Action · Crime · Drama
American
1983 · Directed by Brian De Palma · 170 min
A Cuban refugee lands in 1980 Miami with nothing but nerve and a hunger to be somebody. Brian De Palma's loud, lurid remake of a 1932 classic follows his pursuit of the American dream through the cocaine trade, in a world of neon, money and menace.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining 1980s crime film, it reworked the Hollywood gangster story for the cocaine era and set the tone for flashier, more morally provocative portraits of criminals.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a deliberate exaggeration: an American-dream story told in the loudest possible register.
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