The Untouchables (1987)

I watched the Untouchables know a little about Elliot Ness and Al Capone. I wasn't watching the Untouchables for the educations part, though. I was just hoping for an entertaining movie. That is what I got. I thought the Untouchables movie was very interesting with some great gunfights and a good story.

For the most part, the acting was very good in this movie. Robert DeNiro was frighteningly good as Al Capone, and Kevin Costner did a great job as Elliot Ness. I believe, however, that Sean Connery stole the show as Jim Malone, the tough old cop who knew in order to beat the crime you had to resort to their level.

The story is simple. Elliot Ness, a "cop" from the treasury department of the FBI is sent to make sure that Al Capone is brought to justice, but has trouble doing so. He seeks the help of Jim Malone, a worn-out beat cop, and a few others to take Capone out. They realize they have to stoop down to the level of the criminals in order to stop them, which of course leads to some cool gun fights and an interesting trial.

For a Kevin Costner movie, it's not very long. I'd recommend you go out and rent this movie. I found it to be very good.

Fmovies: I'm going to make this short and to the point:

To me, Eliot Ness and the Untouchables were true patriots, fighting to end corruption wherever it reared its ugly head. With that in mind, 1987's "The Untouchables" is one of the greatest gangster movies - period. Brian De Palma, coming down off of the landmark gangster classic "Scarface" (1983), continued the trend with this carefully woven tale (screenplay complements of David Mamet) about Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner, perfectly cast) and his band of incorruptible federal agents. Ness is as naive as they come - bright-eyed and ready to take gangsterism down the "old" way - but being that this is Prohibition-era Chicago, the police are on the take, and no one can be trusted for fear of retribution from Al Capone (Robert De Niro). Ness finds his most trusted and loyal partner in a beat officer, Jimmy Malone (Oscar-Winner Sean Connery), who so carefully spells the law out out for him, "He {Capone} sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue!" The Untouchables certainly do seem to overstep their boundaries in bringing Capone down, using a number of well-planned and law-bending tactics. The cinematography is beautiful, helping to capture the gangster-era in all its glory, and the Ennio Morricone score really gets you pumping for the action. De Palma is at his greatest in directorial excellence in staging stellar, heart-pumping action sequences (with the Morricone score blasting away too), which come to include the Canadian liquor bust, the train-station shootout, and the ending rooftop chase between Ness and Capone's #1 hit-man Frank Nitti (Billy Drago). Beware though, since this is De Palma territory here, we should be on the lookout for some scenes of pretty stylized bloody violence and the blood + guts action that characterized the times. Still, "The Untouchables" is one of my top 10 "must-see" pictures and I'm sure it's essential viewing for any gangster movie aficionado.

10/10

This splendid film is set during Prohibition era Chicago in the 30s. Elliot Ness(Kevin Costner) gets the government's go-ahead to form his own particular group of relentless, honest Federal Agents(Sean Connery,Charles Martin Smith,Andy Garcia) to combat Al Capone(Robert De Niro) and his hoodlums, specially Frank Nitti(Billy Drago).Ness reunites honorable, upright cops to fight corruption and the grandiose mobster. It leads in forays against the racketeers, bootleggers enemies. At the beginning they fail miserably and the crusader anti-alcohol cops bust out, though finally scores.

This is a violence-ridden story full of action, drama, thriller and pretty entertaining.Intelligent and suspenseful script by David Mamet(Pulitzer winning playwright).Spectacular shootém up on the station steps remains with echoes of 'The battleship Potemkin'(Sergei Einstein,1925). Kevin Costner is excellent as impulsive and obstinate enforcer fighting against the underworld crime .Sean Connery(Academy-award winning acting) plays to perfection a veteran, incorruptible police who takes under his experience and protection to Ness.And Robert De Niro overacting in a serio-comic role as the nasty Capone.Flamboyant and rich photography by Stephen H Burum. Sensible and emotive musical score by the master Ennio Morricone. The motion picture is beautifully directed by Brian De Palma.This superb recounting will like immensely to Kevin Costner and Sean Connery fans.

Another adaptations about Capone are mostly realized for television, such as ¨The Scarface mob(1962)¨by Phil Karlson with Robert Stack and Neville Brand and ¨Elliot Ness¨with Tom Amandes and William Forshyte.

The Untouchables fmovies. As good a gangster movie that has ever been made as DePalma does justice to Mamet's electric script. The acting on show is right out of the top draw, the inevitable ease that DeNiro puts menace into Capone is quite impressive, whilst the fresh faced pugnacious tenacity of Andy Garcia's George Stone is something of a delightful experience. Yet that is not enough because we still need the central actors to carry the film if it is going to triumph. Connery is a given performance wise (accent aside of course, but then again who cares when the character portrayal is as sharp as it is here?) but it is Costner as Eliot Ness that shines like the star he was soon to become, it's a magic performance that manages to fuse genuine tenderness of family love with little trips to the dark side in pursuit of making good triumph over evil.

I love that the film is showing how violence and fear affects families, mother and child is a theme that is central to the film's heartbeat, notice how some of the more violent scenes are followed by tender scenes of Ness and his family. The set pieces here are attention grabbing entertainment, a roaring Canadian border rumpus and a smashing roof top pursuit and face off are top value, but it's DePalma gold watching a brilliant Battleship Potemkin homage at the Union train station that takes the cake as the film enters its last quarter. Surely historical facts does not matter when films are as sharp as this one is? It's frightening, touching, and even witty. So for me at least, the film is 10/10 in every department (and yes, even with Sean's accent).

Footnote: The academy saw fit to nominate Ennio Morricone for his wonderful score, yet strangely he used some of it for the main theme in John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing, they must have missed it that time I presume! Must be the genre angle one thinks....

Outstanding production that was the best film of 1987 with the exception of the very dominant "The Last Emperor". "The Untouchables" is the story of Elliot Ness (perfectly played by Kevin Costner) who tries to bring down Chicago Mob boss Al Capone (Robert DeNiro in one of his most under-rated roles) during the early-1930s. Illegal liquor smuggling and other much more serious crimes are running amok and corruption is all over. Costner realizes very fast that he must hand-pick his own men to bring DeNiro down for good. Thus he enlists the help of a young cop from the academy (Andy Garcia), a wimpy book-keeper (Charles Martin Smith) and a hard-nosed Irish beat cop (Oscar-winner Sean Connery in the performance of a lifetime). Together they slowly start to peel through the multiple layers of protection to get DeNiro for good. It seems that the fact that DeNiro has been lax in paying his income taxes could be his ultimate downfall. Beautifully directed by Brian De Palma, "The Untouchables" stands very tall with the other great productions of the 1980s. Ennio Morricone's Oscar-nominated score is one of the finest the cinema has ever experienced. Really excellent. I have no negative comments on this production. 5 stars out of 5.

"The Untouchables" is in my opinion De Palma's greatest work, with his other masterpiece, namely "Scarface", coming a very close second. In "Scarface" the focus is on a paranoid and self-destructive gangster who rises to meteoric heights and then falls; in "The Untouchables" the focus is on a very honest man with a noble mission, Elliot Ness (Kostner), who is prepared to do anything to clean Chicago from the corruption and mayhem caused by the notorious gangster Al Capone (De Niro). His quest is really tough, as his opponent is determined and powerful, but he has the help of three invaluable partners: Malone (Connery), a no-nonsense experienced cop, Wallace (Martin Smith), an accountant who will try to help bring tax charges against Capone, and Stone (Garcia), a great shooter.

As I noted before the film is brilliantly directed, with some scenes such as the one with the baseball bat, or the one with the baby in the train station, having become classic. The acting is superb, and while Connery was the one who received his well-deserved Oscar, Kostner and De Niro made Oscar-class performances too.

Although belonging to a typical genre, this film certainly stands out. Don't miss it! 10/10.