Genres

Visitors Review

2013-06-16 02:41:43

Awesome

Great movie for any mob fan and shipping was fast and price was cheap.

Jack McGurn 2013-06-15 11:35:20

Pure, Solid class MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Start with a budget of $16 million (in 1987). Add Brian De Palma and DavidMamet, chuck in Sean Connery and Robert DeNiro, then slowly add KevinCostner, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith and Billy Drago, and whaddyaget?THE UNTOUCHABLES! This testosterone-driven movie is my all time favourite,and as it was the first gangster movie I ever saw, it was a perfectintroduction.By the time they were filming the climatic shootout, the film was $8millionover budget. The studio told De Palma "Forget the stopped train,forget thehelecopter shots, just make it quick and simple." The end gives no evidenceof this.

2013-06-14 22:03:43

GREAT MOVIE!!!

It's prohibition, and Chicago's bootlegging business is running rampant--a slap to the justice department. In Chicago, the cops are dirty, state government is corrupt, the citizens deitify Capone, and the gangsters rule the town. Elliot Ness(Costner), a do-gooder looking to catapult his career, heads a random group of characters (the untouchables) against EVERYONE. He enlists an old irish beat cop(Connery) to teach him how to bring Capone down. In this relationship b/w Connery and Costner is the heart of the film.The acting is first notch. Yes, even Kevin Costner is good in this movie. But Connery and Deniro really steal the show. The duo delivers quotable lines throughout the movie. Sean Connery: "He pulls out a knife, you pull out a gun. He puts one of yours in the hospital, you put one of his in the morgue. That's the Chee-Ka-Go way." Absolutely brilliant.DePalma is brilliant. The grandiose style of music and imagery bring you back to the time of Prohibition. There are some scenes where you don't even watch the actors b/c you're too busy marveling at the set.The DVD. Well, given that it's not "Collector's Edition", "Criterion Collection" and so on...you can guess on the content. Almost NONE. It's a standard bare bones DVD. I was pleasantly surprised by the picture and sound quality though. The sound and visuals compare to modern day movies.This Movie is so watchable. I can picture myself watching this movie once every year or so...and enjoying it every time.

2013-06-14 18:22:01

this is a must see film

This film is set in Chicago 1930 you obviosly didn't complete school if you don't know what was happening then Al Capone was at large and that is what this is all about.it is a spectacular movie with a good cast including Andy Garcia (Desprate measures) kevin costner (waterworld) robert deniro (analyze this)this film has some very good shoot-outs and heavy and perhaps over done violence it has 3 great scenes i recomend you look out for No.1 good scene baby at train station No.2 baseball at the round table No.3 the mounties. BUY IT NOW...!!

2013-05-29 13:02:08

FRANK NITTI'S FAMILY SHOULD SUE

among all the five star reviews, it's funny nobody mentioned the blatantmisrepresentation of frank nitti in this movie.he was not a rat-faced psychopath who was thrown off a building by elliot ness as portrayed in this movie. mr. nitti was second in command, and after capone was incarcerated, nitti ran the mob for 13 years.his life ended when he allegedly committed suicide in 1943.i don't mind movies blurring the facts in the name of dramatic license,but in this case being completely blind to actual events will earn this film only one star from me.btw, de palma also ruined "the black dahlia."please mr. de palma, don't make anymore movies.

2013-05-29 02:59:47

Paramount "Touched" the Untouchables

This review is from: The Untouchables (Special Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I've always been a big fan of this movie, which I remember as first marking Brian DePalma as a "blockbuster" director. It's filled with sharp dialog, Oscar winning acting, some inspired (clearly by Hitchcock) camerawork, a dramatic score by Ennio Morricone, and a nostaglic/patriotic retelling of a truly gritty real-life crime drama.As far as this blu-ray goes, it features a very nice transfer that ups the detail, contrast, color and stability considerably over the previous DVD release. Unfortunately it also introduces nearly constant edge halos and some shimmering - both presumably artifacts of edge enhancement used to make the film look more appealing to modern audiences.On the Audio front the 6.1 DTS-HD track does a very fine job considering the age of the film. I was particularly impressed by the dynamic range of the score and the use of discrete effects in the Union Station shootout.Overall, if it were not for the digital retouching, I would have rated this release at 5 stars. Since I can't give 4 and a half I had to downgrade it full star for the botched digital enhancements.Hopefully someday there will be a untouched version of The Untouchables.

2013-05-16 10:52:59

Eliot Ness vs Al Capone in prohibition-era Chicago

"The Untouchables" tells the tale of crusading Federal Agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) bringing down the gang warlord Al Capone (Robert Di Niro) in prohibition-era gangland Chicago.In these corrupt times no-one can be trusted - least of all the Chicago Police Force - so Ness recruits a disparate band of like-minded crimefighters - wise old Irish beat cop Malone (Sean Connery), young Italian-American hot-shot police recruit Stone (Andy Garcia) and an accountant (Charles Martin Smith) an accountant!? yes Capone was actually brought down for tax evasion!Director Brian De Palma's over-the-top style works superbly in this film bringing these larger than life characters bursting to life, immeasurably enhanced by Ennio Morricone's superb score.Connery is moving as the wise old cop, De Niro is spendidly evil as Capone, and Billy Drago is particularly memorable as Capone's oily henchman Frank Nitti - but the entire cast is excellent.De Palma's finest achievement.The picture and sound quality on the DVD is excellent.DVD extras consist of interviews with the film-makers but sadly no commentary.

Manthorpe 2013-05-15 23:47:23

Slightly bloated but still entertaining.

The mob is flourishing in Chicago during prohibition under the command of AlCapone (De Niro), and things are getting out of hand. One cop, Eliot Ness(Costner) has decided this corruption and violence must come to an end andCapone must be taken out. We all know what happens.An overall good mobster movie, The Untouchables isn't as great as itcould've been although I do enjoy it. DePalma takes a premise that couldhave been truly great and gives us the popcorn version. Some of the scenesare simply way over the top, beyond belief, and do not seem to fit with therest of the film giving us glimpses of the man that we see today, pumpingout mostly trash such as Mission Impossible and the like, with the exceptionof Carlito's Way. The cast is excellent, and came out before Costner becamethe King of Flop and still appeared in decent films. De Niro as Capone was awise choice, although he's not on screen much, and is entirely believableand Connery can play an old wise cop with ease. The climatic rail station scene is impressive even with all of that slowmotion, but I do like it, unlike some who hate the movie because of it. It'sjust not as good as some people here would like to make you think and manymovies are much more deserving of the Top 250. In the end, it comes down toa lack of realism. Overall, slightly above average but not necessarily a disappointment.

2013-04-21 04:16:17

Not the Real

I can't see how anyone can like this movie after seeing it. 1st off, Elliott Ness owes his success to Hollywood writers.Elliott did nothing to stop capone, Nitti, Paul (the waiter) Ricca or anyone else in the Chicago Outfit. Do your mafia history, The made up Character of Frank Nitti is just Disgusting. He was a respected, Feared mobster great in strategy although Paul Ricca directed them all. Capone was fared and very Brutal. Elliott Ness would never confront him like the movie showed. I watched this movie once and never opened it again, Please dont waste your money & time. For the real mafia lovers disreguard the people who left comments saying that they loved the movie.

werefox08 2013-04-20 16:04:51

No Nonsense Prohibition...De Palma..De Niro..De Very Good

It is extraordinary how many professional movie reviewers didn't "get"this movie. This was never meant to be a blow by blow account aboutwhat really happened in 1930 during prohibition. This is a stylizeddepiction of what happened. Its made to be entertaining andcommercial...and to make money. It is entertaining ...and it was a hugecommercial money maker. The movie is directed really well by Brian DePalma. The script by David Mamet is great. The acting is way aboveaverage. Even the normally wooden Kevin Costner, playing Elliot Ness isO.K. Sean Connery deservedly won an Oscar for his great portrayal ofMalone. Robert De Niro has a lot of fun --as Capone. The violence isover the top at times, but this is fundamentally an exercise inpleasing the public....filling cinemas. I was entertained by thisexcellent movie. Sometimes commercial art is valuable. (Andy Warhol)

2013-04-19 10:40:36

'Untouchable' is Right!

This is pure genius. You have four lone rangers "The Untouchables" fighting off crime and going up against Chicago's big boy Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) and you have ingredients to tasty meal! Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is the newest federal agent who found umbrellas instead of illegal alcohol during the Prohibtion-era. Stinking baby carriage! Old man Malone (Sean Connery) did his best after James Bond and still took out the garbage and then some. The rookie had the best aim on the force (Andy Garcia) saved the baby carriage from doom and the accountant (Charles Martin Smith), well was just an accountant. A great scene involved Capone doing his best baseball swing at a dinner table. No wonder why SNL liked to use baseball bats in their sketches. Brian De Palma is a genius director and this is a great gangster movie.

tfrizzell 2013-04-19 01:24:46

Few Films Can Touch Its Excellence.

Outstanding production that was the best film of 1987 with theexception of the very dominant "The Last Emperor". "The Untouchables"is the story of Elliot Ness (perfectly played by Kevin Costner) whotries to bring down Chicago Mob boss Al Capone (Robert DeNiro in one ofhis most under-rated roles) during the early-1930s. Illegal liquorsmuggling and other much more serious crimes are running amok andcorruption is all over. Costner realizes very fast that he musthand-pick his own men to bring DeNiro down for good. Thus he enliststhe help of a young cop from the academy (Andy Garcia), a wimpybook-keeper (Charles Martin Smith) and a hard-nosed Irish beat cop(Oscar-winner Sean Connery in the performance of a lifetime). Togetherthey slowly start to peel through the multiple layers of protection toget DeNiro for good. It seems that the fact that DeNiro has been lax inpaying his income taxes could be his ultimate downfall. Beautifullydirected by Brian De Palma, "The Untouchables" stands very tall withthe other great productions of the 1980s. Ennio Morricone'sOscar-nominated score is one of the finest the cinema has everexperienced. Really excellent. I have no negative comments on thisproduction. 5 stars out of 5.

2013-04-03 15:27:36

The Untouchables

This is a great movie with great actors. The only thing in my opinion that they could have done better was the hotel scene. Where Ness encountered Capone in the hotel. I think it was looked pretty fake. But the rest of the movie was great!

JohnnyCNote 2013-04-03 07:01:05

Another embarrassing picture...

I am a great fan of the original Untouchables TV series. While it waslargely fiction, it was entertaining, had some memorable villains and lotsof great actors (er, Special Guest Stars), like William Bendix, NehemiahPersoff and Claire Trevor, just to name a few. I'd heard somewhere that the'87 DePalma movie was supposed to be more realistic and closer to fact.Well, I heard wrong. There might be a spoiler or two in here, just in caseyou haven't seen it.My first criticism is a technical one. Near the beginning there are a lot ofclose-ups on Eliot Ness and his wife as they move about their house. I foundthis to go on for too long and it made me feel claustrophobic. The openingscene with Robert DeNiro as Al Capone was a complete rip-off from an earlierscene in the great "Key Largo". Like Johnny Rocco (played by my favoriteactor, Edward G. Robinson), Capone is getting a shave. It was okay, I guess.Maybe if I'd have know what was coming later I'd have disliked itmore.Speaking of rip-offs, there's a later scene that features a shoot out on astaircase, complete with a woman pushing a baby carriage. This is STRAIGHTout of Film History 101: the Odessa Steps scene in "Potemkin", by SergeiEisenstein. Okay, it was well done, and it could be excused. I'm not surethat many casual moviegoers would be aware of it or evencare.But then there's the Canadian Border scene, in which our heroes raid aconvoy of bootleggers on horseback. So good so far. Soon the inevitablegunfight erupts. The air is thick with bullets. Maybe these horses werepossessed of magical powers. They either dodge the bullet saturated air orthe bullets pass right through them. I guess that's why they use blanks. Itried to sink down low in the chair in case anyone I knew might see me. Thiswas where I realized I'd been suckered into yet another summer film for kidsout of school.There's a final point. At the end of the movie (big spoiler here), Ness getsinto a fight with the evil Frank Nitti. He puts up a mighty struggle, butfinally Ness gets the upper hand and tosses Nitti off the roof, presumablyto his death. Okay, maybe it's not that big a spoiler since we all know Nessis going to win in the end.There's a slight problem with this scene. Nitti, the real Frank Nitti, wasNEVER thrown off a roof. In real life he committed suicide after he wasconvicted and sentenced to prison. So much for the movie being more true tofact.I was also disappointed to see Sean Connery get an Academy Award for this.He's done many better films, but I guess the Academy members felt he was duean award and this was the only film he was in that year. He was probably thebest thing in this movie, but the rest of it was so predictable that it wastoo much for his performance to overcome.If you want to see a much better movie, try to find the originalUntouchables pilot, "Scarface Mob". It has another of my all time favoriteactors, Neville Brand, as Scarface Al Capone, Bruce Gordon as Frank "TheEnforcer" Nitti and Robert Stack as Eliot Ness. Their performances areexcellent. Here's a bit of trivia: The Chicago Outfit actually put acontract on Desi Arnaz, whose Desilu Studios produced the originalUntouchables, because they didn't like how Frank Nitti was portrayed. Idoubt the later version managed to evoke such a response, except perhaps bydissatisfied viewers....

trixster7 2013-03-31 04:36:28

Entertainment at its finest

The Untouchables is a great film. There, I said it. Perhaps that's notan altogether risky opinion. After all, most people would agree withme. However, some people – namely critics – would not hesitate to rankit several places lower on the gangster ladder than, say, The Godfatherand Goodfellas. "It's not as deep," they might say, "pureentertainment." This is exactly why I love this film and find it to beone of the best in the genre. It's not a rich character study, it's nota sweeping epic covering multiple generations, and it's not a twistedtale of corruption and redemption. It's just a damn fine piece ofmovie-making.The characters in this film are not fleshed-out, multi-dimensional,altogether interesting people. But this is not a knock against thefilm's quality; like everything else about the film, these individualsare highly stylized and lacking a fair amount of substance. They'relarger-than-life heroes and villains. And it works. The story beingtold is a classical, metaphorical, allegorical tale of good vs. evil,right vs. wrong, white hats vs. black hats. There are no mentions ofconflicted allegiances, double-agents, or self-serving motivations. Itis just the good guys against the bad guys.It is true that the story takes many liberties with the real-lifeaccounts of Eliot Ness and Al Capone. Large portions of the film areradically altered for dramatic and narrative purposes. Many charactersnever existed. But, again, this is not a fault of the film. This moviedoes not purport to be a documentary or even a historical retelling offamous events: it is just a movie. Situations and events must bedramatized to create suspense, to draw out sympathies, to direct theaudience's feelings. I have no problem with fictionalizing historicalevents for the purpose of the narrative; after all, films are only'based' on a true story.This movie is full of so many classic moments that it's difficult topick a favourite. Of course, there's the memorable scene when theUntouchables embark on their first liquor raid. The wide, iconic shotof the four crossing the street, the fantastic production designremaking Chicago's beautiful La Salle street, Ennio Morricone'sincredibly sweeping music – all combine to make a brief scene that iscertain to be remembered on many a film montage in the future. There'sthe sequence at the Canadian border, which – despite my patriotismflinching at the pathetic portrayal of the Mounties – utilizes the samemusic and cinematography to maximum effect. And, obviously, there's thebrilliant homage to the Odessa Steps scene in Battleship Potemkin,complete with a couple sailors caught in the crossfire. This climaticscene is by far the most thrilling of the film, stretching on for whatseems like an eternity but never losing its suspense or excitement. Itis, truly, a film of memorable moments.Sean Connery certainly deserved his Oscar, as he owns the screenwhenever he's on it and makes us pine for him whenever he's off. Hischaracter is by far the most developed (despite the focus being onNess) and thus his performance is by far the best. Costner is givenlittle to work with besides a rather boring goody-two-shoesprotagonist, and De Niro chews scenery like there's no tomorrow, butConnery draws us in and makes us stay there. It's one of the moredeserving Oscar wins I can think of, and it's a fitting tribute to notonly the actor, but to the film itself.As said before, this is definitely no Godfather. In fact, I would likenthis film more to something like Star Wars than Scarface. It certainlyowes much more to the pulpy serials of the '40s and '50s than the darksagas of the '70s and '80s. It never pretends to be anything more thana piece of entertainment, and it excels at that brilliantly. Everysingle aspect of the production is top-notch, from De Palma'srecognizable direction to Mamet's solid script to Morricone's amazingscore, making for what I believe to be one of the greatest gangsterfilms ever made and certainly a landmark in recent cinema.

Cristian Ganea 2013-03-30 16:44:38

Disappointing

Even though this movie looks promising and actually has some plus sidesto it (De Niro as Al Capone, for one), it is a tremendous let down. Iwas expecting a classy crime picture in the vein of Goodfellas or L.A.Confidential and the first 10 minutes or so were quite enjoyable, butTHE UNTOUCHABLES quickly degenerates and ends up feeling more like apoorly-executed comic book movie. For one, Kevin Costner as Elliot Nessis dull and awkward, and I did not root for him at any one time. SeanConnery does what he can, but his character is so cardboard-qualitythat it's painful to watch. Various scenes are thrown in with seeminglyno connection to the rest of the movie (baseball, anyone?), and themusic is so cheesy it's ridiculous. However, the cake goes to the trainstation shootout scene toward the end, which is a patent ripoff of theBattleship Potemkin staircase massacre, turning the supposed climax ofthe movie into a predictable scene which seems to go on for way toolong.Don't get me wrong, THE UNTOUCHABLES is more or less watchable, butdon't expect anything impressive or original. There are definitelybetter things to watch.

2013-03-27 15:12:06

Brilliant and Riveting

This film is an absolute epic. It is about the 1930's when prohibition was taking place and Chicago Treasury Officer Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) set out to enforce the prohibition law and battle mobster Al Capone (Robert DeNiro). Based on a true story, this is an oscar worthy film. Kevin Costner, Robert DeNiro, Sean Connery, and Andy Garcia give excellent performances.

Sky_Captain_Joe_Sullivan 2013-03-27 12:09:49

De Palma's best work

During Prohibition, G-man Eliot Ness tries to bring Al Capone.De Palma is all about style, and the this movie is no exception.Theproduction design is terrific, as is the cinematography, and EnnioMorricone's score is awesome.Thanks to screenwriter David Mamet, thismovie also has enough Substance to be regarded than just purestyle.Kevin Costner is decent in the lead role,but Sean Connery is ahoot as the gruff Irish cop, and Robert De Niro seems to be having agreat time as Capone. There are numerous set pieces that are verymemorable,including the ambush at the Canadian border,Connery beingturned into swiss cheese,Capone using a baseball bat,and the shoot outat the train station.Rating: **** (out of ****)

Thanos Armagos 2013-03-24 21:28:52

Tremendous directing and performances...

One of the worthwhile features of the film is without a singledoubt the remarkable directing, masterfully created by Brian De Palma. As amatter of fact I think De Palma is one of the best directors of all times(after Alfred Hitchcock of course) and the Untouchables one of his bestpictures. Only the word reminds me of a great number of scenes, for examplethe scene in the train station with the baby carriage, the scene when EliotNess went to kill Al Capone and so many others. Furthermore the script wasreally tremendous, written by David Mamet.As far as the performances are concerned, what can I say, they weremarvelous. Robert De Niro and especially Sean Connery did their best tooffer us unforgettable performances. The second one deservedly won theacademy award of best supporting actor. Finally, if I had one complaintthiswould be the fact that the movie had not a single nomination in thecategories of best picture, best directing, best original screenplay andwhynot a nomination for De Niro's performance in the category of bestsupporting actor.I give Untouchables 9 out of 10 or **** out of *****stars.

2013-03-24 07:31:52

It's A Great Movie : ignore Kevin Costner and you'll love it

The main problem with this film - Kevin Costner. He's wooden. Now that we're past the main problem with this film - let's get on to the good stuff. 1. Sean Connery - don't buy all the rumor's that he won the Academy Award for this film just as a "gift" from the Academy. That Academy doesn't hand out gifts. This is a great role for Sean Connery and he's excellent in it. The actual award is "Best Actor In A Supporting Role" - and that it is. He's ingrained himself in this portrayal of a working-class beat cop.2. Andy Garcia - what's he doing here? Just being incredibly charming and stealing a whole bunch of scene's. Particularily the wonderfully framed ( and quite famous ) staircase scene in the train station.3. The cinematography is amazing. The blocking is great and helps pace the film. You won't realize how great it is until you start to think about how GOOD the film looks. Not just that it's nice to look it - the film has presence.4. Robert DeNiro - as Capone. Come on? Shouldn't that be enough? He's one of the defining actors of our time. He's great here. It's a small part but he sinks his teeth into it and comes out on top.5. Brian DePalma - he's a very underated director and this is one of his best films. It's worth the money - add this film to your collection.Here Endith The Lesson.Best Regards, turtlex