Scary to think The Untouchables is now over 30 years old and is the 1st of my Classics Reviews. No better place to start 🙂

The Untouchables is based off the real life events of Eliot Ness and his band of Untouchables. They were prohibition agents who were responsible for (SPOILER :)) bringing down the crime boss Al Capone. There was also a 60’s TV version spanning 4 seasons, if you want to investigate further as well. Back to the Film though and one of my favourites at that.

From the opening credits you hear the brilliance of Ennio Morricone’s score and you get the feeling this is going to be great. Through to the opening scene with Al Capone (Robert De Niro), you get the idea of the man The Untouchables are up against. “All this talk of boot legging, on a boat it is boot legging on a lake shaw drive it is hospitality”. De Niro shows that his stare is as scary as anything he might say. You just know the barber who cut him won’t make it home to his wife and family ;).

Prohibition of the 1920’s-30’s America is the setting for this gangster flick. Where Alphonse Capone controls Chicago through bribery, intimidation and violence.

You are then introduced Eliot Ness who is hired by the treasury office to go after Capone. He is having to fight not only against the Chicago mob but also the many in the police department, many of whom have been bought out by Capone. However, he does manage to find an ally in grizzled beat cop Malone. Together they form The Untouchables and bring in young cop George Stone and Agent Wallace, who is basically just an accountant. When I said based on real life earlier it is loosely 😉 as only Elliot Ness was a member in real life and he in fact had a team of 9 at his disposal.

Here though, the 4 try to disrupt Capone’s organisation and by using Malone’s contacts they make some breakthroughs, but at what cost to them and their families?

Due to the setting of this film (1929-1931, Chicago) it has aged really well and still has the same impact today as it did upon it’s initial release in 1987. Kevin Costner has never been better as Ness in my opinion. However, this is probably one of my, if not my favourite Sean Connery performance as Malone. He is meant to be playing an Irish cop and yet all you can hear is Scottish accent. You soon get over that and you can see why this is the role that finally got him an Oscar. Andy Garcia as Stone is also excellent and to be fair so are all of the cast.

A special mention though has to go Robert DeNiro. He not only plays Capone with Villainy (Watch out for the baseball bat scene), but also with a lot of charm and warmth. So much so that you can understand why if Capone was as performed, he was able to get away with what he did for so long.

As mentioned above the Musical Score by Morricone fits so well and has a hint of some of his earlier scores for westerns such as Once Upon a Time in the West. Though this is definitely, its own score and helps the audience to engage as all great scores manage.

There is great imagery and scripting, great lines include.

Stone -‘Where is Nitti’,

Ness ‘He’s in the Car’.

When you have watched this scene you will know what these lines imply. It has also been parodied, which is also a sign of greatness or at least popularity. My favourite example has to be in Naked Gun 33 1/3 and their take on the Union Station scene.

The Untouchables would come in high on any gangster flicks list. For me it stands up well to the Godfather parts 1 & 2 (also starring De Niro). Though maybe not as accomplished as far as regular film making goes compared to the Godfather films (I do not include part 3 in this btw). It is certainly the most re-watchable of the 3.

However, I think my favourite scene(s) from the movie has to be when ‘The Untouchables’ are trying to stop an illegal shipment of Alcohol coming into the US on the Canadian border. Everything from vistas and landscapes to the dialogue, especially from Malone and his interactions with Ness.

Ness: [Ness has just shot a gangster after the Canadian border raid while they stand outside the cabin] I had to kill him.

Malone: Oh, yeah. He’s as dead as Julius Caesar… Would you rather it was you?

Ness: No, I would not.

Malone: Well, then, you’ve done your job. Go home and sleep well tonight.

So, if you are wondering what to watch and this comes on then either record it and watch it later or sit down and enjoy this great film by Brian De Palma (Scarface (1983)). Or you could hunt down a copy to see. It is currently available on Sky Cinema :), so I know what I will be re-watching next….

The Verdict – Still sits inside my top 20 films of all time and is as good today as it has always been. ‘Here endeth the lesson’.