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Scarface Nation
by Ken Tucker
Everything that you ever wanted to know about
A book about one of the most celebrated movies in recent history, peppered with pop culture references and pictures: how can you possibly go wrong?
Author Ken Tucker certainly has not gone wrong in his fun and entertaining new tome, "Scarface Nation: The Ultimate Gangster Movie And How It Changed America." Tucker utilizes his vast knowledge of pop culture references to piece together this intriguing sketch of just some of the many varied ways in which Al Pacino's 1983 film forever changed the public psyche. Tucker calls on his vast store of film knowledge, surely gleaned from years working for Entertainment Weekly (he mention it specifically by name) and takes the reader on a twisting and at-times surprising tale of how one movie truly made an impact.
From film to music to politics, dorm rooms and beyond, Tucker shows just a slice of the myriad of ways that the Pacino-starring gangster movie (itself an update of a popular 1932 film by the same name) has had a real and visible effect on the world in the ensuing years. Rare indeed is the college dorm room in which a "Scarface" poster, or screensaver, doesn't greet those who enter; the update to the 1930's crime caper (itself based on Al Capone, the notorious 20th century mobster) perhaps allowed modern audiences to feel the menace and charisma of Pacino's fabled Tony Montana. Interestingly, Brian De Palma's film masterpiece did have a basis in reality, like the 1932 original. Montana's character was an amalgamation of the menacing, even romanticized gangsters of yore, while also playing the part of a criminal released from Cuba (not long after Fidel Castro notably pulled a fast one, releasing many violent convicts onto American shores as so-called asylum seekers.)
With one-liners like "Say hello to my little friend!" how can you not love "Scarface"? Surely Tucker's book will find a special place in many a heart this year.
Title: Scarface Nation
Author: Ken Tucker
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 9780312330590
Review written by: Susie Kopecky
Reviewer's Rating:8
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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