Scarface (1932): Shame of an Industry (1 Viewer)

Isn't it just a little bit insane that Howard Hawks' brilliant 1932 version is only available as an extra on the ludicrously expensive DVD homage to De Palma's awful remake?

It makes no sense--and I hope the situation is remedied soon!

I agree- it's a shame how poorly some older films are thought of and treated. Your example of Scarface is just one of many cases where the original (usually superior) film is given worse DVD treatment than the usually inferior re-make.

Agreed, but it seems like Universal has turned a corner in respect to their classic films. Hopefully, this will be revisited soon.

That said, you can pick this up on Ebay fairly cheap as most of the people who bought the set had no interest in the 30s version. The irony being that most of the people who want the Hawks' version don't want the Depalma version. Very poor market research on Universal's part.

No question about it--Universal has done some very good things in the past year (although they still seem to be allergic to commentary tracks--except when it comes to their horror films--which saddens me, 'cause I love 'em!)

I don't know about that- for many years the only place where you could get a legit DVD of Charade was the Criterion Collection disc, then Universal made that stupid remake The Truth About Charlie, and included Charade as an extra (!) in the DVD release of the remake. And don't get me started on their sparsity of DVD releases for stars like Deanna Durbin- and still no Maria Montez!!

While still a few stumbles along the way Universal has done great things this year with it's catalog titles, and now we have this classic that needs treated that way as well, possibly we could get this as part of the emerging Universal Cinema Classics or Legacy Series. Here is hoping this finds its way to a single release, and not another add on, in the past year the Preston Sturges collection , along with the SciFi Collection alone warrant the fact that they are willing to look at there catalog titles. If they would only understand that the Classic monsters, are not the only gems that they have , we could be in store for some great things.

well said! I love the thirties monster films--but Universal was also the studio that gave us John Stahl and James Whale's (non-monster!) melodramas in the early thirties. Plus the studio owns the rights to all kinds of great noirs that haven't made it to DVD yet (i.e. Ministry of Fear, You and Me, several more Robert Siodmak gems, all of the Ladd/Lake films, except for This Gun for Hire, etc...) More Durbins are essential--in addition to "Screen Legend" sets for stars like Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Jean Arthur, Ray Milland, etc. etc.)

I like the new Universal Cinema Classics line, and I do hope that Scarface winds up in the very next batch!

Well despite the fact that I disagree that the remake is an awful film, I think it's one of the great film's of the 80's and a gangster classic in itself, but nonetheless scarface '32 should be available separatley, it is in R2 land but the print used could use some work...

M

Dana, Dana, Dana- you still haven't addressed the issue of no Maria Montez titles on DVD, and she was a big moneymaker for Universal in the 40s, like Deanna Durbin!

Well a lot of stars have not gotten there due as of yet, where is the Barbara Stanwyck, Claudette Colbert or follow up’s to last years Glamour Collections from any one of the studios? What I was trying to state that lately Universal has been good at highlighting directors, now the question is how many titles directed by Hawks do they own? Universal has been on a good track lately doing director sets, and hopefully something like this will happen, all I can do is keep fingers crossed,

They could also do Glamour Collections devoted to Veronica Lake, Dorothy Lamour, and Clara Bow (3 of her films have just been recently restored).

Another option would be to order the NTSC Region 0 version, version produced in Korea and available for Korean vendors.

I remember making a big deal about this at the time the Scarface box set came out - I was furious that in order to buy a classic film I did want, I'd have to shell out a ludicrous amount of money for a movie that I consider to be one of the worst things I've ever seen.

It's one thing to do a release like The Truth About Charlie, or even their Dracula which also included the Spanish Version on the same disc, at a low price point - if Scarface included both versions for $20, I would have whined a little and gotten over it. For the price they wanted at the time (I don't remember exactly what it was, but it wasn't cheap), I just wasn't going to get it.

It was shame on Universal then, and as far as this title goes, shame on them today for having not released the '32 version on its own.

Exactly. With the history behind it (the long withdrawl from the public, Howard Hughes producing it, censorship issues, etc.), this is one film that should have its own Special Edition. The Pacino remake is a guilty pleasure, but the Paul Muni original is a true classic- I mean, have you seen a trampier pre-Code gal than Ann Dvorak as Cesca? I don't think so!

I could go for a whole Ann Dvorak boxed set (from Warners, her home studio in the early thirties)--she was one hell of an actress!

Chalk me up as one person waiting for a '32 only DVD.

HMV in Canada recently had piles of the old Scarface box (including both versions) for $24.99 each (less then $22 USD), I guess because of the recent Platinum Edition "upgrade".

The sets might still be kicking around up here. I don't know if they ever went south of the border at that price point.

Don't forget Death Takes a Holiday that's only available as disc 2 of the Meet Joe Black Ultimate Edition...which is now out of print. Sigh...

actually this is one of the titles that Universal re-issued (cleaning out old stock) before Xmas. Most websites have it up for sale at the moment. 8.53 at deep discount. http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=MCA021276

scarface box set seems to be the same way. Deep Discount for 27.52 http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemid=MCA023158

I have the box, and enjoy both the films on their own merits. I wish they would have released this titles as a stand alone as well though. I'd like to see it fall into their Legacy series at this point.

I'm another frustrated individual who has been waiting for Universal to release the '32 Scarface for YEARS. I absolutely cannot stand the remake and would love an opportunity to buy a standalone release of the original. And I'm in my 20's, Universal, so don't kid yourselves!!!! (like they're reading this )