Scarface Endings – Aliyah G

The initial script that Howard Hawks intended to direct truly reflected the character of Camonte.  In both endings it starts with Camonte being distraught after his sister, Cesca is shot. He becomes frantic and begs for Guarino to stop shooting at his window. Then he staggers down the stairs shooting at the back door where Guarino waiting for him to escape.  Due to the fact there were censorship barriers Hawks he had to obey there are two endings filmed for Scarface. The uncensored version is the “coward’s run” ending in which Camonte and Guarino exchange shots but Camonte shot is blank.  Then afterwards Camont tries to get pass Guarino . The scene ends with Camonte being gunned down at the front steps.  On the other hand, during the “trial” ending  Guarino arrests Camonte then he is taken to trial. The judge decides to sentence to death and the film ends with Camonte being hung.

Throughout the film Camonte is portrayed as fearless. I think the original ending follows that trend with Camonte boldly charging at Guarino to end his life with dignity. He knew his life was ending at that point and he bravely died as a gangster. He didn’t shy away from the challenge of trying to kill Guarino first before he got to him. Alternatively, I think the censored ending is the political correct ending for the film and it didn’t glorify Camonte’s character.  

Scarface Endings- Aarti V.

     Each alternate ending to Scarface leaves a different impression of Camonte for the audience.

The first filmed ending we see a true gangster. Camonte fooled the police- keeping his power and pride. He even fooled the audience as he walked down the steps- for the first time full of fear- surrendering saying, “I got no gun – I got nobody. I’m all alone.” We are fooled into pitying him- but he also makes us ‘proud’ by not surrendering.

The second filmed ending is a let down. In this ending, Camonte’s delirious behavior is limited. He does not even bother to load a gun. When the gas is released he is shown miserably suffocating. This did not glorify  gangsters in anyway. Camonte is tried and hung. The judge calls him “immoral and ruthless” and says “there’s not place in this country for [his] type.” In the beginning of the film, we see a powerful and rebellious character- by the end we feel pity on the same gangster we thought of as a mastermind. We do not see Tony again after he is arrested- in reality because Muni already left the set- however this makes Camonte seem so helpless. I side with Bart’s disappointment when he says Tony “punked out.” 

By being captured and murdered by the government, our impression of Tony’s power is erased. The original script ended completely would have glorified Tony.

scarface endings – Feda E

I think the original script ending serves Tony’s character better than the two other endings. It portrayed Tony as the brave gangster who would fire at the police like he was playing a video game.  It glorifies his heroic character. As for the other two endings I don’t think they are consistent with his character. They show Tony to be a coward which is not like him. When cesca got shot and was about to die Tony desperately starts begging her to stay and not leave him as he doesn’t want to be left all alone. He realizes that he lost everyone and that he was on his own.  In the “coward runs” ending he tries to elude the police by running past them onto the street but gets shot as soon as he was out there. This is not how I imagined Tony would die, I would think he would resist or die fighting back. As for the other ending where he goes to trial, I’m sure the censors thought this was the suitable ending to show the audience because it shows that the government can manage to bring justice and punish such criminal gangsters. Both these endings make Tony look like a coward.

Scarface Ending-Baha A.

I thought that the original ending was alot more interesting.  I’m a guy who likes happy ending usually, and I’m a fan of the character Tony Camonte. So I was exicted with the orginial script because  it was the true Tony. He looked like a hero.  I wasn’t happy with the other two endings. The one with Tony when he was shooting back at the police after Ceasa was shoot and then was shoot down by Guinio on his front step.  The one that really ticked me off was the one when he doesn’t even shoot back, and he gets hung by his death sentence. We all know that the real Tony would fight back. The two ending made Tony Camonte look like a coward and an overal “weak man.”   The censors  just wanted to show that if “you do the crime then you do the time or you die.”

Scarface Endings – Bart A

Personally, I think the ending of Scarface that was shown to most audiences is very disappointing. As a viewer, I have to honestly say that I was rooting for Camonte. I wanted him to beat all the cops and make it to the top just like the wanted. I feel that even if he didn’t do so, the best ending would have been for him to go out in a hail of gunfire like was originally planned. When an infamous criminal reigns havoc over a town for a long period of time, for him to cower and die with his back turned running from cops is just wrong. I think as Americans we look up to the criminal, the gangster, the outlaw. Bonnie and Clyde, Jessie James, Billy the Kid, these people were all made infamous for turning their back on the rules and regulations society put out there for them. When we think of these outlaws, we do not think about how their greed and violent tendancies finally lead up to their demise, rather we think about their rise to the top, the fear and admiration they recieved from people. When i think of Tony Camonte, all I can remember is how he punked out in the end. Either he put up a big show in the beginning to show how he is such a big shot tough guy, or he tried to put one on in the end, either way I think that the publicly released ending ruined the movie. There is almost a sourt of courage that criminals display when they decide that they won’t be taken alive, and for Tony Camonte to display his “true cowardice” in the end it was very disappointing for me.

As for the difference between the two released endings, i do not think there is much of one. Both display how the Justice system finally succeeds and Tony Camonte is brought to justice. They both show him act cowardly. The only difference between the two is that one of them shows how despite the corruption in the court system, eventually a judge will be chosen that will do the right thing, and when that happens the shit will stop.

Scarface Ending Corey B

I believe that the script version was the best ending for Scarface.  It would have maintained his character’s demeanor and personality. The Hay’s Office version that the public generally saw in 1932 was balogna. It was a complete break from Tony’s character.  I think it was a pretty hollow gesture to have him captured and punished by the justice system.  The audience still would have taken away the message that crime is bad, only crazy people would do it. I dont believe that people would have been any more inclined to go out and get a gun and start “ganging it up” after seeing Tony blown away in a hail of gunfire, like the script called for. I kind of see what the Hay’s Office was saying about him dying on his own terms being a bad image for audiences, but really I would think that if anything, his demise would be the deterent to the audience.  There is no glorification in dying in the street.  Especially with the poverty of the era, it seems that the chance of death would be the most inhibiting factor for someone who might have to support multiple people in a bad economy, because if they die, then the people who depended on them would be done like dinner.  I think that it does affect the view of Camonte’s character to have him surrender the way he did in the “alternate ending” we saw in class.  He surrendered to the chief with his hands out, speaking rapidly, with panic in his eyes, begging for a break.  This is nothing like the character we saw throughout the film and I dont think it does the story justice. Also, changes made before his capture were uncharacteristic of Camonte. He never fires at police from his hideout, and he doesnt yell as crazily as in the first version we watched.  Also, his sister never aids him in his resistance (loading the guns for him).  She is switched to be a complete innocent essentially, and it does not follow with the rest of the story. I think that the Hay’s Office was going too far in its censorings and that the speech at the end really was the last nail in the original scripts coffin.  I mean, there had already been at least two speeches that were essentially the same: Gangsters are bad, don’t be a thug! How stupid did the Hay’s Office really think the audience was?  The amount of editing done to the film to steer the audience away from criminal behavior should be taken as an insult to the viewer, implying that they cannot make the judgement for themselves when something is bad and should not be immitated.

Scarface Endings – Ben V

In the “script ending” we have Camonte seemingly portrayed an unstoppable juggernaught that only dies when he runs out of bullets. As Camonte is peppered he staggers through the onslaught of slugs lighting off a few of his own, dieing only as he reaches Guarino and attempts to fire upon him with no ammunition. In the “coward runs” ending we have Camonte attempting to fool the police with a sob story in order to rush past them and escape to the streets where he is once again gunned down in a hail of hot lead. In the “hanging ending” we have mostly the same view of Camonte as the coward runs but he gives up instead of attempting to flee from Guarino. The ending in the original script could have been viewed by some as a glorifier of gangsters by giving Camonte the appears of an immortal while he still has his gun and by showing that he won’t back down no matter what, which gives him the appearance of Bravery and perhaps even Honor by avenging his fallen secretary. I think that it definitly makes a different between Camonte running and getting mowed down and getting hanged. In the mowed down ending we see Camonte as still attempting to defy even when all hope is gone, showing perservernce. In the ending where he gets hanged Camonte is shown as more of a coward, more powerless and even more human. We have our courts handing out a verdict based on laws set down by our legislature along with the American way of life. The hanging ending is the biggest voice in showing the viewers just what awaits them should they choose the criminal path, not glory nor riches nor honor, just justice at the hands of a jury of your peers.

Scarface ending:shristi

that was a pathetic, unorganized and unrealistic ending to this story. THe way Camonte acted at the end was contradictory to his previous character. At the end when he realised that he had Cesca in his side, he just acted like a happy but coward maniac. Camonte is a bold character, he is patient and calm and he has skills even in killing people. It doesnt suit him screaming and acting loud. The alternative ending was even worse. Censoring the lines between Cesca and Camonte “you r me and i m u” actually made the scence very chessy and un real. it was unorganized and seemed like they added different scenes but not togetherto work as a smooth whole movie. ALso, the end of Camonte was a unusual ending. It was such a sudden change in his character from calm leader to a coward; it just seemed that it was too dramatized. One thing is that actor really did a justice to the character” tony” but the censored script didnt. Well that was one way to look at it,,,But then again if u want the world to perceive a bad image of gangster then that was i believe very well done by showing his cowardness when he tried to run…

Scarface Endings – Cara S.

In the original script ending of Scarface Tony Camonte goes out like a hero, flags flying, guns waving. He boldly runs up to his main enemy in the police force, Guarino, aims right for his face and pulls the trigger. Unfortunately for him the shot is a blank and Guarino then shoots and kills Camonte. The other two endings show a very different version of events. The two begin the same way, Camonte loses his nerve after his sister, Cesca, is shot and tries to beg Guarino for mercy. Guarino gives a little speech about how he always knew Camonte was yellow then attempts to arrest him. Here the two endings diverge. In the “coward’s run” ending Camonte flees after the exchange with Guarino, only to be gunned down on his front steps. In the “trial” ending Guarino does arrest Camonte, who is then tried, sentenced to death, and ultimately hung.

I believe the original script ending does glorify Camonte, bringing to light several admirable qualities he possesses; it’s also the version that seems most consistent with his character. Having him meet his end in a blaze of glory gives him a hero-like image, the moves he makes are bold and brave. Camonte is the kind of guy who never backs down from a fight, in fact he seeks them out, even takes pleasure in them, or at least that’s the impression I got throughout the film. That’s why the original ending makes the most sense, the other two endings depicting him as a coward seem so unnatural, almost unbelievable.

There really is no difference between the ending where Camonte is shot down and the one where he is sentenced to death, I guess the real debate is over which one makes him seem most cowardly and shows gangsters in the worst light. On one hand it can be argued that he’s at his most spineless when attempting to run from the police after begging for mercy; instead of facing the consequences with his head up he tries to flee. On the other hand he could be considered most cowardly when he begs for leniancy, then surrenders and is arrested without a fight. At least when he tries to run there’s some fire in him, when he goes with Guarino it’s tantamount to giving up. In my opinion though neither of these endings are true to the character of Tony Camonte.

Scarface Endings – Ashley M

The original ending of Scarface is significantly more captivating than the alternate ending however the latter ending best suits the film due to social standards. Although the begging for his life and then finally submitting to the police is a bit out of character, I find it more fitting to see a gangster fall so far. The American public had not seen what we see today and perhaps could have sent some people over the edge. Normally, I am one to oppose such censorship, such as the censorship we saw in Scarface; however I was not alive in these trying times in American history. We as citizens of the 21^st century have yet to face the obstacles people in the 1930′s have faced. I can’t imagine what it is like to try and bring together a nation of people for a more noble cause than themselves. At the beginning of the film I thought it was stupid to censor such things as a mother supporting her sons’ illegal business. However, after looking deeper inside of the trying times these people were facing, I felt it suitable to give this captivating film an ending that would renew a sense of faith in the government with its people.