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Most films, even popular ones, are forgotten soon after release, but the opposite can happen--a film can be ignored and gain recognition later.

The Rules Of The Game was hated when it came out in 1939 and is now a mainstay on Top Ten lists. Singin' In The Rain was considered not nearly as good or important as An American In Paris but now it's generally conceded to be greatest movie musical of all. Then there's Scarface.

Not the Howard Hawks Scarface, that is a great flm. I mean Brian De Palma's. I saw it when it came out in 1983 and agreed with the critics and the public--not very good.

Yet, against all odds, it's become a classic to millions. There's something about Al Pacino's singleminded, violent pursuit of empty joys that speaks to the hip-hop generation.

I have nothing against gangster films. I have nothing against violence onscreen. I have nothing against De Palma or Pacino (and Michelle Pfeiffer may be the loveliest woman ever in movies). But I've seen this movie again recently and there's nothing there. The plot, the dialogue, all of it, adds up the nothing. I can usually figure out why critics and/or the public go for something, even when it leaves me cold, but this time I'm mystified.