Scarface and American Gangster compared

¶ … American Gangster" and "Scarface." Specifically it will discuss the similarities in the films. Both of these films explore the underworld of drug trafficking, and they illustrate how wildly profitable and dangerous the practice is for those who are involved. Interestingly, one of the things that the films have in common is main characters named Frank, but there are many more similarities to the films. They both show the world of drug dealing, violence, and paranoia that fills these people's lives, and they show that drug dealing really does not pay.

In "American Gangster," set in the 1970s, Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a protegee of a well-known Harlem gangster and drug dealer. He takes over the business after the gangster dies, and he realizes that he can make huge profits by importing heroin directly from Southeast Asia, eliminating the middleman and keeping all the profits for himself. In "Scarface," Tony Montana (played by Al Pacino), a Cuban immigrant to Miami, follows a similar scenario. He arrives in America penniless, but he soon gains the trust of drug-dealer Frank Lopez, and begins working with him and learning the trade of cocaine trafficking. Both men have mentors who teach them the ropes, and both men eventually take over the business themselves, becoming far more powerful than their predecessors.

Both films show how violent the underworld is, and they both open with very graphic scenes of violence. This violence keeps their rivals in check, but it also makes both men targets of rival drug lords and Mafia gangs, so they are always looking over their shoulder for the next attempted attack on themselves and their families. Their lives may seem wildly successful, but in reality, they are filled with danger and deception, and that eventually leads to their downfall.

Both men fail in the end. Frank goes to prison after being successfully prosecuted in New York. He does get out of prison, and is befriended by the cop who caught him, but he is a broken man. Tony realizes his empire is crumbling around him, and when everyone else dies, he kills himself, ending his reign as a drug lord. Therefore, both men are failures; they cannot maintain their success because what they do is illegal and immoral. Tony becomes an addict, while Frank remains clean, but the results are the same, they cannot maintain their power and prestige for long.

Both men involve their families in the business, too. Frank's story is based on real events, and his entire family worked with him in the business, so when he went down, his entire family went down with him. Tony's mother does not support him or his business, and throws him out of her home, but it does not sway him to stay away from the drug business. While Tony's family members do not work with him, they are involved in the lifestyle Tony leads.