Scarface

Fictional Character

The 1983 movie Scarface starred Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a ruthless Cuban immigrant killing his way to the top of Miami's cocaine-crazy underworld. (The film was loosely inspired by the 1932 film Scarface: The Shame of a Nation, which starred Paul Muni as blood-crazed gangster Tony Camonte. That film, in turn, was loosely inspired by the life of real-life mobster Al Capone, who was nicknamed Scarface.) The 1983 film, directed by Brian DePalma and written by Oliver Stone, was a modest hit when first released. However, it gained cult status in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to its popularity with hip-hop stars and other young movie fans. This second generation of fans seemed captivated by the movie's rags-to-riches theme, along with Pacino's over-the-top performance and the film's absurd levels of violence and tough talk. The film was re-released with much fanfare in 2003.

Extra credit: Pacino's famous line about his machine gun, "Say 'ello to my little friend," has become a pop culture catch phrase... So has another line from the film, "I always tell the truth, even when I lie"... 'Scarface' was later taken as a stage name by rapper Brian Jordan (formerly known as Akshun)... Stone reportedly named Tony Montana as an homage to football star Joe Montana.

Other movie gangsters include Duke Mantee (played by Humphrey Bogart in The Petrified Forest, 1936), Cody Jarrett (played by James Cagney in White Heat, 1949), Verbal Kint (played by Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspects, 1995) and Don Vito Corleone (played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather, 1972).