Fails the Bechdel test
Scarface
1983. Directed by Brian De Palma, written by Oliver Stone and Howard Hawks and Ben Hecht.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
21 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
Tony Montana manages to leave Cuba during the Mariel exodus of 1980. He finds himself in a Florida refugee camp but his friend Manny has a way out for them: undertake a contract killing and arrangements will be made to get a green card. He's soon working for drug dealer Frank Lopez and shows his mettle when a deal with Colombian drug dealers goes bad. He also brings a new level of violence to Miami. Tony is protective of his younger sister but his mother knows what he does for a living and disowns him. Tony is impatient and wants it all however, including Frank's empire and his mistress Elvira Hancock. Once at the top however, Tony's outrageous actions make him a target and everything comes crumbling down.
- Released
- 09 Dec 1983
- Genres
- Crime, Drama
- Rated
- R
- IMDb
- 8.3 / 10
- Metascore
- 65 / 100
- Awards
- 1 win & 9 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Tony 446 lines, man
- Lopez 62 lines, man
- Elvira 59 lines, woman
- Gina 50 lines, woman
- Sosa 48 lines, man
- Chi-Chi 16 lines, man
- Omar 16 lines, man
- Toad 16 lines, man
- Bernstein 13 lines, man
- Ernie 12 lines, man
Full cast, 104 people
- Al Pacino as Tony Montana
- Steven Bauer as Manny Ray
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Elvira
- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Gina
- Robert Loggia as Frank Lopez
- Miriam Colon as Mama Montana
- F. Murray Abraham as Omar
- Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa
- Harris Yulin as Bernstein
- Ángel Salazar as Chi Chi
- Arnaldo Santana as Ernie
- Pepe Serna as Angel
- Michael P. Moran as Nick The Pig
- Al Israel as Hector The Toad
- Dennis Holahan as Banker
- Mark Margolis as Shadow
- Michael Alldredge as Sheffield
- Ted Beniades as Seidelbaum
- Richard Belzer as M.C. at Babylon Club
- Paul Espel as Luis
- John Brandon as Immigration Officer #3
- Tony Perez as Immigration Officer #2
- Garnett Smith as Immigration Officer #1
- Loren Almaguer as Dr. Munoz
- Gil Barreto as Cuban Refugee
- Heather Benna as Gutierrez Child
- Sue Bowser as Miriam
- Tina Leigh Cameron as Saleslady
- Victor Campos as Ronnie Echevierra
- Robert Hammer Cannerday as Marielito
- Rene Carrasco as Shooter
- Albert Carrier as Pedro Quinn
- John Carter as Vic Phillips
- Richard Caselnova as Driver
- Gary Carlos Cervantes as Shooter #1
- Carlos Augusto Cestero as Matos
- Johnny Contardo as Miguel Echevierra
- Roberto Contreras as Rebenga
- Caesar Cordova as Cook
- Gregory Cruz as Shooter #2
- Dante D'Andre as General Strasser
- Richard Delmonte as Fernando
- Wayne Doba as Octavio The Clown
- Michel François as Maitre d'
- Ben Frommer as Male Patron
- Edward R. Frommer as Taco Stand Customer
- John Gamble as Helicopter Pilot
- Troy Isaacs as Cuban Refugee
- Ronald G. Joseph as Car Salesman
- Mario Machado as Interviewer
- Joe Marmo as Nacho "El Gordo"
- Ray Martel as Nacho's Bodyguard
- John McCann as Bank Spokesman
- Richard Mendez as Gina's Killer
- Victor Millan as Ariel Bleyer
- Santos Morales as Waldo
- Mike Moroff as Gaspar's Bodyguard
- Angela Nisi as Gutierrez Child
- Manuel Padilla Jr. as Kid #2
- Tony Pann as Driver
- Ilka Tanya Payán as Mrs. Gutierrez
- Barbra Perez as Marta
- Michael Rougas as Monsignor
- Anthony Saenz as Cuban Refugee
- Geno Silva as The Skull
- Arnold Tafolla as Kid #1
- Charles A. Tamburro as Helicopter Pilot
- Jim Towers as Cuban Refugee
- Robert Vandenberg as Gaspar Gomez
- Bob Yanez as Cuban Man
- Angela Aames as Woman at Babylon Club
- Nancy Lee Andrews as Woman at Babylon Club
- Dona Baldwin as Woman at Babylon Club
- Lee Benton as Woman at Babylon Club
- Cynthia Burr as Woman at Babylon Club
- Lana Clarkson as Woman at Babylon Club
- Karen Criswell as Woman at Babylon Club
- Margo Kelly as Woman at Babylon Club
- Ava Lazar as Woman at Babylon Club
- Emilia Crow as Woman at Babylon Club
- Marii Mak as Woman at Babylon Club
- Shelley Taylor Morgan as Woman at Babylon Club
- Catharine Richardson as Woman at Babylon Club
- Pat Simmons as Woman at Babylon Club
- Terri Taylor as Woman at Babylon Club
- Charlie Adiano as Woman at Babylon Club
- Lisa Katz as Woman at Babylon Club
- Jeanette Linne as Woman at Babylon Club
- Margaret Michaels as Woman at Babylon Club
- Rhonda Sandberg as Woman at Babylon Club
- Katt Shea as Woman at Babylon Club
- Marcia Wolf as Woman at Babylon Club
- Barclay DeVeau as Ambassador's Daughter (uncredited)
- Charles Durning as Immigration Officer (voice) (uncredited)
- Dennis Franz as Immigration Officer (voice) (uncredited)
- Linda Gillen as Voice (uncredited)
- Gregg Henry as Charles Goodson (uncredited)
- Kevyn Major Howard as Extra (uncredited)
- Henry Kingi as Colombian Hitman (uncredited)
- Brett Ratner as Boy Lying on Raft in Pool (uncredited)
- Marcus Shirock as Boy at Pool (uncredited)
- Maxine Wasa as Dancer - LaLa (uncredited)
- Teri Weigel as Bikini Girl Crossing Street (uncredited)
- Tammy Lynn Leppert as Distraction at the Lookout Car - Chainsaw Shower Scene (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 3 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 7% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 139
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 0 | 38 |
| 4 to 6 | 1 | 37 |
| 7 to 9 | 0 | 35 |
| 10 to 12 | 0 | 8 |
| 13 to 15 | 0 | 27 |
| 16 to 18 | 0 | 2 |
| 19 to 21 | 0 | 1 |
| 22 to 24 | 0 | 4 |
| 25 to 27 | 0 | 3 |
| 28 to 30 | 5 | 35 |
| 31 to 33 | 1 | 8 |
| 34 to 36 | 9 | 28 |
| 37 to 39 | 0 | 13 |
| 40 to 42 | 18 | 23 |
| 43 to 45 | 0 | 2 |
| 46 to 48 | 2 | 6 |
| 49 to 51 | 8 | 28 |
| 52 to 54 | 0 | 42 |
| 55 to 57 | 0 | 23 |
| 58 to 60 | 11 | 24 |
| 61 to 63 | 3 | 25 |
| 64 to 66 | 18 | 9 |
| 67 to 69 | 1 | 0 |
| 70 to 72 | 1 | 3 |
| 73 to 75 | 1 | 3 |
| 76 to 78 | 3 | 45 |
| 79 to 81 | 0 | 0 |
| 82 to 84 | 0 | 0 |
| 85 to 87 | 0 | 0 |
| 88 to 90 | 0 | 0 |
| 91 to 93 | 0 | 1 |
| 94 to 96 | 0 | 23 |
| 97 to 99 | 9 | 37 |
| 100 to 102 | 0 | 29 |
| 103 to 105 | 9 | 63 |
| 106 to 108 | 0 | 7 |
| 109 to 111 | 0 | 14 |
| 112 to 114 | 0 | 11 |
| 115 to 117 | 0 | 12 |
| 118 to 120 | 0 | 1 |
| 121 to 123 | 0 | 18 |
| 124 to 126 | 0 | 6 |
| 127 to 129 | 0 | 14 |
| 130 to 132 | 8 | 14 |
| 133 to 135 | 1 | 4 |
| 136 to 138 | 0 | 7 |
| 139 to 139 | 5 | 9 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 13 are women's.
114 lines from women, 742 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
21 women and 52 men in the cast. 6 women and 34 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 56 of 919.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 146 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 11% of the words (1,432), men 89% (11,721). Women have 13% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
62
Exhibit E: behind the camera
1 of the 11 people in these jobs is a woman.
Across the whole crew, 8% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Brian De Palma (man)
- Written by
- Oliver Stone (man)
- Produced by
- Martin Bregman (man)
- Shot by
- John A. Alonzo (man)
- Edited by
- David Ray (man), Gerald B. Greenberg (man)
- Music by
- Giorgio Moroder (man)
- Production design by
- Ferdinando Scarfiotti (man)
- Costumes by
- Patricia Norris (woman)
- Cast by
- Alixe Gordin (gender not listed), Bob Morones (man)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
5 women, 46 men, 11 not listed
-
Art
0 women, 3 men, 8 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
2 women, 2 men, 5 not listed
-
Production
0 women, 4 men, 5 not listed
-
Camera
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 4 men, 2 not listed
-
Sound
0 women, 5 men
-
Writing
0 women, 5 men
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 32 on average. Men: 41 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Michelle Pfeiffer 25, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio 25, Miriam Colon 47
Men
Steven Bauer 27, Ángel Salazar 27, Al Pacino 43, F. Murray Abraham 44, Harris Yulin 46, Paul Shenar 47, Robert Loggia 53
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.6 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $25 million
- Box office
- $66 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 139 scenes and 919 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
