THE WORLD IS YOURS

A deep dive into the over-the-top gangster classic.

This meticulous examination of Scarface (1983) is a wildly enjoyable ride, taking readers from the roots of the 1932 original, directed by Howard Hawks, through the intense, arduous filmmaking process and its lasting influence within the hip-hop community. Kenny, best known for his string of movie books, including Made Men, and his work as a film critic for a variety of publications, manages all the various strands of the Scarface legacy masterfully, letting those involved in the movie’s creation drive the narrative. He does whatever he can to explain not just the making of the film, but moviemaking generally. “I have my own obsessions,” director Brian De Palma told the author. “I write and direct my own movies. But I think it’s very important to get out of your own world and just direct someone else’s script, someone else’s world.” Kenny delves into how De Palma’s process allowed Al Pacino an unusual amount of latitude to develop the character of Tony Montana and provided the lavish sets and the distinctive, larger-than-life cinematography to make it memorably come to life on the big screen. De Palma also gave the movie’s screenwriter, Oliver Stone, plenty of room to create as well, though that eventually caused some friction between the men. “I liked the movie. But you realize at the time, I was working off a more realistic palette because I’d been there,” Stone told Kenny. “And Brian didn’t really have that realism in him. Or interest in it.” All that friction, though, was responsible for the movie’s unique creative spark, which the author retraces step by step and scene by scene, offering context and revelations and the occasional joke—much like the movie itself.

Kenny patiently outlines every moviemaking piece and shows how it fits in the bloody, brilliant Scarface puzzle.