Synopsis
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Scarface starring Al Pacino—Brian DePalma’s 1983 gangster film that shook the world, shocked the critics, and shot bullet holes through the American Dream—this explosive Hollywood tell-all charts not only the phenomenon of this controversial classic but also the equally controversial legacy of the original 1932 Scarface that inspired it . . .
WITH A FOREWORD FROM STEVEN BAUER
How many movies in the history of film have truly shaken society? Scarface did it twice.
When Brian DePalma’s operatically violent and profane Scarface debuted in 1983, the film drew almost as much fire as the relentless gunfire in the film itself. Starring Al Pacino as Cuban refugee-turned-crime-boss Tony Montana, Steven Bauer as his best friend Manny, and rising star Michelle Pfeiffer as an Eighties gangster’s moll, the movie was a remake of 1932’s Scarface—revamped for a new era of drugs, sex, and graphic violence. Attacked as both a celebration of cocaine-fueled excess and a condemnation of it, the film’s reputation only grew as the years went by. But the real story of its success started nearly a century ago—when Hollywood first fell in love with the American gangster . . .
Hollywood’s infatuation with money, power, and organized crime has captured the public’s imagination and made Scarface one of its most enduring modern myths. From a 1912 gangster film by D.W. Griffith to the 1932 hit Scarface starring Paul Muni, to Brian DePalma’s 1983 shocker, the antihero’s rise and fall exposes the dark side of the American Dream—whether it’s Prohibition Era bootleggers or modern-day drug dealers. When actor Al Pacino got the idea of doing a remake of Scarface after screening the original, a legend was (re)born—and the rest is history.
Filled with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, untold tales from Old and New Hollywood, and sixteen pages of eye-popping photos, Say Hello to My Little Friend is the ultimate guide to everything Scarface. With guns blazing and chainsaws whirring, movie biz writer Nat Segaloff tears into this pop culture phenomenon with fascinating insights, stunning revelations, and a true fan’s glee. This is a must-have book for movie buffs, crime lovers, and culture vultures everywhere.
“Brilliant. One of my favorite films. So many ways to look at it. So much I didn’t know. Nat Segaloff is that rare film scholar: as entertaining as he’s informative.” —David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood (Rambo) on Say Hello to My Little Friend
About the Author
Nat Segaloff has been a movie publicist and film critic (not at the same time), TV producer, college teacher, reporter, and broadcaster. He has brought all those skills to over 30 books, most of them about film history and filmmakers. His print and TV biographies include those of John Belushi, Larry King, Arthur Penn, Harlan Ellison, William Friedkin, John Milius, Paul Mazursky, Stan Lee, Stirling Silliphant, Walon Green, and Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop. His Citadel books include The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear, Say Hello to My Little Friend: A Century of Scarface, and The Rambo Report: Five Films, Three Books, One Legend. Visit him online at NatSegaloff.com.
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