Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone… ahem ahem. That’s an impressive name. Al Capone is one of the most celebrated criminal of Hollywood. There have been thousands of references and portrayals of this legendary name. What made him so special? Nature of his crime? Nah… Unlike boring Families; Capone was more outgoing. He believed in doing things with a big trailing sound. His larger than life persona attracted everyone from journalist to Hollywood movie stars… and yes; who can forget/overlook Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.
The Godfather had a small fictionalized role of Capone in the war. This was an acknowledgement of Capone’s might and popularity. Considering the uncountable times Capone has been caricatured; we will limit our discussion to two highly acclaimed movies: The Untouchables and Scarface.
The Untouchables was based on a novel by the same name, tells the story of infamous Capone and his famed strife with Agent Ness. This movie was critically acclaimed for direction. Robert De Niro played the role of Al Capone and the portrayal is remembered as one of his finest. He went to the extent of gaining 30 pounds to give the Capone persona to his reel avatar. Moreover, his adaptation of character had the brutality and the chivalry both at the same time; something Capone was famous for. Result was deadly.
Based on 1932 movie by Hawks, in 1983, Scarface was made with Al Pacino playing the role of Tony Montana. Tony Montana is a famous screen adaptation of Capone and since 1932; nobody has a shred of doubt about it. When Scarface (1932) was made; it was a fact and when Scarface was remade in 1983; it was a legend. Al Pacino gave one of his finest performances and the movie went on to become a legend. Due to heavy dosage of blood and abuse censor was very cautious about rating this movie. However, that did not mar the quality of work by any mean. No wonder, Ebert gave 4/4 to this rebel movie.
That’s the end of our series – ‘Criminals In Cinema’. I hope you like it. May be soon, I will start off with a long series on Axed Reel Romances In Bollywood. Wait for it…
Written By: Sujoy Ghosh
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