Remakes are nothing new in Hollywood. With several remakes hitting screens this year alone such as FOOTLOOSE, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, FRIGHT NIGHT, ARTHUR, and THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, it is apparent, and has been for years and years, that Hollywood will always present a mixture of new ideas, sequels and remakes to the movie going audience. Now, Brian de Palma’s 1983 movie SCARFACE which stars a young Al Pacino and Michelle Pfieffer and is widely considered a piece of cinematic mastery, is set to be remade by producers Martin Bregman (who was a producer on the De Palma version) and Marc Shmuger. Deadline is reporting that the duo, along with studio Universal Pictures, is meeting with writers to create a script for the new movie.
An interesting tidbit in their articles points out that while this one will inevitably be labeled as a remake; it is not their intention to have the new movie be considered either a remake or a sequel:
The film is not intended to be a remake or a sequel. It will take the common elements of the first two films: an outsider, an immigrant, barges his way into the criminal establishment in pursuit of a twisted version of the American dream, becoming a kingpin through a campaign of ruthlessness and violent ambition. The studio is keeping the specifics of where the new Tony character comes from under wraps at the moment, but ethnicity and geography were important in the first two versions. In the 1932 Scarface, an Italian (Paul Muni) took over Chicago, and in the Brian De Palma-directed remake, a Cuban cornered the cocaine trade in 1980s Miami, only to be consumed by it.
While many purists out there will claim fowl to such an iconic movie being remade, that Hollywood has run out of ideas (a claim that I will tackle in my end of the year article) and that remakes of classic movies should not be made, it is important to point out that if Hollywood were to follow this advice from cinephiles, the 1983 version that many hold so dear to their heart would never have seen the light of day as it too was a remake the 1932, Howard Hughes produced version. It is proven that sometimes, remakes can outshine their predecessor, or at least stand on equal ground. I know that not every remake will be great, but with so many successful ones out there like the aforementioned SCARFACE by Brian De Palma, John Carpenter’s THE THING, Christopher Nolan’s INSOMNIA, James Mangold’s 3:10 TO YUMA, Philip Kaufman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, Steven Soderbergh’s OCEAN’S 11, Martin Scorsese’s CAPE FEAR, and David Cronenberg’s THE FLY, it is possible to stay true to the ideas and themes presented in the original while updating the story for modern audiences. We will just have to wait and see if this version will fall into that category, or if it will fall into the category of those less regarded by the movie going audience like PSYCHO, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, GODZILLA and even this year’s CONAN THE BARBARIAN.
What are your thoughts? Are you open to the idea of SCARFACE being remade if the studio takes the material seriously and puts some effort into making a new version for today’s audiences? Who could you see in the title role of Tony Montana? As always, let us know in the comments.
Jim is an avid movie enthusiast, representing the general movie going audience, looking at movies for their entertainment value as opposed to their critical weight. He enjoys the escapism that movies provide. He is a fan of all genre's of movies, but gravitates toward comic-based movies, summer "popcorn" flicks and over-the-top comedies as his preference. 
