10 Film Remakes That Are Better Than The Original

The Original

Released during prohibition-era America, Scarface told the story of a fictionalised gangster’s rise to power among the Italian-American crime families. Loosely based on the life of Al Capone it starred Paul Muni in the title role, whose tommy gun toting image would be the staple look for pre-war Hollywood gangsters; aped in everything from Bugsy Malone to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

The Remake

Taking a similar premise, Brian DePalma’s later version succeeds over the original for a number of reasons. First, the timing. Yes, Muni portrayed the archetypal hood from an era when organised crime was high profile. But by moving the story to the world of Cuban immigrants, the film was a prefect window into the late-70s Miami scene while retaining a theme that still rings true in a Trump-era 2016.

And then, of course, there is the astonishing performance of Al Pacino at the heart of it all. Tony Montoya might be the greatest in a long line of great roles for Pacino. Because while he has veered close to parody in some later films, this is the movie you refer back to when you want to recall how utterly compelling he can be as a lead actor.