“Scarface” occupies an interesting place in film history. While the idea of remakes is often debated by film fans, with many claiming that these films are completely unnecessary, Brian De Palma’s “Scarface” is often cited as the remake that shatters that myth. And even with the fact that De Palma’s film is a remake of Howard Hawks’ 1932 original, there were still people that scoffed at the idea of Luca Guadagnino taking over a brand-new film based on the story of Tony Montana, questioning the need for a third “Scarface.” But in a new interview with the filmmaker, Guadagnino explains thoroughly why people need to stop thinking about his “Scarface” as a remake of De Palma or Hawks’ features.
Speaking to BadTaste while at this year’s Venice Film Festival, the question about what Guadagnino’s version of “Scarface” will look like compared to the iconic ‘80s film from Brian De Palma, the Italian filmmaker immediately hits back that people shouldn’t automatically think he’s solely inspired by De Palma’s take on the material.
READ MORE: Luca Guadagnino Talks His ‘Scarface’ Idea & Why Remakes Aren’t “A Lazy Way” To Make Films
“Brian De Palma’s film left a mark on me,” explained Guadagnino. “So, it’s an important film in my imagination. The truth is that I’m interested in the Tony Montana character. He’s a symptom of the American dream. And I think these films are made for their eras. My own ‘Scarface’ will arrive 40 years after the previous one. I think the important thing about these movies is not the fact that they are lush and fundamental like De Palma’s. The important thing is knowing that Tony Montana is an archetypal character.”
He went on to say that because Montana is an archetype, we shouldn’t expect his version of the film to be reminiscent of De Palma’s in a specific way. He compares Tony Montana to another classic archetypal figure in film history.
“I’m talking about, for example, ‘The King of Kings’ and ‘The Last Temptation of Christ,’” he said. “If we were conceiving a film about Jesus Christ, it’s an archetypal human figure. We don’t have inferiority complexes about great movies made by great filmmakers.”
Guadagnino references Howard Hawks’ version of “Scarface” from 1932 and how popular that feature was, and how that made Tony Montana a pop culture figure for almost a century.
READ MORE: ‘Scarface’: Luca Guadagnino To Direct The Remake Written By The Coen Brothers
“It’s almost 100 years that Tony Montana has affected the imagination of the audience,” he said. “And this happens, in part, because we are attracted by what produces evil, and, in part, because we want to make something bigger than ourselves. It’s about the dream of fulfilling, of success. This is something way bigger than Brian De Palma’s direction. It’s something bigger than Brian De Palma, Howard Hawks, and myself.”
The filmmaker says his version will be different because he doesn’t want to “imitate anything.” Guadagnino also says the script is “great” and that he wants to make “Scarface” a film that is “shocking” for audiences.
Obviously, we have no idea when the new “Scarface” will be put in production. But the filmmaker has previously said that he is still firming up plans for what will be his next feature, so we could be seeing more about “Scarface” in the next couple of years.