Scarface

Snubbed: Al Pacino 

Dir. Brian De Palma. 1983, U.S. 180 mins. 4K DCP. With Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, Steven Bauer, F. Murray Abraham, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia. Pacino’s performance in Scarface has since become the stuff of legend, but upon release critics and Academy voters roundly rejected both his and De Palma’s portrayals of excess as needlessly hyperbolic. Pacino received a Golden Globe nomination for his heroically scuzz-bucket work as Cuban refugee turned Miami drug lord Tony Montana, yet Oscar turned to a more respectable lineup. Pacino (ignored for his role here, just as Paul Muni had in the original 1932 Scarface) had been a recurring nominee throughout the 1970s, but would be left out of the race for the entirety of the 1980s, until finally winning in the 1990s. His Tony is, of course, a thing of gaudy, gonzo brilliance, just like the movie around him, an epic of explosive violence done up in sunset orange and candy pink that leaves conventional American taste in the dust—all the better to reflect its main character’s glorious, hideous indulgences. 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.