Underground: The Scarface Soundtrack (1983)

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The classic movie Scarface (1932) starring Paul Muni had a remake in 1983 that starred Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, and a then-unknown Michelle Pfeiffer. Just like the 1932 classic, Scarface (1983) received as much praise as it did criticism and both films are considered cult classics.

However, there is a soundtrack in Scarface that went against the norm. Universal Pictures wanted to use popular songs of the time as a possible soundtrack. The director, Brian De Palma, refused Universal’s request and chose the Italian record producer Giorgio Moroder. What results is a classic album that inspired hip hop and rap artists to use Scarface’s subject matter and also use the soundtrack’s samples to create mega-hits.

Let’s take a look at a few tracks:

“Scarface (Push It To The Limit)” is a cult classic tune used in hip hop and appearing in pop culture such as South Park (Moroder did a remixed techno version of this song in the episode “Up The Down Steroid.” This song is about passing your limits and trying to win it big. And this track certainly did!

“Rush Rush” is performed by Blondie lead singer Debbie Harry. The chorus indicated the happy rush of scoring the yeyo (coke). Another classic hit.

“Tony’s Theme” opens and closes the film. There’s nothing more to be said.

“She’s On Fire” is played at the Babylon Club where Tony goes with Frank Lopez and company. This track forces you to sing along, especially the chorus.

“Dance Dance Dance” is what it is: a dancing song. Famously, this song appears before Tony gets attacked by assassins. How can you not dance or bump your head to this track?

Giorgio Moroder made a classic, unbeatable album focused on disco, post-disco, and synthrock. Sometimes pop music can’t do justice to original creativity and this soundtrack shows that. Moroder’s musical legacy has no equal; we’ll talk about him on another occasion…