''Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie and How It Changed America'' is a 2008 book written by

Ken Tucker Kenneth Tucker is an American arts, music and television critic, magazine editor, and non-fiction book writer. Early life and education Tucker was born in Manhattan, New York City, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. He earned a ...

and published by

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

about the 1983 American crime film '' Scarface'' and its influence on society, film, and the music industry.

Background

Tucker is a former critic for ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

''. He interviewed most of the film's cast and crew, except

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

and

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and ...

. He observed that they were unaware of the reasons for the popularity and influence of the film. Tucker researched for two years; he read the 1930 novel ''Scarface'' by

Armitage Trail Maurice R. Coons (July 18, 1902 – October 10, 1930), known by the pen name Armitage Trail, was an American pulp magazine, pulp fiction author, known best for his 1929 novel ''Scarface (novel), Scarface''. This novel was based on the life of ga ...

and watched both the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and 1983 films numerous times. He also bought a lot of ''Scarface''-related products, such as flip-flops, shower curtains, dartboards, and poker chips. The ''Scarface'' pajamas that he bought "kind of freaked out iswife".

Content

The book is divided into seven main chapters: Major Immigrant Smuggling Ring, The Director, Scarface Music, Howard Hawk's ''Scarface'', Armitage Trail's ''Scarface'', Movies TV Shows Novels, and A Meaning of ''Scarface''. An appendix titled "Scarface as a business plan (or the 8 Habits of Highly Successful but Tragic Gangsters)" was also included in the book.

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

told

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...

that "Hollywood is going to hate this film, because it's about them". Tucker notes that the film was created by White males, yet it has influenced Black and Hispanic youth the most. By the suggestion of

Sidney Lumet Sidney Arthur Lumet ( ; June 25, 1924 – April 9, 2011) was an American film director. He was nominated five times for the Academy Award: four for Best Director for ''12 Angry Men'' (1957), ''Dog Day Afternoon'' (1975), ''Network'' (1976), ...

, the origin of the main character

Tony Montana Antonio Montana is a fictional character and the protagonist of the 1983 film ''Scarface''. This character is portrayed by Al Pacino in the film and is voiced by André Sogliuzzo in the 2006 video game '' Scarface: The World Is Yours''. Embod ...

was changed from an Italian to a Cuban. In his work, Tucker calls ''Scarface'' an "ultimate gangster film" and "a great shallow masterpiece".

Reception

Louis Bayard Louis Bayard (born November 30, 1963) is an American author. His historical mysteries include ''The Pale Blue Eye'', ''Mr. Timothy'', ''The Black Tower'', ''The School of Night'', and ''Roosevelt's Beast'', and they have been translated into ...

wrote for ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

'' that Tucker had set a difficult mission for himself, writing about a film that was "not good at all". S. James Snyder wrote for ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' magazine that "Tucker bolsters his argument that whatever your opinion on the film, ''Scarface'' cannot be dismissed."

References

External links

''Scarface Nation''
at

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

{{Scarface 2008 non-fiction books English-language books Books about individual films Scarface (1983 film) American non-fiction books St. Martin's Press books