After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone (De Niro) rules Chicago with an iron fist. Though Prohibition agent Eliot Ness (Costner) attempts to take Capone down, even his best efforts fail due to widespread corruption within the Windy City’s police force. Recruiting an elite group of lawmen who won’t be swayed by bribes or fear, including Irish-American cop Jimmy Malone (Connery), Ness renews his determination to bring Capone to justice.
- Based on the novel The Untouchables: The Real Story by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley.
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When looking for classic movies, I stumbled across The Untouchables. I hadn’t seen this in ages, and wanted to see if this film – which boasted Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Robert De Niro and Sean Connery – would still hold up nearly 30 years later. Could Brian De Palma’s classic film about Elliot Ness withstand the test of time, or had another classic been ruined by age?
Kevin Costner leads a strong cast in The Untouchables. Much as he later demonstrated in JFK, Costner has a knack for playing passionate characters. If they have a passion – in this case, Eliot Ness’ passion to put the notorious Al Capone behind bars – then chances are he’s going to excel at it. He’s able to light that fire under his characters, and get the viewers hyped up as well.
The other big names really help him reach for the stars in The Untouchables. Andy Garcia, slick as he ever would be, is strong as the rookie cop with the great aim. Connery, reminiscent of his character in The Rock, proves to be a strong motivator to get the job done. And De Niro is perfectly cast as Al Capone, switching from smiling nice guy to bashing somebody’s head in at the flip of a switch.
While The Untouchables plays fast and loose with the truth, just like JFK, it makes it all seem believable to the viewers. The script narrows Ness’ men down to just 3, and the scene where Ness confronts Capone didn’t actually happen (nor was it Ness’ idea to nab Capone for tax evasion). Still, De Palma makes it all seem believable, and gives his characters an edge that viewers will get behind. It feels like a vigilante pic, even though these guys are on the right side of the law.
What elevates The Untouchables from being just another vigilante pic (aside from the acting) is the masterful direction by Brian De Palma. He makes a gritty and violent 1930’s Chicago – home to the Valentine Day Massacre and (apparently) a bunch of corruption – look beautiful. And then De Palma ups the ante and delivers the famous gunfight on the staircase. That scene will still impress viewers, from the dramatic lead-up to the gunfight itself to the baby carriage slowly bouncing down the stairs during the shootout. It’s just as impressive today as it was in ’87 – which is just amazing.
There are some films that are classics for a reason. Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables, with its great cast, solid story and brilliant directing, is one of those. This is still just as involving as ever, and the beautiful cinematography only helps it to stand out even more from the crowd.
