Tagged: Beretta M1951

Al Pacino in Scarface: Tony Montana’s Red Tiger-Print Shirt

Al Pacino as Tony Montana in Scarface (1983)

Vitals

Al Pacino as Tony Montana, fearless dishwasher-turned-drug courier

Miami Beach, Spring 1981

Film: Scarface
Release Date: December 9, 1983
Director: Brian De Palma
Costume Designer: Patricia Norris

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

As this hot summer stretches into the first “Aloha Friday” of August, let’s flashback to the ’80s and Al Pacino’s explosive performance in Brian De Palma’s crime classic Scarface. The film was actually a remake of a 1932 gangster classic of the same name, which had been adapted from Armitage Trail’s contemporary novel… and which itself was loosely inspired by the infamous Al Capone. Oliver Stone’s screenplay updated the story for the ’80s by conceptualizing Pacino’s criminal protagonist Tony Montana as one of the approximately 125,000 Cuban refugees who arrived in Miami during the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

Failing to envision his low-wage dishwashing job as a step on the path toward money and power, Tony enlists his charismatic comrade Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer) to take a job by the hotheaded Omar Suarez (F. Murray Abraham) to broker a cocaine deal at the oceanside Sunray Motel in Miami Beach. Continue reading →

“Nuns don’t work on Sunday…” — One of Magnum’s Striped Band-Collar Shirts

Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. (Episode 2.13: “The Jororo Kill”)

Vitals

Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, private investigator and former Navy SEAL

Honolulu, Hawaii, Fall 1981

Series: Magnum, P.I.
Episode: “The Jororo Kill” (Episode 2.13)
Air Date: January 7, 1982
Director: Alan J. Levi
Created by: Donald P. Bellisario & Glen Larson
Costume Supervisors: Denita Del Signore & James Gilmore

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Nuns don’t work on Sunday…

Though perhaps not as iconic of a line to Magnum, P.I. fans as Thomas asking Ivan if he saw the sunrise, this brief moment from the series’ second season—followed by Tom Selleck’s heel turn to shoot a figure dressed in full habit—has found renewed life in meme format, often paired with captions like “80s detective shows rocked” or “the best scene in movie[sic] history”.

Of course, the context of the scene helps audiences realize that Thomas Magnum doesn’t have a trigger-happy reaction to monastics who divert from his expectations of their schedule.

The episode featuring this moment, “The Jororo Kill”, first aired 42 years ago today on January 7, 1982. Continue reading →