Its seminal importance in the early gangster movie cycle outweighed only by its still exhilarating brilliance, this Howard Hughes production was the one unflawed classic the tycoon was involved with.
– Paul Taylor,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
fresh:
Scarface contains more cruelty than any of its gangster picture predecessors, but there's a squarer for every killing. The blows are always softened by judicial preachments and sad endings for the sinners.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
18 Oct 2008
fresh:
Howard Hawks's 1932 masterpiece is a dark, brutal, exhilaratingly violent film, blending comedy and horror in a manner that suggests Chico Marx let loose with a live machine gun.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
2 Mar 2010
fresh:
By far the most visually inventive and tonally anarchic movie that Hawks made.
– Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Jul 2014
fresh:
Scarface is one of best of the early gangster movies; its wit and building velocity speeds it past Little Caesar and keeps pace with Public Enemy.