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Behind the scenes of the famous film: Al Pacino ended up in the hospital after the final scene of "Scarface"

2025-07-12 15:35:17Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

In his autobiography, the famous actor reveals details from the film that marked his career and is considered one of the greatest and most influential films of all time.

On a warm spring night in March 1983, Al Pacino was giving it his all to shoot the final scene of “Scarface.”

He famously said, “Say hello to my little buddy,” while holding an M16 rifle and firing indiscriminately at anything that moved. After firing 30 rounds and throwing several grenades, his left hand accidentally touched the hot barrel of the gun, causing a severe burn.

Pacino was rushed to the hospital. A doctor looked at the man in his bloodied clothes almost with disdain. As they prepared to clean the wound, she asked him if he was Al Pacino. When he confirmed it, she said, "At first I thought you were some kind of tramp..."

This hospital incident opens Pacino's autobiography, "Sonny Boy," which focuses on "Scarface," the now legendary film that was considered extremely violent for its time. Pacino played Tony Montana, a Cuban immigrant whose rise to power was bloody, involving murder, betrayal, deals with drug lords and a femme fatale.

Behind the scenes of the famous film: Al Pacino ended up in the hospital after

According to the book, Pacino was inspired to remake “Scarface” after watching the original 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks with some friends. The new version is set in contemporary America, during the Cuban immigration wave of the 1980s under President Jimmy Carter. At that time, 125,000 Cubans left the island with the blessing of Fidel Castro and arrived by ship in Florida, seeking a new start.

The idea to cast Cubans in the lead roles came from the film's first director, Sidney Lumet, and was supported by screenwriter Oliver Stone. But Lumet quickly realized that his vision—a socio-political film—collaged with the bloody saga envisioned by producer Martin Bregman, Pacino's close friend.

So Lumet left after reading the script, and director Brian De Palma took over. Meanwhile, Pacino took intensive language and accent lessons from Steven Bauer, the only Cuban actor in the cast.

The problems began immediately. When the film crew arrived in Miami, the local Cuban-American community, aware of the film's content, strongly opposed it. As a result, filming was moved primarily to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and California, with only a few scenes filmed in Miami. Filming lasted from November 22, 1982, to May 6, 1983.

Tony Montana became the guilty fantasy of millions – rising from a dishwasher to a multi-million dollar cocaine kingpin. Anyone who got in his way was quickly eliminated by the “cara cicatriz” (“scarred face”), who lived by the motto “The world is yours” and rose to the top at breakneck speed.

But Tony's meteoric rise was destined to end in a spectacular fall—depicted in the film's final scene. Pacino, who was said to have been taking continuous lines of cocaine (De Palma never confirmed whether the drugs were real; Pacino denied it), goes to war against a small army sent to kill him.

Behind the scenes of the famous film: Al Pacino ended up in the hospital after

The first cocaine on screen was powdered milk, although urban legend suggests that real drugs were present on set, hidden by Oliver Stone – who was in rehab at the time. The truth is, however, that Steven Spielberg, visiting the set, directed the final scene with De Palma’s permission using a single camera. This is the shot of Pacino on the floor, furious, foaming at the mouth, trying to reload his M16.

Behind the scenes of the famous film: Al Pacino ended up in the hospital after

After filming and editing, De Palma had to reshoot the film three times to get the rating they wanted. The word “fuck” was used 207 times and 42 people were killed on screen. But in the end, De Palma submitted the original version for release in theaters.

Behind the scenes of the famous film: Al Pacino ended up in the hospital after

Critics panned the film, but audiences adored it—especially gangster rappers who treated it like scripture. In the years since, many of those critics have changed their minds. And if we judge a film’s value by its cultural impact, Scarface is now considered one of the greatest and most influential films of all time.

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