Rating: 
Summary: THIS MOVIE HAS IT ALL
Review: COSTNER, CONNERY, AND GARCIA. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED. HOW ABOUT....YOU KNOW.....THAT GUY.....THE GREATEST ACTOR EVER.....WHAT IS IT.....OH YEAH ROBERT DE NIRO!!!!!! HE PLAYS AL CAPONE PERFECTLY. THIS MOVIE HAS GOOD ACTON AND A GOOD STORY. AND DE NIRO. THATS ALL YOU NEED
Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE
Review: It was neat and fun to watch.Seeing these bunch of cops out after the famouse gangster Al Capone.Historical and thrilling.5 stars .
Rating:
Summary: Touchable...
Review: This film marks several remarkable firsts: The first true representation of a David Mamet film script (although "The Verdict" in 1980 came first), the leading-man status of Kevin Costner (deservedly so, since despite disasters like "The Postman" and "3000 Miles to Graceland", he's a very good actor with a very impressive resume and an Oscar to boot), Sean Connery's first Oscar win, also very much deserved, and most importantly, the first good film from Brian De Palma. People call films like "Body Double", "Carrie", "Blow Out" and "Dressed to Kill" classics... why they do, I have nary a clue. Those are some of the worst rip-off films in history. His "Hitchcockian" feeling is, to me, straight-up plagarism. He rips off plots and shots that are embarassing mish-moshes of Hitch's best (and worst) stuff. And did you see "Mission to Mars"? I didn't think so. And the only people that I can imagine that liked "Femme Fatale" were fans of the bathroom sequence (If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about). The only other film of his that was worth watching was "Mission: Impossible". But "The Untouchables" is a real work of art. I won't go into plot points, but I'll comment on the film's great points: 1) The dialogue is sparkling. Mamet makes these people real as opposed to just making them standard action caricatures (the young idealist, the grizzled old wise-man, the cocky rookie, and the dorky fifth-wheel). 2) The performances are top-notch. Costner, Connery, Martin Smith, Garcia, De Niro, and an underrated performance from Richard Bradford as Chief Dorsett really help to pull this film off. They give it all they got. They make the tragedy and drama and excitement and horror and triumpth of this film work. 3) The visuals are stunning. Stephen Burum really makes that camera work, especially with those beautiful shots of LaSalle Street. This film is a great revisionist telling of the Eliot Ness vs. Al Capone brawl. The film obviously takess a lot of liberties with history, but they really work, especially with the dispatching of one particularly bad man which in my opinion makes for the MOST satisfying film death EVER. It really makes you happy to watch this guy bite it ("Did he sound anything like THAT?!?"). This is a great film and I could not recommend it more highly. But go ahead and skip the rest of De Palma's 'classics'.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-crafted but missing something
Review: There's something resoundingly hollow about "The Untouchables," the Brian de Palma film of the Chicago-gangster era. It looks fantastic, but it manages to drain all the blood out of its subject and provide us with the most aseptic, Hollywood-ized version of the Capone saga imaginable. Consider:* Al Capone was probably a fascinating man, but the movie doesn't know how to convey any of that. He's given brassy, vulgar dialogue and a few arch scenes, but that's it. We don't get a hint of how this man made his empire other than by smashing open heads with baseball bats (and you know that didn't work all the time). * Elliot Ness. Again, a fascinating figure, a man who later in his career was convinced that his persecution of the Torso Killer was being stopped by men in high places. As played here by Kevin Costner, he seems like little more than the ur-Algore (with apologies to Al, who's quite a nice guy). His success in his persecution of Capone is attributed to a fictional character, the Sean Connery cop, rather than to any real ingenuity on his part. * The movie takes the usual liberties with times, places, and events, but why do that when the original events were far more interesting than anything in this movie? * The script, by David Mamet, is not his usual effort; it's bland and unconvincing. (One scene involving a snoopy photographer is so badly put together that it's amazing that the heroes don't get found out.) The only scene that really works involves a very creative use of a corpse, but it's a throwaway. And so on. This isn't a bad movie, but it's loaded with holes that makes it difficult to enjoy -- and an ending so dismissive it plays like an afterthought. That's the last thing a muscular crime movie needs.
Rating:
Summary: The Untouchables-Gore Aside, a Great Film
Review: "The Untouchables" is one of few R-rated movies that I have seen. It is a great film, even though there are some things I don't like about it. I'll start with the good.
MUSIC: The composer should have been given an Oscar. The opening credits is one of the best things about this movie because of the haunting score demonstrated for nearly four minutes. There is no actual person in the entire sequence, just music and credits.
ACTING: Sean Connery and Robert DeNiro were the best as Jimmy Malone and Al Capone. Though Al Capone's role was small, it was well done. Jimmy Malone pulled at your heartstrings and stole the show until he got shot.
PLOT: The story gets the audience cheering when a villian dies, and weeping when heroes die. It's not just the story though, but the acting already mentioned.
That aside, I'm going to cover why I didn't give this film a higher rating.
GORE: There is lots of blood and gore-typically of post-Code Hollywood. This is a classic example of one of my favorite "what is Hollywood coming to?" arguments-the bloody the better seems to be the message displayed at modern theaters.
LANGUAGE: Because of constant uses of the f word, the four letter s word, taking God's name in vain, and the d word this movie is not for those who feel like hearing profanity is like having a boxer hit their ears repeatedly.
The gore especially is over-the-top and there is no mention of Al Capone's nickname "Scarface" probably because there is no scar! All that aside, this is a well-done movie.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie; mediocre "special" edition DVD
Review: It seems De Palma really isn't a fan of commentary tracks as he's refused to do one on "Scarface" Special Edition, and similarly there isn't one available here. The "new" documentaries (50 minutes altogether) are pretty interesting but to be honest it's nothing worth upgrading to if you've already got the original DVD. The trailer (also included on the previous DVD along with "The Men" featurette, included here, which is a lame promotion "documentary") is nothing to bawl over although it's pretty good for a 1987 film. (Many trailers predating the '90s seemed to always give away films' endings!)
The movie itself is great and De Niro's portrayal of Capone is totally iconic and memorable. But considering the lack of new input by stars Costner, Garcia, Connery and De Niro (well, he never does interviews, but still...) it seems like a bit of a rip-off.
I only paid $13 but would never consider this a "special" edition.
Rating:
Summary: "DO YOU KNOW WHAT A BLOOD OATH IS, MR. NESS?"
Review: The David Mamet script is forgiveable for its lack of accuracy (Frank Nitty died a drunk at the Chicago Pier, the best example). Just like THEY DIED WITH THEIR BOOTS ON, this is Hollywood creative license based on legend. And it works!!! Sean Connery has the dream role of a lifetime (007 aside) and it earned him a richly deserved Oscar and a place in all time film history as Jimmy Malone. When you upstage Robert DeNiro, you've accomplished something. Brian DePalma has a brilliant work that is a talent showcase, boosting Kevin Costner into superstardom and giving Andy Garcia a first rung on the ladder. The scenery and the Armani wardrobes are unforgetable. Robert Stack should have made a cameo.
Rating:
Summary: The second best gem of Brian de Palma !
Review: The superb quartet composed by Robert De Niro , Sean Connery, Kevin Costner and Andy García gave this film a wide sense of the scope . Kevin Costner as Elliot Ness needed the moral support and finally discovers it in a old but experienced cop who functions as a spiritual advisor . He knows the rules but also how to ignore them according the circumstamces . His methods are not elegant at all but are efficient and that is the way you have to play against the mob . A civilizated form to follow the old statement : Eye for eye ...
The plot is really kinetic . And since the first brutal murder of the child product of coward murderer for a bomb (recreating clearly the painful and merciless conflicts around all the terrorism forces in the eighties as you well know).
In the other hand we see to Elliot Ness making a team to play hard against Alfonso Capone. He needs desperately to play a game not necesarily with all the cards upon the table . So he will requesdt the service of a mercenaire gunfighter who works with cold blood (Andy García) a real surgeon book keeper with powerful imagination and finally Connery who will work out as an essential and insoiring character through the film .
The brutal murderer of Connery will prepare us to the second part when all the pieces are being ordered . The long arm of the law will catch Capone .
The famous scene in the Station is a colossal and well deserved to Potemkim the great film of Eisenstein . The camera in slow motion will give the viewer a truly lesson to all the future film makers . The camera positions and the shooting are simply breathtaking .
Meanwhile we watch to Capone making his rules , the brutal codes must be preserved and it will be used all the efforts for keeping the union in his organization above any other possible behavior . The brutal scene with the bat still keeps in our memory as one of the wildest sequences in the screen.
Finally the revenge will emerge from Ness in the top of the building when Billy Drago told him : It screamed as an Iris pig!
the last words of Drago . Costner made the best acting of his career in this role .
Nitty as Billy Drago steals the show in the last action sequence. His nasty character is played with realism and credibility .
Superb edition and glorious artistic direction .
A timeless cult movie of the eighties .
Rating: 
Summary: "That's the Chicago way!"
Review: Brian De Palma's The Untouchables had all the makings of a powerhouse production destined for greatness. It featured a screenplay written by legendary playwright David Mamet, expert cinematographer Stephen Burum (Rumble Fish) was behind the camera, master composer Ennio Morricone (Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy) was scoring the film and Robert De Niro and Sean Connery were signed on to play larger-than-life characters. The result was an exciting, action-packed epic that helped revitalize De Palma's struggling career and earn Connery is first Academy Award. Paramount previously released this movie on a bare-bones DVD with a transfer that was lacking. This new Special Collector's Edition includes a collection of extras but is it really worth double-dipping?
"The Script, The Cast" examines how the film came together. The veteran director appears in brand new interview footage while the cast is represented in ones done during filming.
"Production Stories" focuses on the attention to detail and how De Palma and his crew recreated Depression-era Chicago. Location scouting and production design all contributed to the period authenticity.
"Re-inventing the Genre" examines how De Palma tweaked the gangster genre with the border raid sequence which he staged as a homage to John Ford westerns.
"The Classic" examines Ennio Morricone's fantastic score for the movie and briefly touches upon the incredible success the movie enjoyed when it was released in theatres.
There is also the original featurette, "The Men" that was a standard promo press kit done back in the day.
Finally, there is theatrical trailer.
The Untouchables is one of those rare big-budget, star-studded blockbusters that actually works. All of the right elements came together at just the right time and place and resulted in an incredibly entertaining motion picture. Paramount has assembled a decent selection of extras and the transfer looks quite good. This is an excellent disc definitely worth adding to your collection.
Rating:
Summary: DEPALMA'S DEADLIEST REDUX!
Review: Brian DePalma's "The Untouchables" is one of those celebrated crime flicks from the 80s that seems to have dated at twice the rate its original material (The Untouchables TV series). It stars Kevin Costner as Elliot Ness (played on TV by Robert Stack). Costner plays his hand with his usual adroit ambivalence against anything that even remotely hints at male machismo. Hence the central character of the narrative seems flat, ineffectual and hopeless too sensitive to be believed. Ness is a dedicated FBI front man who is determined to topple the corrupt empire of Al Capone (Robert DeNiro in a stellar performance). To aid in the downfall of this Mafia kingpin, Ness employs police officer, Jim Malone (Sean Connery), a hot tempered Italian probie (Andy Garcia) and a dopey would be hero (Charles Martin Smith). At first Capone is flamboyant and devil-may-care about Ness's involvement in his activities. After all, how could this seemingly quiet family man dismantle his titan stronghold on illegal liquor and gambling?
DePalma manages to achieve something of the visceral flavor of Depression ridden society. His craftsmanship as a director is tested during two crucial sequences; Ness's raid on a line of trucks crossing from Canada into the US with liquor; and the famed final confrontation between Ness and Capone's henchmen in Union Station. In the former, DePalma manages to capture a sense of immediacy and excitement. The latter is merely a direct rip off (right down to the careening baby carriage) of the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin.
If you already own Paramount's previously issued DVD than there is little need to run out and replace it with this Special Edition which is short on special features. The video quality is identical to the previously issued disc. Colors can be rich and vibrant but more often resemble the dated 80s look with pasty flesh tones and weak blacks. There's a considerable amount of grain periodically scattered throughout the print. There are also more than several instances of edge enhancement and pixelization for a visual presentation that is inconsistently rendered. The audio sounds extremely dated with a very tinny characteristic. Extras on this edition include three VERY SHORT featurettes that are neither engaging nor informative, but rather just tack-ons to warrant this release as something `special'.
|
