Director Brian De Palma and screenwriter Oliver Stone opted for a singular, punchy title: Scarface .
The "subtitle" most famously associated with the Scarface legacy is a title forced upon the original 1932 film by censors to ensure the movie was seen as a moral warning rather than a glorification of crime. The Origins: Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) subtitle Scarface
Despite lacking the "moralizing" subtitle, the 1983 film faced its own controversy, receiving a "negative" initial response from critics who were repulsed by its extreme violence and profanity. Key Differences in Messaging 1932 Original 1983 Remake Full Title Scarface: The Shame of a Nation Scarface Protagonist Tony Camonte (Italian) Tony Montana (Cuban) Theme Moral warning / Social evil The American Dream gone toxic Famous Quote "Do it first, do it yourself..." "Say hello to my little friend!" Director Brian De Palma and screenwriter Oliver Stone
To appease these concerns, the producers added the subtitle " The Shame of a Nation " to explicitly frame the story as an indictment of the "gangster evil" in America. Key Differences in Messaging 1932 Original 1983 Remake
A written text crawl was also added to the beginning of the film, demanding that the government take action against organized crime.
Instead of the Italian-American Prohibition-era setting of the 1932 version, the remake focused on the Cuban Mariel boatlift and the 1980s Miami cocaine trade.
Beyond the title, the ending was also altered; rather than a defiant final stand, the original film had to include a scene where Camonte is captured and legally executed to show that "crime doesn't pay". The Transition to the 1983 Remake