when you get closer to the surveillance screens, you can see a real photos of Tony Montana's house from movie. There are two different photos of his mansion. In the first picture you can see a main hall with famous "The world is yours" statue and a little pool. At the second one there's a view at house from outside's camera. It's not a good quality, but it's real.Thanks to Dan, Patricia And Joe Flores
The neo-punk band Blink-182 based their name on the number of times Pacino said the "f-word" ... 182.Thanks to Nat
A lot of current RNB and hip hop artists copy the theme of this film. For example Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey's music video "I know what u want".Rewind Archive
Director Brian De Palma collaborated again with Pacino on the equally excellent "Carlito's Way".Rewind Archive
Brian DePalma had to make several cuts in order to receive an R rating. Afterwards, the man went ahead and released the original uncut version in cinemas without telling anyone.Thanks to Paddy Frost
The RnB song performed by Busta Rhymes & Mariah Carey has nothing to do with the Scarface movie. But a finnish rap artist "Petos" has made a perfect song with the intro theme on the background.Thanks to John Stedman
The classic convertible that Tony uses in the SunRay Hotel scene is a 1968 model Chevrolet Impala. The faded paintwork was an advantage, because as the car U-turns across Ocean Drive it prevents the large camera crane and crew being reflected in the bodywork.The ostentatious yellow convertible with zebra patterned upholstery was a 1963 model Cadillac Series 62.
The white limo in which Tony returns to his mansion for the final time is a 1959 Bentley S2, and not a Rolls Royce: the art department put a RR grill on the Bentley to make it look more impressive, but the more curved coachwork of the Bentley is a giveaway because Rolls-Royces of that era had sharper edges.
Thanks to John Stedman
Tony Montana appears in every scene in the movie, apart from one.This exception is the sequence where Manny is driving Gina home in his car, after the incident in the cloakroom in the Babylon Club. Of course, Tony isn't in the opening montage sequence either, but that is real documentary footage of the Mariel Boatlift.
Thanks to John Stedman
The sculpture/statue in the pool inside Tony's mansion - the one that has a stylised globe with 'The World Is Yours' in neon - makes another appearance in the movie.It can be seen briefly in the 'Push It To The Limit' montage outside one of the Montana Empire buildings.
Thanks to John Stedman
Three PlayStation 2 videogames have versions of the Miami shown in 'Scarface'.'GTA Vice City' is a terrific game, but the representation of the city is truncated and not very accurate, except for Tony Montana's office.
'Driv3r' (Driver 3) gives a better feel of the scale of Miami but the gameplay sucks.
The best is 'Scarface: The World Is Yours' which has uncannily accurate recreations of the Babylon Club interior, a spot-on replica of the SunRay Hotel, and best of all a remarkable copy of Tony's mansion which is actually more impressive than the movie version. Players of the latter game start their quest for glory with a rebooting of the 'My Little Friend' sequence, spend some time in the Caribbean, take over Miami again, and end up by hunting down Sosa in Bolivia. Wholesale slaughter and mountains of 'yeyo' are included, and so is all the music from the film. And the protagonist looks, moves and curses just like the real Al Pacino/Tony Montana.
Thanks to John Stedman
When Manny and Tony first meet Omar, Manny claims that they underwent weapons training in the Cuban Army. However, their firearms skills suggest otherwise.No trained operator would fire a submachine gun blindly through an obscured glass door on full automatic if he knew there were two 'friendlies' in the room behind it. It invites fratricide and wastes ammo. Glass louvres are very easy to break with a shoulder or elbow strike, or with the butt of a weapon.
Inside the SunRay room Manny inevitably runs out of bullets because he failed to set his weapon to 'single shot' or 'burst fire' mode. He also fails to use cover and is lucky to only be shot once.
Tony's pistol skills at the hotel are better - he actually brings the weapon to his eye and aims properly using the iron sights - but in the Lopez Motors boardroom, at the Babylon Club and in the final showdown he reverts to 'gangsta style' and fires from the hip. But by that stage the movie has become almost surreal and the character has snorted loads of coke, so it kinda makes artistic sense.
To see seriously good weapons skills on the big screen, check out 'Heat' (with Al Pacino), 'Black Hawk Down' and 'Zero Dark Thirty'. Since we all started watching CNN 24/7 embedded coverage in the 1990s, audiences have developed an instinct for authenticity which didn't exist in 1983.
Thanks to John Stedman
While Tony and Angel are being held in the SunRay Hotel, Manny and ChiChi are sitting outside in the Chevrolet Impala. A beautiful blonde girl in a blue bikini stops and flirts with Manny. That actress was Tammy Lynn Leppert, an 18-year old former child model, teen model and actress, who had won over 200 beauty pageants in and around her native Florida.The scene was shot on Saturday 16th April 1983. It had not been her first role in a film. She had appeared in 'Spring Break' (1983), a raunchy teen beach movie, and her body was used for the poster art. That year she planned to move to LA to attempt to break into Hollywood.
But Tammy never even saw the completed 'Scarface' movie. Less than three months after the shoot, on 6th July 1983, she suddenly disappeared, and was never seen again. There were rumours that she had been associating with local criminals in the drugs trade, that she was three months pregnant, and that she had received threats of violence.
Despite extensive enquiries by the Police and private investigators, no trace of her was ever found. Her family continue to search for her today.
Thanks to John Stedman
Michelle Pfeiffer's performance as Elvira Hancock, Tony Montana's coke-addled trophy wife, was an astonishing achievement for a 24-year-old in her first serious starring role. Previously she had only had a secondary part in 'Grease 2'. (Remember that one? -Didn't think so).But Pfeiffer almost lost the chance to star opposite Al Pacino. Brian DePalma was concerned that her lack of experience and personal 'substance abuse problems' would make it impossible to cope with the demanding role of Elvira. He spoke to every leading casting agent in LA and considered over 20 other young women for the part. Various lists of these 'possibles' have been published, but basically if you were a known actress in 1983 LA, you got a call.
Eventually, DePalma bowed to pressure from the studio and gave Michelle Pfeiffer her big break. There were problems on set because the actress, who had by then conquered her real-life addiction, found it almost impossible to mimic drug-taking on camera, while going head-to-head with Al Pacino. But the end result was an unequivocal success: some critics judged her as the standout performer in the entire movie.
Thanks to Lance Mudd, And Many Others.
In the Video game 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City', you can aquire a mansion. There is an office in the mansion that is almost an exact replica of Tony Montana's office in his mansion in the movie.Thanks to Many Of You Who Spotted This
In the video game "Grand Theft Auto 3", there is a radio station called Flashback. And every single song featured on the fictional radio station is from Scarface. The songs included are "Scarface (Push It To The Limit)", "Shake It Up", "Rush Rush", "I'm Hot Tonight", and "She's On Fire".Thanks to Zach Collins
In Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, a Scarface easter egg can be found. Head South from the Pay n' Spray in Ocean Beach and take the first left. In the 2 story apartments, Go upstairs and into apartment 3c (the door is open you can walk right in) check in the bathroom and compare it to the chainsaw scene in the movie! You can also find some yeyo in the case nearby the frontdoor.Thanks to Jeremy Lane
Also in GTA: Vice City, the whole beach coast on the far right side of the map is a near-perfect replica of the beach-side scene used in Scarface during the infamous chainsaw scene. You can tell when the camera pans out before and in the middle of the scene.Thanks to Marco Gonzales
When Tony Montana is in the bathtub talking to Manny while Elvira is powdering her nose, he is watching a TV show featuring animals and birds. He talks to the TV screen and says, "C'mon pelican, flyyyy pelican." While in reality it is a flamingo trying to get off the ground to fly.Thanks to Jay
In the game Hitman codename 47, there is a stage called - "Say hello to my little friend", it's a stage where you go head on with a columbian drug lord. The guy looks like a more gruesome version of Tony Montana and spews words like "jou maricon".Thanks to Mitch Plamondon
In the extremely popular Blizzard video game saga Warcraft, one of the characters uses the famous saying from the shootout. "Say hello my little friend" in the second of the Warcraft games.Thanks to John Stedman
Many people assume that 'Scarface' plays out over a three and a half year timespan because they assume that the final scene is 'historic' - occurring before the movie premiered in December 1983. But there's another interpretation, which argues very differently:Let's begin where the film does. The 1980 Mariel Boatlift started on 15th April, peaked in June/July and ended on 31st October. In the scene where Tony is interrogated by three Immigration Officers, it's clear that they already have considerable experience in dealing with 'Marielitos', so Tony was probably 'feet dry' in Florida in mid 1980.
Oliver Stone researched the 'Freedomtown' refugee camps in detail, and says in the script that Tony, Manny, ChiChi and Angel were there for six months. So that puts the Rebenga hit in December 1980, with the resulting Green Cards issued a month later.
Tony and Manny reluctantly wash dishes for a couple of weeks in January 1981, before the SunRay massacre in February. That sets in motion Tony's dealings with Frank Lopez and his pursuit of Elvira Hancock. Obviously a big learning curve follows, but how long would this take?
Probably two years, because while building his expertise in the drug trade, and getting onto Mel Bernstein's radar, Tony buys a version of the Porsche 928 which was not sold in the USA until late 1982. He's driving that 'bulletproofed' car when he gets wounded at the Babylon Club, possibly early in 1983. That night Frank and Mel are whacked, and Tony begins to take over the city.
That would take some time, as did building any big business in the pre-digital era. Biographies of real-life drug kingpins suggest that four years might be needed to 'suppress' the opposition, build networks and reputation, pimp the Tony mansion, import a tiger, then marry, abuse and alienate Elvira, fight the RICO charges and get gunned down in style. This all leads to a likely date on Tony's tombstone: 1987.
It's all just a theory, of course. But it does seem likely that Tony would actually need all of those seven years to go 'from ship to slab'. Developing this hypothesis could produce a great Doctoral Thesis. Title? 'Parallels Between Scarface And Faust'.
Thanks to John Stedman
One of the blonde extras dancing behind Michelle Pfeiffer in the Babylon Club was Lana Clarkson, a 20-year-old actress looking to make her 'Hollywood Dream' a reality. It didn't work out for her. By the late 1980's she was reduced to 'starring' in 'Barbarian Queen' (very limited release) and 'Barbarian Queen 2' (straight to video).By the 1990's her career had tanked and she was accepting bit parts in TV series. To earn a living, she often had to work at night in bars and clubs. And it was while doing just that in the 'House of Blues' in LA on 3rd February 2003 that she caught the eye of the noted record producer Phil Spector. She agreed to go home with him that night, perhaps not knowing that he had a habit of using firearms to threaten women.
An hour later she was dead, of a single gunshot wound to the head. Spector claimed she had committed suicide, but the jury didn't buy it. Found guilty of Second Degree Murder, he received '19 years to life' in 2009, and remains in California State Prison to this day, undergoing daily psychiatric and medical treatment for numerous ailments including Parkinson's Disease.
In 2013 Home Box Office (HBO) made 'Phil Spector', a TV movie about the murder and trial. It was directed by David Mamet. Rather eerily, the role of Phil Spector was played by an actor who had actually met Lana Clarkson on the set of 'Scarface' thirty years before. His name? Al Pacino.
Thanks to John Stedman
Of the 125,000 'Marielitos', were 25,000 really criminals? As Tony Montana said to Mel Bernstein, "That's a big number".It's also the wrong number, if you mean 'criminal' in the context of Florida State Law or US Federal Law. Because to be incarcerated in Cuba you didn't need to injure someone, steal property or covet your sister, you just needed to criticise the Communist Government. As in many countries today, the wrong kind of free speech was punishable by a spell in the slammer.
The respected Brookings Institution researched the Mariel Boatlift very thoroughly, and concluded that 2,746 of the refugees were 'active criminals in the sense of US law'. That's 2.2 percent of the total, about average for a western country. Sorry to correct you Elvira, but there was no 'Cuban Crime Wave'.
Thanks to John Stedman
Usually, when real hotels agree to be featured in a violent movie, they ask for their identities to be disguised. Maybe they think that massacres will be bad for business.But oddly, in 1983 the then owners of the SunRay Apartments and SunRay Motel at 728 Ocean Drive didn't have any qualms at their real name and address being filmed. No attempt was made to disguise the real identity of where Tony's first drug buy goes sideways.
In retrospect, perhaps this was a wise business move. Because if you go eat at Johnny Rockets, the restaurant on the ground floor of the building today, take a moment to eavesdrop on the conversations of your fellow diners. You'll probably find that most are talking in awe about 'Scarface'.
Rewind Archive
The movie on the tv during the chainsaw scene is a 70's film called "Earthquake."Thanks to John Stedman
Was Tony Montana based on one real person? Even screenwriter Oliver Stone can't answer that: during his research in 1981 in South America, the Caribbean and Miami he met many tough characters from both sides of the law. He admits to being in fear of his life on more than one occasion. But he does insist that 'Scarface' was not a remake of the earlier Al Capone version, although it was largely a 'reversioning' of that work.Pablo Escobar is another name that is often suggested as a 'Montana prototype'. He was head of the Medellin Cartel in Colombia in the early 80's, shifting tons of cocaine and making millions of dollars every week. But he stayed in South America and never sampled the US lifestyle. So he doesn't fit the Tony template either.
But one man does. He was the head of what was called 'The Old Cuban Mob', which by the mid 1980's was running Miami. People called him 'El Padrino' (The Godfather). His arrest warrants included charges of murder, arson, drug trafficking, illegal bookmaking and numbers rackets. His centre of operations was in Little Havana, Miami. He lived in an ostentatious mansion just outside the city. Sound familiar?
In 2004 he was arrested and sentenced to 20 years. Three years later he died in custody, aged 78. His 'outfit' still has a strong presence in Miami today, though now it's called 'The Corporation'. His name is recalled in hushed tones, if at all. But it does seem that most likely basis for the Tony Montana character was this man: Jose Miguel Battle.
Thanks to John Stedman
All films need a great villain, and Alejandro Sosa of 'Scarface' is ranked as one of the best in movie history. He is entirely based on one man, Roberto Suarez Gomez (1932 - 2000), the real-life 'King of Cocaine', who at his peak was dealing in 'merchandise' worth over $1 billion a year. Gomez is credited with turning Bolivia into the first 'Narco State'.He effectively ruled the country, dominating politicians, the military and police, and the formerly dominant Catholic Church with his sheer financial muscle. His policy was presented to his adversaries as a straight choice: 'silver or lead'. In other words, take the bribe or be shot.
Gomez spent his money shrewdly, building homes, schools, churches, hospitals and infrastructure for the poor, who regarded his as a'Robin Hood' figure and rewarded him with unquestioning loyalty. Eventually he backed a successful military coup which gave him absolute power. From then on he only sanctioned violence 'when it was really necessary'.
Today, Roberto Suarez Gomez' shrine in Cochabamba is revered by many Bolivians, who still consider him a great national hero. Technically, the state is now a civilised democracy, with Evo Morales as its President. Mr Morales previously had another job. He was a cocaine farmer.
Thanks to KMG
I believe Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City's SAMANTHA) was sitting in the audience when Al Pacino was shot the first time.Update: Kevin McMillen wrote in to say that he thinks Kim Cattrall was sitting in the Babylon too.
Thanks to John Stedman
If you were lucky enough to first see 'Scarface' on a big screen, you will remember walking out of the cinema among a crowd of very shocked people. And, if you're honest, you will admit that you were in the same state yourself.After all, not only was the 'hero' dead, but so were every single one of his supporters. Except for Elvira, whose prospects did not look good at all. And there was no 'Hollywood Ending', no postscript or 'coda' to try to make sense of all this. Oliver Stone decided that the ending should be just that - the ending - and Brian DePalma respected that. So, too, somewhat reluctantly, did Universal: it was one hell of a statement for a 'mainstream' studio to make.
But to argue that the film is 'anti drugs' or 'pro drugs' is pointless: it simply is what it is. If you are trying to grow up in South Central LA, it's easy to fool yourself that the 'Tony Montana Way' leads to the American Dream, when in reality only prison and/or early death await.
And if you are a Harvard undergraduate, having a 'Scarface' poster on your wall gives fantasy street cred and a feeling of independence - even if daddy indirectly paid for the poster and all your friends have done exactly the same thing.
For the 'Average Joe', the movie represents the fallacy that chance and luck will lead to riches, in the form of money, power and women. They'll regard that as ridiculous, before they rush out to buy another Lottery ticket.
In the end, 'Scarface' makes you think about people. It does that to first-time viewers today, a third of a century after it was made. No filmmaker could ever ask for more.
Thanks to John Stedman
Here's one for fans of REAL trivia. You're bound to know that Saddam Hussein named his dodgy property company 'Montana Management'. And that makes sense. It's got the image he needed, ticks all the boxes in the 'deranged fruitcake' category, and has really nice houses.But here's the weird part: what movie do you think was playing on Saddam's huge plasma screen when the US Marines kicked down the (gold) doors in his biggest palace? The obvious answer is wrong, because this film didn't feature the charms of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
The answer is... Saddam had been engrossed in a movie from a slightly different genre. It was 'Pretty Woman ', starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. You just couldn't make this up...
Thanks to John Stedman
You simply gotta do the tour of Universal City Studios in LA. It really is a city, with acres of outside filming lots and all the infrastructure and facilities you'd expect after ninety years of film making. Walk up to the massive Sound Stage 12, one of the largest in the world. By the door is a list of films that were shot inside, and there, under '1983', it says 'Scarface'.Some visitors expect to peer inside and see the preserved sets of all the movies ever made here, but that's not how it works. When I was last there the building was entirely filled with the stage, lighting rigs and seating structures for 'The Voice'. I understand that's a TV 'talent' show where the singers sound like cats in a mangle.
My Universal guides explained that they get plenty of queries about whether any traces of 'Scarface' remain, and were confident the answer was 'no'. I wasn't too sure about that, and asked if we could do a little archaeological digging. Amazingly, they agreed.
I'd been looking at some 1990's technical drawings of the building, and noticed that a there were two tanks recessed into the concrete floor: a large circular one and a smaller rectangular tank. And it was this small tank that was of interest. Using a technique called photogrammetry, I'd established that it was about the right size for the pool in the Entrance Hall of the Montana Mansion.
Getting the heavy metal covers off wasn't easy. Studio floors are tough enough for trucks to drive over, so everything is very robust and heavy. But we used a forklift, some chains and a lot of cursing, and finally were able to look inside...
We climbed down (the tank is only 3 feet deep) and found evidence of light blue paint, differently sized semicircular shapes at each end, and even a circular mark where something must have stood. Measurements confirmed that this mark matched the iconic 'The World Is Yours' sculpture.
Five of us stood there, all 'Scarface' fans of course, and realised that we were standing in the exact spot from where Tony Montana went to meet St Peter. Or maybe the other guy. Spooky feeling.
Thanks to John Stedman
TV was once the poor relation of cinema. No established film director would touch a TV series with a ten foot pole. Experienced actors would rather eat their shoes than appear in a soap opera. 'Scarface' helped change all that, at its premiere on 1st December 1983.Seated among the audience of stars, auteurs and Hollywood Heavy Hitters were a group of people nobody recognised. They were from the East Coast. They were hugely impressed by Brian DePalma's epic. They were getting ready to make a series that would change TV forever. They were the Producers of 'Miami Vice'.
Nine months later, their 'baby' arrived kicking and squealing in over ten million homes across the USA. Here was Florida crime seen from the opposite side of the fence to 'Scarface', but with equal passion. But while Tony Montana's story had been told with plot, character and words, 'Miami Vice' came at you like a take-no-prisoners music video: it was focussed on images, emotion and energy. It was 'Crime for the MTV Generation'.
Michael Mann was very much in charge, and layered the deceptive 'easy on the eye' pastel exterior with a 'Neo Noir' undercurrent of conflicted antiheroes, nihilistic moral systems and a contemporary angle on the real problems in Miami Dade, where many of the worst criminals wore uniforms and badges. The stars Crockett and Tubbs (Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas) became fashion icons overnight and the show was a feast of Ferraris and Lamborghinis, nightclubs and Cigarette Boats. Or at least it started that way.
By the fourth and fifth series things became much darker. Crockett's wife was murdered. The pimps, drug barons and smugglers often seemed to get away with their crimes. Like 'Scarface', 'Miami Vice' drew you in with false promises, then showed you where the road really led, but when it was too late to turn back. 22 million people watched the finale in 1989, and if you haven't seen all 111 episodes, your bucket list needs a serious update.
The 1980's made TV into a serious artform. Now we routinely flick the remote and bask in masterpieces like 'The Sopranos', 'Game Of Thrones' and '24'. Cinema and television are now full partners in the visual entertainment industry. Actors, Producers and Directors move seamlessly between the two. And 'Scarface' played a key role in that evolution.
Thanks to Anonymous
Kim Cattrall and her distinctive mole is also dancing in the first visit to the Babylon Club when the wide high shot of the dancers slowly zooms in. She is in the right side.Bogus Trivia
There's often fake stuff floating round, y'know? -Like the 'ghost boy' that can allegedly be seen in "Three Men And A Baby".
But, nothing bogus that we know yet for "Scarface".
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