Comparing Scarface And Public Enemies

Scarface and Public Enemies are both brilliantly written gangster films. Both are based off the lives of real people; Public Enemies tells the final years of infamous gangster John Dillinger while Scarface is loosely based off of the Italian gangster, Al Capone. Since both movies are gangster genre films, they have a lot in common. While both contain guns, violence, and action they also differ in many ways as well. In Scarface, the violence is not shown as much. Viewers won’t see bullets hit a person, any blood or guts, or anyone with cuts or bruises. In Public Enemies, the amount of violence is much more gory and viewers always see people being shot with blood pouring out of them. Death is also more exaggerated in Public Enemies for example,

in the scene where John Dillinger is shot it is filmed in slow motion and the whole scene is about two minutes. You see the blood slowly colour his white shirt, he slowly collapses on the ground as he mouths his last words. In Scarface, when someone dies you don’t really see that as much. It is still dramatic and emotional when Cesca dies, but you don’t see any blood and its significantly less than two minutes. In Public Enemies, there is a lot more swearing and profanity. Scarface could be considered to be more clean and not as “scary” for viewers. Scarface portrays women as if they are material items and prizes to be won. It also shows the lavish lifestyle of a gangster, while Public Enemies portrays the realities of the depression and the not so glamourous side of being a gangster. While both movies are very different and similar in some ways, both are wonderfully done and tell their stories creatively.