ending (spoiler)
what happened at the ending? tony gets killed...i know that. did he kill louis? was he paid?...what happened?
shareHe hides in his flat until his sister gets shot by a ricochet. Then he goes all emo and surrender. He then tried to run away when they are about to cuff him and he gets shut down, gangster style.
Sorta disappointed. I wanted him to go berserk with his tommy-gun on the street. Would be kinda controversial with the anti-hero going around killing cops back in the 30's I guess :)
Yes he killed Big Louis. Probably by orders from Johnny Lovo
I was watching the Scarface (Remake) DVD extras and they were talking about how it was natural back in the 30's for gangsters like that to give up instantly when they were cornered and to kind of be patheic like that...
At least Tony tried to run away, unlike in the alternate verison of the disk
~I pledge alligence to your death!~
Acording to Dawn Sova's book Forbidden Films, the original ending had "Tony going out in a blaze of bullets as he stands up to the police with guns in both of his hands." That would have been quite a finish! Unfortunately, the censors wouldn't wear it, so they got them to change the ending. Apparently, contemporary audiences saw yet another ending, which was imposed by the censors (even being blown away by the fuzz wasn't good enough for the prudes!), that had Tony hauled in front of a judge and sentenced to hang. Because Muni was unavailable for re-shoots, a stand-in plays Tony in these scenes. For some unknown reason, this scene doesn't make it into currently available copies of the film. An alternative ending was also filmed for Double Indemnity, in which Keyes watches Neff walk into the gas chamber, but they didn't use it (stills of these scenes survive); I don't think that had anything to do with censorship, though.
"Alonzo is laughing at the way everything has happened."
The alternative ending with the hanging is a supplement on the DVD that I just finished watching.
shareI took the ending as being very realistic and humanizing to Tony. He loses sister and realizes what he's done with his life and he wants a clean break. I saw it as a reality check of sorts. Over-dramatizing his actions like they did in the Pacino remake wouldn't have had the same effect, in my mind.
shareI wondered if the 'breakdown' was supposed to be all an act, actually, since it provides him with the necessary off-guard moments to make his final break for freedom -- it's the only way he's going to get past those policemen. I actually prefer the 'deflated braggart' theory, where Tony's bravado completely snaps and he reverts to frightened little boy status (the gangsters are often portrayed as relatively childish in their impulses and indulgences earlier in this film), but I did wonder if it was all intended as a set-up.
~~Igenlode
Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round...