"The Untouchables" Talkback (Spoilers)

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, Lord Dalek is doing it, so I figured I'd finally give it a shot and start up one of these threads for one of my personal favorite films.

This discussion is for The Untouchables:



The film is loosely based off of the autobiographical accounts of the real-life Eliot Ness as well as and old TV show that ran for a few years between the late 50's and early 60's. Its a very stylized take on the endeavors of Ness and others in trying to take down Al Capone through resorting to unconventional methods. The film is highly stylized (though its by no means short on substance) with an unusual combination of a sense of optimism and hope towards the protagonist and his allies achieving their goals, but its mixed in with some darker and grittier crime-drama elements. Throughout the film you get to meet Jimmy Malone who is brilliantly acted by Sean Connery, as well as Oscar Wallace and George Stone who are, all of which are likeable characters (though only Ness and Malone get any real development as characters).

Robert De Niro plays the role of Al Capone, and to be honest its a rather weak portrayal of the character, but you know what? I don't care. To me that's only a minor issue and he plays the role suitably enough for how small it is in the film, because really this film isn't about Al Capone. Sure, the main plot is taking him down, but this is not a gangster film about the life of Al Capone or anything of the sort. Its about a group of incorruptible individuals who put their lives on the line to do the impossible and take down the most powerful man in all of Chicago.

To me, this film excels with its style, acting, writing, and ESPECIALLY its brilliant musical score by the master composer himself, Ennio Morricone. To me, this movie largely succeeds at just being downright entertaining from beginning to end, but not with flashy action or lots of violence. Instead it always manages to remain consistently well-written and well-acted, and as a viewer I immediately felt attached to the main characters just a few minutes after their introductions. The movie has such an uplifting sort of spirit to it. Its one of those stories about "those few who dare to take on a challenge that nobody else has the courage to face." One of my favorite scenes in the film is right before the first time that they raid one of Capone's liquor storage areas, where Malone explains to Ness that there will be no turning back after this point, and that Capone will rest at nothing to have their heads. And then, after that, Ness and the others storm into the warehouse without a hint of fear or hesitation. Its a brilliantly made scene that really feels so inspired.

Of course, its by no means all happy stuff going on, and while I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't watched the film, it has some truly sad moments that are just as brilliantly executed as its triumphant scenes. It also has what I personally find to be one of the best (if not a bit over-the-top, admittedly), most well-made and intense shoot-out scenes in all of cinema.

Overall, anyone who knows me knows that this is my 2nd favorite film right behind The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Others would revel in putting some deep thought-provoking film that they can analyze the hell out of on such a high spot, and that's fine, but to me all a film needs to do in order to be so highly ranked by my personal preference and opinion is to mean a whole lot to me as an individual, and this film does mean a lot to me, not for a deep story (because its not deep) nor for its highly stylized nature (even though I love its style), but because it really makes me care about everything about it, especially the characters which are the heart of the story. This is one of those rare films that I can watch over and over and never get tired of no matter what, and its a shame that it seems to be so underrated or at the very least forgotten these days. Hardly anyone talks about it and among those who do its given unfair criticisms just because its not trying to be some darker and grittier story like someone would expect from a gangster movie. This film, however, is NOT a gangster movie (I mean, its about a cop trying to take gangsters down, so I don't see how people can make that mistake, as that is not the same thing as a movie that's actually about the gangsters themselves).

Anyways, I sort of unintentionally went into a semi-rant of sorts, but my main point is that this is a superb film that at least deserves to get a viewing for anyone who hasn't seen it before. It may not be everyone's cup of tea (I only say this because I have encountered people who don't like the film for stupid reasons that I mentioned before), but its easily one of the best movies of its kind and I would go as far as to say that its by far Brian De Palma's best work (with his 2nd best film being Scarface). I highly recommend it.

[Lord Dalek]

This is going to get me beat up I imagine but I... don't care for Brian De Palma. He's always guilty of either trying to be Hitchcock too much or Scorcese too much. But... this film is pretty good. Its more of an adaptation of the old tv show and I think thats actually to its benefit. Its more mythical Americana than actual history. De Niro is incredible as Capone and I'd say its probably his second best non-Scorcese roll after young Vito. Costner's terribly wooden, as usual (never knew why he got so much praise pre-Waterworld), but Connery makes up for it and his Oscar was well deserved.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

In any other film I'd probably agree with you about Costner's performance, but for me his acting worked quite well with his role in this movie (and also in Dances with Wolves, though I have to stress its fine for the specific type of character that he was playing in it), but to be honest I don't quite get the hate for Kevin Costner's acting; its nothing brilliant but I honestly never felt he was all that wooden either, though that's just my take on him. From what I've seen of him, though, I think he's an overall average actor. None of his performances have stood out to me as downright amazing or downright terrible (you should note that I have never seen Water World before, and never intend to), and in this movie I'd say he works well enough to make Eliot Ness a likable character, at least to me.

But, yes, it can't be argued that by far the best role in this movie is Sean Connery's Malone. He basically steals the show and without him this may have very well just been another average crime drama. However, I have to admit I found Robert De Niro's Capone to be a bit underwhelming. It was decent in its own right, but it seems a bit below par for De Niro's standards at the time. That's just the way I feel about him in that film, though, but on the whole this will always remain to be one of my personal favorite films of all time. I just love the characters so much.

I'm not a huge fan of De Palma myself, but to be honest as much as I love some of Scorsese's best works the man's films are pretty overrated a lot of times outside of Goodfellas, so I don't see De Palma as being too much lower quality in all honesty (though I can understand how you wouldn't care for De Palma), but for me he did a great job with this film and Scarface, and that's all that really matters to me (that is to say, I only really care about what's good from what he's done and ignore the forgettable stuff).

[Avaitor]

Hey EK, can I add a poll into this movie, or would you rather yourself? Or if you don't want a poll here, that's fine.

Great film, BTW. Pretty much agree with both of you here.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah, sure, I'll add a pole.