Scarface 1983 is a remake, and thinking that Caesar is a protagonist does not give the right vibes.

@CheekyMonkey said:

Most of us know that this movie inspired Scarface... the plotlines, characters & themes... What I didn't expect was the crazy, over-the-top accent from Caesar, the protagonist... Just as with Pacino in Scarface... It's great!

Genre movies need more crazy accents...

Well, maybe the original Scarface from 1932 (https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/877-scarface) BUT NOT the Pacino version!

@mechajutaro said:

Gotta love the thoroughly WASPy Fairbanks Jr playing Johnny Massara

I believe Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was partially Jewish and also like I guess English or Irish.

@EugeneBelanger said:

I believe Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was partially Jewish and also like I guess English or Irish.

Not technically, his paternal grandfather was 'Jewish' but most Jews (especially back then) did not recognize patrilineal descent as a way to determine if you are a Jew. The descent must be from a Jewish mother. Also, he was born in New York to parents that were also born here.

@bratface said:

@EugeneBelanger said:

I believe Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was partially Jewish and also like I guess English or Irish.

Not technically, his paternal grandfather was 'Jewish' but most Jews (especially back then) did not recognize patrilineal descent as a way to determine if you are a Jew. The descent must be from a Jewish mother. Also, he was born in New York to parents that were also born here.

What in the name of God has being born to American-born parents got to do with him being partially Jewish or not? Being Jewish is usually a matter of being and descending from Syrian tribes who came to Europe from the Levant region of the Middle East very quickly after Titus burned Jerusalem. Actor DFJ positively met the criteria he was partially Jewish for sure and more he was British-Christian descended.

@mechajutaro said:

As Russell Peters teaches us, culture and blood are two distinct entities. There's no shortage of Chinese and Korean born Americans who were adopted by white families in Minnesota during infancy, subsequently raised WASP, and with no connection to their heritage outside of subtitled movies, or occasionally dining at Panda Express

Panda Express. HA! Most Chinese people will tell you that "Chinese food" in the States is American food. I hear there is a trend in China now where people open up "Chinese food" restaurants that has American Chinese food. Real Chinese food doesn't use near as much sugar as they use here in the States. I always said the easiest way to cover up bad cooking was to drown it in sugar.

@mechajutaro said:

@movie_nazi said:

@mechajutaro said:

As Russell Peters teaches us, culture and blood are two distinct entities. There's no shortage of Chinese and Korean born Americans who were adopted by white families in Minnesota during infancy, subsequently raised WASP, and with no connection to their heritage outside of subtitled movies, or occasionally dining at Panda Express

Panda Express. HA! Most Chinese people will tell you that "Chinese food" in the States is American food. I hear there is a trend in China now where people open up "Chinese food" restaurants that has American Chinese food. Real Chinese food doesn't use near as much sugar as they use here in the States. I always said the easiest way to cover up bad cooking was to drown it in sugar.

American food more often than not has a conspicuous lack of bat, cat, and dog in the ingredients also. Contrary to what Champ claimed in Anchorman 2, it ain't Chicken Of The Cave

LOL. First of all, the only people in China that eat those "exotic" meats are country bumpkins that are akin to people in the States eating opossums, squirrels, and road kill. Most "civilized" Chinese keep dogs and cats as pets and would be horrified at the idea of eating them. Meanwhile, "civilized" Westerners are eating fish eggs(caviar), fungi (truffles), and snails (escargot) and charging exorbitant prices for them. We all have our share of eating weird shit.

Steering the conversation from food and back to the film at hand, see? I certainly just had to remind myself for a second that this only came out three years after the debut of sound in motion pictures. I certainly enjoyed it for what it was, and I see heaps of potential in it, if it could be longer to solidify the characters and a connection to them as well. The ending seemed a bit anticlimactic to me. It certainly didn't deliver the punch I expected. All in all, an okay picture. Love watching how stuff evolved and the old era of Hollywood is my favourite bar none. :)

And in terms of Scarface, absolutely. W.R. Burnett who wrote the novel "Little Caesar" also worked on the original "Scarface". I certainly prefer the former over the latter.