Are you a Godfather or Scarface kind of guy?

justifier · Post by **justifier** » 2003-10-11 10:24pm

I own Scarface, but have only seen parts of The Godfather, but I still have to go with The Godfather. I'm a big fan of old-school suited mobsters with tommy guns

zombie84 · Post by **zombie84** » 2003-10-12 03:02am

Goodfellas and Reservoir Dogs are still the best gangster films of all time.

Death from the Sea · Post by **Death from the Sea** » 2003-10-12 04:59am

I have yet to watch the Godfather in full, I get part way into it and I get bored. Scarface I have seen and love, but Goodfellas is probably my favorite gangster movie.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2003-10-12 04:42pm

As much as I love Scarface, I'd have to go with Godfather. No other movie comes close in portraying organized crime in such a dark romantic sort of way. Scarface is a lot more exciting but Godfather has its machiavellian philosophies and cute subtleties. My favorite quote is right after Paulie the traitor gets wacked, and fat clemenza tells the triggerman Rocco, "leave the gun, bring the canolis."

Post by **Steve** » 2003-10-12 10:59pm

I can quite honestly say I've never seen any of the major gangster movies and nor do I have the inclination to see them.

Post by **Zaia** » 2003-10-12 11:03pm

I'm a Godfather girl.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-13 12:32am

Steve wrote:I can quite honestly say I've never seen any of the major gangster movies and nor do I have the inclination to see them.

And you call yourself an American ...

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-13 12:45am

Out of the two, I personally prefer Scarface. Part of my preference stems from its raw intensity. There is a manic energy running through the film as exemplified by Tony Montana himself, played by Al Pacino in a role he did so well that he has been typecast as an over-the-top performer for the last 20 years as a result. The Godfather, on the other hand, moves slowly. Apart from the occasional burst of violence, it has a serene sort of bearing that reminds me of a swan.

The other part of my preference stems from the fact that I don't like the veneer of glamour and romanticism attached to organized crime by films like "The Godfather". Scarface puts no such glossy veneer on its protagonist; you know exactly what kind of man he is. Some people have commented that they could not identify with Tony Montana; I found this a rather curious remark. Does this mean you can identify with Don Corleone? Is there some double-standard of acceptable behaviour here?

I also found Tony Montana's unhinged personality to be rather captivating, and it affixes the moral message onto the film. Montana's drive for power and his ruthlessness help him rise to the top, and then they bring him crashing down, and the camera is brutally honest. While it glosses over much of his meteoric rise (there are two big gaps in time where it leaps over his ascent in Frank's organization and then leaps over his expansion after taking over), we are not spared any details of his fall, because that's the part which truly defines the film.

In the Godfather movies, on the other hand, one is made to empathize with one of the warring crime families. They are not cautionary tales; rather, they romanticize organized crime. They make it into a fetish. They make it look glamorous and somehow oddly righteous. There is something in me, perhaps a gut instinct, which takes offense at the presentation.

I do find it interesting that Scarface is considered some kind of gangsta icon, because I detest gangsta culture but I like Scarface.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-10-13 12:54am

BTW, I just noticed that I used the popular phrase "meteoric rise" in my previous post. Since meteors always fall, doesn't it seem like an oxymoronic phrase?

Post by **Steve** » 2003-10-13 08:36pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Steve wrote:I can quite honestly say I've never seen any of the major gangster movies and nor do I have the inclination to see them.
And you call yourself an American ...

I am. Just that unlike some, I don't think I have to worship the lifestyle of the criminal underworld.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-10-13 08:40pm

If I said 'Scarface' my Italian relatives would disown me.

And then have me whacked.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2003-10-13 10:43pm

There can be only one choice for me, The Godfather....I spent about 2 years playing in the Star Wars combine as a member of Black Sun, and eventually ended up running it.....I took my inspiration from the Godfater....and it was perfect. People came to the family to get things done, and not even the empire crossed us.....
Ah...those were the days....
Saltan valoramosa n'teval mord.....

*gets lost in his reminiscing*

UltraViolence83 · Post by **UltraViolence83** » 2003-10-14 12:17am

Demiurge wrote:Can anyone tell me where "just when I think I'm out, they pull me back in" is from?

Godfather Part III...Right before MC has that stroke, I believe.