December 9, 1983: The Remake of "Scarface" Premieres

December 9, 1983: This was a big day for movies: Barbara Streisand's Yentl premiered. So did Terms of Endearment, which would win the Academy Award for Best Picture. So did a film version of Stephen King's killer car story Christine. So did the 4th Dirty Harry movie, Sudden Impact, in which Clint Eastwood introduced the catchphrase, "Go ahead, make my day." And so did Scarface.

It was not quite a remake of the 1932 Howard Hawks film starring Paul Muni as Italian immigrant and booze bootlegger Tony Camonte, although the catchphrase "The World Is Yours" was borrowed, and the film was dedicated to the memories of Hawks, who died in 1977, and screenwriter Ben Hecht, who died in 1964. But not to Muni, who died in 1967.

Somehow, this film, directed by Brian De Palma after Sidney Lumet dropped out, with a screenplay by Oliver Stone, written by Oliver Stone, and starring Al Pacino as Cuban immigrant and Miami cocaine trafficker Tony Montana, has inspired hip-hoppers. Newsflash, "gentlemen": You are not Cuban, and Tony Montana is not a role model.

But, like fellow gangster movies The Godfather and Goodfellas, the movie has its share of memorable quotes:

* "Me, I always tell the truth, even when I lie."

* "All I have in this world is my balls and my word, and I don't break them for no one."

* "In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then, when you get the money, you get the power. Then, when you get the power, then you get the women."

* "Every day above ground is a good day."

* "Don't get high on your own supply."

* "Say hello to my little friend!"

An urban legend states that the rock bank Blink-182 chose their number based on the number of times the word "fuck" is used in Scarface '83. It's not true: They were originally named simply "Blink," and an established band had that name, so they added 182, and it was just a random number, with no previous significance.

(Scarface '83 uses the word 207 times. At the time, it was a record, but it has since been far surpassed by many. Not counting purposeful movies, like Fuck, a 2005 film about the word itself, using it 857 times, or Swearnet: The Movie, a 2014 film that uses it 935 times, the movie with the most "F-bombs" is The Wolf of Wall Street, 2013, 569 of them.)

The movie also stars Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham, Míriam Colón, Harris Yulin, Paul Shenar, and comedian Ángel Salazar, one of the few people in the movie who was actually a Cuban exile.

It is worth noting that Tony Camonte ends up begging for his life, while Tony Montana goes down figuratively with all flags flying, and literally with all guns blazing. The original 1932 film was supposed to end that way, but Hawks bent to pressure to make Scarface look like a coward. On the other hand, Camonte, while insane, wasn't stupid enough to become addicted to his own product; Montana was stupid enough to do that.

Shenar died in 1989, Loggia in 2015. Colón in 2017; and Geno Silva, who played "The Skull," who ends up killing Tony, in 2020. As of December 9, 2022, De Palma, Stone, Pacino, Bauer, Pfeiffer, Mastrantonio, Abraham, Salazar are still alive. (UPDATE: Salazar died in 2024, Yulin in 2025.)

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December 9, 1983 was a Thursday. English soccer star Jermaine Beckford was born.

Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. No games were scheduled for the NHL. There were 9 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the San Diego Clippers, 111-92 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena).

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 100-93 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Denver Nuggets, 119-90 at the Boston Garden.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-83 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 110-104 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-112 in overtime at the Chicago Stadium.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 126-117 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mike Mitchell scored 36 points for the Spurs.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Detroit Pistons, 123-117 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Kelly Tripucka, from my hometown of Bloomfield, New Jersey, scored 36 points in defeat for the Pistons.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Dallas Mavericks, 132-124 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

September 21, 1975: “Dog Day Afternoon” Premieres

September 21, 1975: Dog Day Afternoon premieres. The film was based on a real robbery at the Chase Manhattan Bank at 450 Avenue P in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn on August 22, 1972.

In the film, as in real life, things quickly went wrong. One of the three robbers lost his nerve, leaving Sonny Wortzik (played by Al Pacino, based on John Wojtowicz) and Sal Naturile (John Cazale, and the real robber's name was kept for the character) to pull it off themselves. They arrived after the bank's daily cash pickup, and there was only $1,100 in cash on hand -- about $7,700 in 2022 money. The police showed up sooner than expected, and Sonny and Sal were forced to take hostages, totaling 7.

Sonny and his wife, Angie (Susan Peretz, based on Carmen Wojtowicz) were estranged. Sonny was in a gay relationship with Leon Shermer (Chris Sarandon, based on the character then named Ernest Aron), and wanted the money to play for Leon's sex change operation (which would today be called "gender reassignment surgery").

In real life, Sal Naturile was indeed killed by the FBI at the end. He was only 18 (as opposed to Cazale, who turned 40 right before the movie premiered). Ernest Aron did get the surgery, paid for with the $7,500 that Wojtowicz got for selling his story, and became Elizabeth Eden. She died in 1987 of AIDS-related complications. She was 41. Wojtowicz praised Pacino's performance, but said the movie was only about 30 percent accurate, and that he never sold Naturile out. He served 5 years in prison, and died of cancer in 2006. He was 60.

In real life, Carmen heard about the robbery on television, but didn't know John was involved until it was all over. They had both worked for Chase, which is probably why that bank was chosen. They were not formally divorced until 1983. She was a special education teacher, and died in 2013.

Cazale was in just 5 movies in his cancer-shortened life: This one, The Godfather (also with Pacino), The Godfather, Part II (ditto), The Conversation and The Deer Hunter. And all 5 of them were nominated for Best Picture. He died on March 13, 1978, only 42. At the time of his death, he was dating Meryl Streep, who was also in The Deer Hunter, and not yet the big star she would become.

UPDATE: In 2026, Dog Day Afternoon debuted as a non-musical Broadway play, at the August Wilson Theatre. The names are changed: Sonny Wortzik, the Pacino character, becomes Sonny Amato, played by Jon Bernthal; Sal Naturale, the Cazale character, becomes Sal DeSilva, and is played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach; and Angie Wortzik becomes Colleen Amato, played by Jessica Hecht.

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September 21, 1975 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 3-2 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Rick Waits, who would give the Yankees fits over his career in Cleveland, outpitched Larry Gura, who would give the Yankees fits after he was traded to the Kansas City Royals. Rico Carty, who would give the Yankees fits no matter what team he played for, went 4-for-4. Bobby Bonds hit his 3rd home run of the series.

* The New York Mets lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4-2 at Shea Stadium. Dick Ruthven outpitched Jon Matlack. Mike Schmidt went 0-for-3. Ron Hodges hit a home run for the Mets.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-4 at Jarry Park in Montreal.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 3-0 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Mike Torrez pitched a 2-hit shutout. Brooks Robinson went 0-for-4. Robin Yount went 0-for-3 with a walk. Hank Aaron appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not reach base.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-0 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Don Gullett (2 hits over 7 innings) and Rawly Eastwick (none over 2) pitched a 2-hit shutout. Pete Rose went 1-for-3. Johnny Bench did not play.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. Willie Stargell went 0-for-3 with a walk. Lou Brock went 1-for-4 with a stolen base.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-5 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Carl Yastrzemski went 1-for-4 with a walk.

* The Texas Rangers beat the Chicago White Sox, 8-2 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.

* The Kansas City Royals beat the Oakland Athletics, 2-1 at Royals Stadium (now Kauffman Stadium) in Kansas City. George Brett went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Reggie Jackson went 0-for-4.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1 at the Astrodome in Houston.

* The California Angels beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the San Francisco Giants beat the San Diego Padres, 2-1 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

And these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Redskins beat the New Orleans Saints, 41-3 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington.

* The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills, 42-14 at Rich Stadium (later Ralph Wilson Stadium) in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* The Houston Oilers beat the New England Patriots, 7-0 at Schaefer Stadium (later Sullivan Stadium and Foxboro Stadium) in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 24-17 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.

* The Baltimore Colts beat the Chicago Bears, 35-7 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Detroit Lions beat the Green Bay Packers, 30-16 at Milwaukee County Stadium.

* The Minnesota Vikings beat the San Francisco 49ers, 27-17 at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* The football version of the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Falcons, 23-20 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams, 18-7 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas.

* The Denver Broncos beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 37-33 at Mile High Stadium in Denver.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the San Diego Chargers, 37-0 at San Diego Stadium (later renamed Jack Murphy Stadium and Qualcomm Stadium).

* And the next night, on ABC Monday Night Football, the Oakland Raiders beat the Miami Dolphins, 31-21 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

March 14, 1972: "The Godfather" Premieres

Al Pacino (left) and Marlon Brando

March 14, 1972: The film The Godfather premieres at Loew's State Theatre in New York, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It follows the Corleone family and its organized crime business in New York City from 1945 to 1955.

Marlon Brando was already a legend, but his legend grew by leaps and bounds with his portrayal of Vito Corleone, a crime boss but a dedicated family man. James Caan had become a star the year before, by playing dying football player Brian Piccolo in Brian's Song. But his role as Vito's son, Santino, a.k.a. Sonny, lifted him into the stratosphere. Robert Duvall had played Major Frank Burns in the film version of M*A*S*H, but became a star by playing Tom Hagen, consigliere (counselor) to the Corleone family.

Launched to stardom were Al Pacino as Vito's son and successor Michael Corleone; Talia Shire (Coppola's sister) as the Don's daughter Connie, whose wedding begins the film; Diane Keaton as Michael's girlfriend and eventual wife Kay Adams; Richard Castellano and Abe Vigoda as longtime Corleone caporegimes Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, respectively; and Alex Rocco as Las Vegas casino boss Moe Greene, whose status within the film as the man who made Las Vegas made him a thinly-veiled version of real-life Los Angeles gangster Bugsy Siegel.

The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards. It won 3: For Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is regarded by many as the greatest film of all time, or one of the greatest. Of course, it's a very masculine film, with the women little more than plot points. I often joke that men have The Godfather, while women have The Way We Were.

The performances were iconic, the scenes legendary, the music (scored by Nino Rota) unforgettable. It's also one of the most-quoted movies ever:

* Vito: "Someday, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me."

** "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

** "Revenge is a dish best served cold." (This was already an old saying.)

** "Women and children can be careless, but not men."

** "Look how they massacred my boy."

** "I refused to be a fool, dancing on the strings held by all of those big shots."

* Clemenza: "He wants to go to the mattresses already."

** "It's a Sicilian message: It means 'Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.'"

** "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." (The 2nd half was an ad-lib by Castellano.)

** "Oh, Paulie? You won't see him no more."

* Jack Woltz (a film studio boss, played by John Marley): "A man in my position can't afford to look ridiculous."

* Calò (Michael's bodyguard in Sicily, played by Franco Citti): "In Sicily, women are more dangerous than guns."

* Tessio: "Tom, can you get me off the hook, for old times' sake?"

* Michael: "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."

** "Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides against the family again."

** "Don't ever ask me about my business, Kay."

And while Michael was a U.S. Marine Corps officer in World War II, he'd only killed men from far away, never up close like a "made man." It was Sonny, the originally-intended heir to the Don, who told him that, in order to kill a man their way, you had to get up close and fire. The sound effect he used also entered the American lexicon: "Ba-da-bing!"

It's also worth noting that, while the film is about organized crime in New York's Italian community, the words "Mafia," "mob" and "Cosa Nostra" are never spoken. In the Spring of 1971, as preparations for filming were underway, one of the producers, Albert Ruddy, met with Joseph Colombo, boss of the New York crime family that bears his name and (in 1964) the 1st American-born boss of a crime family. Colombo agreed to drop all opposition to the film, and to allow the labor unions that New York's real "Five Families" controlled to work on the film, if those words were not used in the film. Ruddy took the deal to Coppola, who agreed. The words did not appear in the film -- although they were used in the sequels.

(In real life, the Five Families are named, in alphabetical order -- that's the only way to show proper respect -- Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese. In the film, in order of most mentions, they are Corleone, Barzini, Tattaglia, Cuneo and Stracchi.)

Sequels weren't really a thing at the time. But there was enough material in the original novel that they could make The Godfather Part II in 1974, going back and forth between Vito's youth from 1901 to 1925, showing how he went from a boy targeted by a Sicilian boss to an American boss who could go back home and get his revenge; and 1958 to 1960, as Michael struggled to find a way to "go straight," but, unlike his father, lost his family in the process.

John Cazale played the middle Corleone son, Fredo, whose physical and mental shortcomings led to his overreach in the 2nd film. Cazale made 5 films over 7 years, before dying of cancer in 1978: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon (also with Pacino), and The Deer Hunter (with Robert De Niro, who played the younger Vito in The Godfather Part II). All 5 were nominated for Best Picture. The Godfather and The Deer Hunter won it.

Since the 1st 2 Godfather films, Pacino has become a self-caricature: He has had many iconic performances, usually showing him yelling and out of control: Dog Day Afternoon, ...And Justice for All, Scarface, Scent of a Woman, The Devil's Advocate, Any Given Sunday. He's also become one of the easy choices for impressionists. The genius of his portrayal of Michael is that, once he becomes the new Don, he is calm, cool, collected, and totally in control. On those occasions where events fall out of his control, he quickly figures out how to regain it.

Part II is considered one of the few sequels to a great film that is as good as, or perhaps even better than, the original. That would not be the case with The Godfather Part III, released in 1990. Set in 1979 and 1980, it brings Michael's story to a shocking close, but it's long, it drags, and the acting isn't as sharp as in the 2 previous films. Duvall did not reprise his role as Tom Hagen, saying he didn't mind making half as much money as Pacino, but didn't want to make only a fraction of it. And a criticism I have of the 3rd film is that, aging and sick, Michael does lose control, bit by bit, both of his power and his emotions, until the shocking close.

And, after Winona Ryder had to back out of the role, Coppola cast his own daughter Sofia as Michael's now-grown daughter Mary, and her acting was horribly ripped by the critics, and by original Godfather fans. She has since become a director herself, and gotten considerably better reviews. Maybe she followed the advice Michael quoted from his father in Part II: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." Or maybe she proved what Fredo was unable to prove in Part II: "I can handle things! I'm smart! Not like everybody says, like dumb! I'm smart, and I want respect!" She now has it.

The 1st film was 2 hours, 57 minutes long; the 2nd, 3 hours, 20 minutes; the 3rd, 2 hours, 42 minutes. All tolled, just under 9 hours. At that rate, they could have made 5 separate films, averaging 1 hour and 48 minutes each:

* 1901-25: The rise of Vito.

* 1945-48: Vito's decline, Sonny's murder, and Michael's exile.

* 1948-55: Michael's return, Vito's death, and "The Baptism of Fire" that puts Michael firmly on top.

* 1958-60: Michael's death struggle with Hyman Roth, and his life struggles with Kay and Fredo.

* 1979-80: Michael's coda.

Would that have worked better? Someday, and that day may never come, we may get an answer -- if not in this life, then in the next. Until then, accept this post, on the 50th Anniversary of the original film's release.

As I said, John Cazale died in 1978. Richard Conte (opposing boss Emilio Barzini) and Al Lettieri (opposing boss Virgil "The Turk" Sollozo) both died in 1975, Lee Strasberg (Hyman Roth in Part II) in 1982, John Marley in 1984, Sterling Hayden (Captain Mark McCluskey) in 1986, Richard Castellano in 1988, Lenny Montana (Luca Brasi) in 1992, Michael Gazzo (Frank Pentangeli in Part II) in 1995, Marlon Brando in 2004, Richard Bright (Al Neri) in 2006, Al Martino (singer Johnny Fontane) in 2009, Alex Rocco in 2015, Abe Vigoda in 2016, and Morgana King (Carmela Corleone, too young to be the mother of the Corleone children) in 2018.

As of March 14, 2022, Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Gianni Russo (Connie's husband Carlo Rizzi), John Martino (Paulie Gatto) and Simonetta Stefanelli (Apollonia Vitelli, Michael's ill-fated 1st wife in Sicily) are still alive.

UPDATE: James Caan died later in 2022. Diane Keaton died in 2025. Robert Duvall died in 2026.

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March 14, 1972 was a Tuesday. Baseball was in Spring Training. Football was out of season. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the Atlanta Hawks, 115-107 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors, 124-110 at the Boston Garden. John Havlicek scored 38 points.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Baltimore Bullets, 127-118 in overtime at the Baltimore Civic Center (which is now named the CFG Bank Arena).

* The Buffalo Braves beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 108-105 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. Elmore Smith had 33 points and 24 rebounds for the Braves.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons, 129-116 at Cobo Hall (which is now named Huntington Place) in Detroit. Bob Lanier scored 35 for the Pistons, but Jim McMillian had 30, Wilt Chamberlain had 28, Jerry West had 23 and Gail Goodrich had 21.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-111 at the Chicago Stadium. Lee Winfield scored 38 for the Sonics.

* And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 109-98 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 36 points and 17 rebounds.

There were 3 games in the American Basketball Association:

* The Virginia Squires beat the Pittsburgh Condors, 156-133 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh. No, there was no overtime. Julius "Dr. J" Erving scored 33 for the Squires. 

* The Dallas Chaparrals beat the Carolina Cougars, 113-105 at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas.

* And the Denver Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers, 123-106 at the Auditorium Arena in Denver. The Rockets became the Denver Nuggets in 1974.

There were 2 games played in the NHL that day. The Buffalo Sabres beat the Minnesota North Stars, 4-3 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. And the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Vancouver Canucks, 7-4 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.