The audio presentation is fairly spectacular, considering the age of the film. The 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio surely stands as reference quality for a film produced in the early 1980s. The dialogue remains intelligible and distortion-free throughout. The rear channels are primarily used for ambiance given that there are long stretches of talking. Crowd scenes, nightclub scenes, and anything outdoors offers a believable soundscape. But things spring to life in a truly exciting manner during the gunfire-driven action scenes, with chaotic noise emanating from all channels. The subwoofer booms satisfactorily during such scenes as well, providing perfect contrast to the quieter, dialogue-driven scenes.
As for supplemental features, there is a second disc – a standard DVD – containing the 1932 Howard Hawks’ Scarface, starring Paul Muni. This will be nothing new for owners of the previous special edition DVD. In fact, most of the special features are standard definition short pieces ported over from the old DVD release, including 20 minutes of deleted scenes. Exclusive to Blu-ray is a 40-minute HD featurette, “The Scarface Phenomenon,” which is a welcome addition considering all the recycled material. This piece, as the title suggests, focuses on the controversial aspects of the film and its on-going influence.
Also included on the Blu-ray are two U-Control features, one of which is a waste of time. Returning from the 2006 DVD release, “Scarface Scoreboard" is a lame counter that keeps tracks of the number of bullets shot and F-words uttered throughout the movie. The other U-Control feature is more worthwhile - a newly created picture-in-picture track that includes interview snippets. There is also some light shed on the differences between the 1932 Scarface, the theatrical cut of the 1983 film, and the edited version that aired on network television. Though many of these clips appear elsewhere in the featurettes, it is still a decent enhanced viewing mode.
For fans with significant disposable income, a limited “Humidor” edition of available. In terms of Blu-ray content, this is the same version of the film. The standard steelbook comes housed in a working, custom-made humidor crafted by the renown humidor-maker Daniel Marshall. This edition is very limited, with only 1,000 humidors available worldwide. The suggested retail price is $999.99, making it a luxury item for many people.
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