The Untouchables (1987)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Oscar Fraley (suggested by book) and
Eliot Ness (suggested by book) ...

Release Date:

3 June 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | History | Thriller

Tagline:

The Chicago Dream is that big

Plot:

Federal Agent Elliot Ness sets out to take out Al Capone; because of rampant corruption, he assembles a small, hand-picked team.

Plot Keywords:

Treasury Agent | Federal Agent | Accountant | Police | Baby Carriage

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Kevin Costner	...	Eliot Ness
Sean Connery	...	Jim Malone
Charles Martin Smith	...	Agent Oscar Wallace
Andy Garcia	...	Agent George Stone / Giuseppe Petri
Robert De Niro	...	Al Capone
Richard Bradford	...	Police Chief Mike Dorsett
Jack Kehoe	...	Walter Payne
Brad Sullivan	...	George
Billy Drago	...	Frank Nitti
Patricia Clarkson	...	Catherine Ness
Vito D'Ambrosio	...	Bowtie Driver
Steven Goldstein	...	Scoop
Peter Aylward	...	Lt. Anderson
Don Harvey	...	Officer Preseuski
Robert Swan	...	Mountie Captain

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Brazil:14 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:16 (cut) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

40 miles south, Great Falls, Montana, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

When Agent George Stone is introduced, Malone founds out that his real name is Giuseppe Petri and he was born in Italy. In Italian, Giuseppe Petri can be literally translated as "George Stone".

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: If the bag the girl was holding at the beginning of the movie had really contained a bomb big enough to blow up a restaurant, the girl would not have been able to hold it at arm's length.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title Card: 1930. Prohibition has transformed Chicago into a City at War. Rival gangs compete for control of the city's billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their will with the hand grenade and tommy gun. It is the time of the Ganglords. It is the time of Al Capone.
Reporter: [to Al Capone] An article, which I believe appeared in a newspaper, asked why, since you are, or it would seem that you are, in effect, the mayor of Chicago, you've not simply been appointed to that position.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Just Shoot Me!: Nina and the Rocker (#7.3)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Vesti la giubba

My brief review of the film

A perfect rendition of events is created in the film, thanks to excellent costumes and art direction, and a very well researched screenplay. Superb music by Ennio Morricone and excellent cinematography provide the film with an exciting epic swoop without ruining its historical credibility. Sean Connery, in a role he won an Oscar for, Kevin Costner, and Robert De Niro, in a brilliant realisation of Al Capone, are all in top form. If being nit-picky one might fault the film in over-glorifying Eliot Ness, but that hardly subtracts from this exciting, excellently filmed experience, which has both style and substance.