Cinema’s most excessive crime epic has landed on Netflix

Few films go quite so unabashedly hard as Scarface. From the moment it begins, you're in for a wild ride that never relents, and you can tell the film is proud of it. Now, the 1983 cult classic has made its way onto Netflix, ready for a new generation to quote badly.

Directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, Scarface is an operatic, neon-lit, hyper-violent retelling of the American Dream.

Al Pacino plays Tony Montana, a Cuban refugee who arrives in Florida with nothing but rage in his heart and an incredibly bold accent. Within minutes, he’s climbing Miami’s drug world like a man on fire, fuelled by ambition, insecurity, and a disturbing amount of charisma in a way only a young Pacino could.

What follows is a rise-and-fall story so chaotic, so stylish, and so quotable that it became the unofficial film of uni students, rappers, political dissidents, and film bros alike. If there were a Pulp Fiction poster on the wall, a Scarface poster would also be nearby.

Scarface isn't just a movie; it feels like one of the original memes, quoted by thousands who had never seen the film but just thought it was quite funny. People worship Tony Montana for his power, but overlook the fact that the film is a tragedy, a bullet-riddled cautionary tale disguised as a fever dream.

Why watch Scarface now?

The film was hated by critics on release, too violent, too loud, too over-the-top. But like Tony himself, it didn’t matter. Over the years, it became an underground favourite, then a pop culture monument: Jay-Z referenced it, Grand Theft Auto imitated it, every "Live Fast Die Young" Instagram caption owes something to it.

Now that it's on Netflix, Scarface is ripe for rediscovery, whether you’re watching it for the first time or revisiting it for the fifth, only to realise Tony is actually spiralling the whole time. It’s still ridiculous, still gripping, and still wildly entertaining. If you watch it this weekend, you’ll certainly be quoting it in the office on Monday.

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