The pinnacle of the early gangster movies, Scarface employed all of the elements you come to think of in regards to the crime films of the 1930's. You have a fast talking young punk killing his way to the top in order to be completely free from social control and in charge of his own destiny. This film was totally escapist for the time period. It used camera techniques and camera movement that pulls you into the action, such as cranes swooping up and looking down at a street or moving into a building. The audience payed their quarter and left fulfilled, undergoing the cathartic experience that movie goers of the 30’s wanted, something heightened, beyond real, something larger than life with larger than life characters such as Tony and his desire to conquer the world. This was completely representative of the desire for a man to be a man and conquer his fate during this period.
It's interesting to note that the film was so extreme in its depiction of violence, and drive to power that it was banned from most cinemas because it was perceived as being way too realistic. A film that tried to be extremely escapist in nature ended up causing concern that it would promote criminal behavior amongst the movie goers who could see it as a tale showing how the average man can only succeed in the Great Depression by being a criminal. Paul Muni's performance in this film is exceptional and maybe helped make this film more realistic than it was supposed to be. But you completely by the drive of this main character to be in control of his own life even through mass murder as exemplified by the final completely glamorizing shot that lands on a Billboard declaring, "The World is Yours!"