Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)
Vitals
Al Pacino as Tony Montana, ambitious drug dealer
Miami, Spring 1981
Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris
Tailor: Tommy Velasco
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Al Pacino introduced the world to his little friend 40 years ago today when Scarface premiered in New York City on December 1, 1983, eight days before it was widely released. Despite initial criticism for its now-famous violence, Scarface surpassed expectations by grossing $66 million globally, doubling its budget and securing its status as one of the most influential and popular gangster movies.
Scarface centers around Pacino’s explosive portrayal of the Cuban-born Tony Montana, a modern-day incarnation of the Prohibition-era Italian-American gangster Tony Camonte played by Paul Muni in the 1932 film of the same name. That pre-Code film was originally adapted from Armitage Trail’s contemporary novel, loosely based on the life and crimes of Al Capone.
Oliver Stone’s characteristically politically charged screenplay updated Tony for the 1980s, bringing him from Cuba to the United States via the famous Muriel boatlift. Shortly after their arrival, Tony and his more charismatic friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) quickly find illicit work to fund their new lives in Miami, from the murder of a political prisoner to brokering a cocaine deal. After the latter results in a double-cross, Tony and Manny successfully recover both the money and the ye-yo but insist of personally delivering it to the local kingpin Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) rather than working with his snarky middleman Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham).
The warm reception from the affable Frank contrasts sharply with his icy girlfriend Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer), who regards Tony with disdain both before and after his clumsy attempts at flirting during the group’s celebratory night out. Between those moments and his awkward responses to Frank’s jokes that get lost in his laughter, the sequence highlights Tony’s initial discomfort in this high-status world, his lines consistently feeling out of sync with the rest of the conversation. Still, he doesn’t let this get in the way of his vicious ambition, as he tells Manny on their ride home:
Me, I want what’s coming to me—the world, chico, and everything in it.
What’d He Wear?
This sequence is the first we’ve seen of Tony Montana dressing to impress after he spends the first act clad in a rotation of aloha shirts and T-shirts. Still, his new duds aren’t enough to impress Frank, who insists:
I’m gonna get you new clothes, too. I’m gonna get you $550 suits, so you look real sharp!
With veiled consciousness, Tony glances down at the new blue striped three-piece suit that he clearly valued to wear for their auspicious meeting.
The mid-blue suit is patterned with lighter blue track stripes that alternate in thickness. Likely made for the production by Paramount Pictures tailor Tommy Velasco, the suit consists of a matching single-breasted jacket, waistcoat, and trousers that follow a similar cut to most of Tony’s other three-piece suits in Scarface.
The two-button jacket has notch lapels of moderate width, long double vents, three-button cuffs, straight flapped hip pocket, and a welted breast pocket that Tony doesn’t think to dress with a pocket square, as he would with all of his suits to follow. The single-breasted waistcoat has four jetted pockets—two on each side—and a five-button front that he wears with only a few center buttons done, an insouciant look that synchronizes with his dramatically open shirt collar while indicating that he’s not yet totally comfortable in dressier clothes… unlike Manny in his smarter yet still-flashy suit and tie.
Only the in the 1980s Miami coke-dealing scene would these be considered three reasonable examples of dressing for business.
Tony neutralizes the tasteful suit with a gauche shirt worn even more gauchely, with the top few buttons undone and the long-pointed collar flat over the lapels and shoulders of his suit jacket—a manner consistent with disco-era extravagance. Thus, aside from the button-fastened barrel cuffs, only the collar and revers show above the V-shaped neckline of his waistcoat.
The white shirt has pale-blue sets of stripes—a wide stripe bordered on each side by a narrower matching stripe—that frame a series of slate-blue polka-dots, also arranged like stripes.
The flat-front trousers fit fully through the legs down to the plain-hemmed bottoms, which break over the tops of his black leather side-zip ankle boots. The raised and angled heels appear to be the fashionable “Cuban heels”, apropos Mr. Montana’s nationality.
Tony may resent much of Frank’s demeanor from the start, but he eventually evolves his regular wardrobe to be closer to Frank’s, with somewhat more restraint to his open-necked shirts, white suits, taupe-shaded leather shoes, and—of course—plenty of gold jewelry.
Given that this is Tony’s first brush with fruitful success in the drug world, he can’t yet afford the gold necklaces, rings, and watch that are staples of any self-respecting 1980s Miami drug dealer—as flashed by Frank and Omar during the night at the club.
What to Imbibe
While it’s hard to believe that Frank and Omar are following Frank’s maxim of “don’t get high on your own supply,” the booze is certainly flowing throughout the celebratory sequence. Back at the Lopez pad, Frank offers Tony a drink (“Scotch, gin, rum”) to which Tony requests gin, served on the rocks. Perhaps to show solidarity, Frank drinks the same.
Later, at the Babylon Club, everyone already has full glasses of red wine when a waiter arrives with a bottle of Dom Pérignon 1964 champagne, which Omar pours out for everyone. (The burgundy appears to be labeled a 1955 Château Latour Grand Vin, though the label’s layout and scripted typeface resembles Château Montrose more than the block-lettered Latour label… but now I just sound like Frasier.)
Named after a significant French Benedictine monk who played a pivotal role in developing the Champagne process, Dom Pérignon stands out as one of the world’s most esteemed sparkling wines. It upholds its prestigious status as an exclusively vintage champagne, crafted only in years deemed robust for its unique blend of Pinot noir and Chardonnay grapes.
How to Get the Look
Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)
With his brashly open-necked shirt corrupting an otherwise smart blue striped three-piece suit, the rising Tony Montana still finds a way to incorporate sartorial excess without relying on the abundance of gold jewelry and other accessories he could afford to add to his wardrobe as he accumulates more wealth and power in 1980s Miami.
- Mid-blue alternating track-striped three-piece tailored suit:
- Single-breasted 2-button jacket with notch lapels, welted breast pocket, straight flapped hip pockets, 3-button cuffs, and long double vents
- Single-breasted 5-button vest with four jetted pockets and notched bottom
- Flat-front trousers with belt loops, side pockets, and plain-hemmed bottoms
- White (with wide light-blue track stripes and slate-blue polka dots) shirt with long point collar and button cuffs
- Black leather side-zip ankle boots with Cuban heels
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
The Quote
The eyes, chico, they never lie.
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