Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie Review

With Director Brian De Palma's 'Scarface' receiving no less than three new releases -- a fantastic UHD, a remastered Blu-ray, and a first-class limited edition -- and needing a copy of the film's previously issued Blu-ray for comparison purposes, it seemed a good bet to pick up this SteelBook and offer a quick packaging review for it as, perhaps, a cheap way to acquire a SteelBook to put the UHD inside since Universal curiously omitted that option for the new UHD disc. The scores above reflect the disc that is actually included with this release, which is the old VC-1 Blu-ray.

Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For a full Blu-ray video review, please click here; note that this link points to the 2011 Blu-ray release.

Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

For a full Blu-ray audio review, please click here; note that this link points to the 2011 Blu-ray release.

Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The textured SteelBook is not smooth or slick or glossy and will not show fingerprints, a good thing given the predominance of black on its front and rear panels. The front features the film's title, center top, in white letters faintly outlined in red. The first "A" in the title has a Tommy Gun inside of it. Below is a pair of red sunglasses reflecting palm trees in the lenses. All of these elements together -- the gun, the clothing, the palm trees, and the drugs -- do a great job in a very simple and streamlined manner of conveying everything the movie is about. Below the glasses is a red shirt collar surrounded by accentuating lines of cocaine. The rear panel includes a similar torso view of a decidedly 80s outfit inside a red circle. The words "The World Is Yours" appear below. A universal logo plus some legalese appears on the bottom left and a model number appears on the bottom right. The spine is a pleasing offsetting red color that includes a Blu-ray logo at the top and a Universal logo at the bottom, as well as a different number from the back panel.

Inside, the digital copy code (likely long expired) is tucked underneath the left-hand-side tabs. The lone Blu-ray disc appears on its own hub on the right. For those who might be interested in ditching the UHD's case and adding it to this set, there is room on the hub to hold both discs should one choose to do so. It might actually be wise to hang on to the included Blu-ray since it contains the U-Control supplements missing from the new BD and UHD and the UHD includes the new retrospective cast and crew discussion, which is the only supplemental addition. The inner print is simply a blank slate of a deep red metallic color, reminiscent of some Sony SteelBooks (see here and here for a couple of examples).

For full coverage of the on-disc supplemental content, please click here; note that this link points to the 2011 Blu-ray release.

Scarface - Limited Edition Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Scarface's second SteelBook release (the first accompanied the original 2011 release linked several times above) is not the most dynamic in the world, but currently selling on Amazon for less than $8 it's a good opportunity for those disappointed that Universal didn't release a SteelBook for the UHD to pick one up at a very reasonable extra cost. The hub will hold two discs, too, and adding the UHD in with this VC-1 Blu-ray might just be the best of both worlds; the UHD includes vastly superior picture and sound than the remastered Blu-ray can offer while this older BD includes supplements not on either new release. Recommended in that homemade franken-disc configuration.