Pacino relayed the experience during a discussion with "Scarface" co-stars Steven Bauer, Robert Loggia and F. Murray Abraham and producer Martin Bregman at a party in Los Angeles Tuesday heralding the film's Blu-ray release. Part of the charm of the film, Pacino said, is that it wasn't initially a hit.
"It's one of my favorites because of its whole evolution," he said. "It (was) sort of eviscerated after it opened by the press. ... Nobody was fond of it, except it had good audience participation." Pacino's "Scarface" is set in 1980s Miami, and Tony Montana is an ambitious immigrant who runs a growing drug empire until he eventually collapses under greed and addiction.
Pacino's performance as the gun-wielding, coke-snorting Montana is among his most memorable. He said that during the nine months he was shooting the film, his character practically inhabited him. When a friend's yappy little dog lunged at him, Pacino said he cocked back his fist instinctively, as if threatening a punch. "So I love Tony Montana, man, because I couldn't do that!" Pacino said Tuesday.
Bregman called "Scarface" a "perfect, perfect movie."