Scarface Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Scarface Blu-ray Movie Review

Universal has released Director Brian De Palma's classic 1983 Gangster picture 'Scarface' to Blu-ray with a remastered 1080p transfer. The disc carries over the previous issue's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack. One new supplement, a retrospective conversation with key cast and crew, is included. Most of the legacy extras carry over. This disc is being made available individually but is also bundled with the UHD, which is released separately and as part of a limited edition which includes the 1932 film for the first time on Blu-ray as well as a collectible statue.

Scarface Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

With the occasion of the UHD release, Universal has put a remastered Blu-ray of Scarface onto the market. The results are impressive but the image is dwarfed by the UHD and also exhibits some issues of its own. Chief amongst the drawbacks are frequently crushed blacks, evident in many nighttime exteriors. Look at a scene in chapter 19, when Manny is driving Gina home after Tony ambushed her and her would-be lover in a bathroom stall. Blacks are overly dense and devouring of finer detail. It's a shot that the UHD handles with much more efficiency and grace. The same can be said of several other shots throughout the film. Texturally, the Blu-ray is very impressive. It's fairly crisp and stable, sharp and revealing. It again lacks the UHD's exceptionally well rounded presentation, missing the finer, more organic clarity and definition. Grain management is superior on the UHD, too. The Blu-ray's grain can look more clumpy and unrefined. In one slow zoom shot, grain density increases and decreases and textures sharpen and soften as the frame moves. Mix in what sometimes looks like mild compression related issues gumming up the image and one can see several areas in need of improvement. Colors are generally good beyond the crushed black issues. Skin tones are fine, the symbolic reds that are so prominent in many places throughout the film are impressively deep, and whites are adequately crisp. Again, however, this Blu-ray cannot come close to matching the UHD's excellence. It is a refinement of the previously issued Blu-ray's VC-1 image but the UHD absolutely destroy both for pure image quality.

Scarface Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

In a very rare move, Universal releases the remastered Scarface to Blu-ray with audio that is different from the UHD. Whereas that disc includes a DTS:X soundtrack, this remastered Blu-ray curiously includes only a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 presentation (both discs additionally feature English DTS 2.0 and French and Spanish DTS 2.0 mono audio presentations). In fact, this appears to be the exact same soundtrack that previously accompanied the film on Blu-ray in its various releases prior to this. It may be a chronologically old track but it's a very good listen in its own right: rich, robust, dynamic, and detailed. For a full audio review, please refer to the 2011 Blu-ray release's review here.

Scarface Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Scarface's new Blu-ray includes one new extra (denoted and reviewed below) and several carryover supplements (please click here for full coverage). Notably absent from this release are the pair of U-Control features (a meaty picture-in-picture experience and a gimmicky "scorecard"). These are disappointing omissions and they are not included on the companion UHD disc, either.

• NEW! Scarface: 35th Anniversary Reunion (1080p, 27:06): A conversation with Director Brian De Palma and Actors Al Pacino, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Steven Bauer. From New York City's Beacon Theater, April 19th, 2018. Discussions include project origins, the film's violence and language, the picture in retrospect, the film's rating, performances and the physical demands thereof, the film's lasting legacy, Pacino's burn injury during the shoot, Oliver Stone's script, possibilities for a remake, cast takeaways from the experience, and more.
• The Scarface Phenomenon
• The World of Tony Montana
• The Rebirth
• The Acting
• The Creating
• Deleted Scenes
• Scarface: The TV Version
• The Making of Scarface: The Video Game

Scarface Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scarface's remastered Blu-ray offers appreciable gains over the previously released VC-1 presentation, but it's nowhere near as drastic an upgrade as the companion UHD release, which is worlds superior to both 1080p options. The newly created retrospective panel is a treat. No new audio options are included. For fans without the ability to play back the UHD, this is a good opportunity to own the film with superior Blu-ray picture quality and comes recommended.