The Untouchables (film)

The Untouchables is a 1987 American crime film[3] directed by Brian De Palma, produced by Art Linson, written by David Mamet, and based on the book of the same name (1957). The film stars Kevin Costner, Charles Martin Smith, Andy García, Robert De Niro, and Sean Connery, and follows Eliot Ness (Costner) as he forms the Untouchables team to bring Al Capone (De Niro) to justice during Prohibition. The Grammy Award–nominated score was composed by Ennio Morricone and features period music by Duke Ellington.[4]

The Untouchables
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrian De Palma
Produced byArt Linson
Screenplay byDavid Mamet
Based onThe Untouchables
by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley
Starring
Music byEnnio Morricone
CinematographyStephen H. Burum
Edited byGerald B. Greenberg
Bill Pankow
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 2, 1987 (1987-06-02) (New York City premiere)
  • June 3, 1987 (1987-06-03) (United States)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[1]
Box office$106.2 million[2]

The Untouchables premiered on June 2, 1987 in New York City, and went into general release on June 3, 1987 in the United States. The film grossed $106.2 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. It was nominated for four Academy Awards; Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[5]

Plot

In 1930, during Prohibition, reigning crime kingpin Al Capone supplies illegal liquor and has nearly the entire city of Chicago under his control. Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness has been tasked with bringing a stop to Capone's activities, but his first attempt at a liquor raid fails due to corrupt policemen tipping Capone off. He has a chance meeting with a veteran Irish-American officer, Jim Malone, who is fed up with the rampant corruption and offers to help Ness, suggesting they find a man from the police academy who has not yet come under Capone's influence and still believes in the idealistic aspects of law enforcement. They recruit Italian-American trainee George Stone (AKA Giuseppe Petri) for his superior marksmanship and integrity. Joined by accountant Oscar Wallace, assigned to Ness from Washington, D.C., they conduct a successful raid on a Capone liquor cache and start to gain positive publicity, with the press dubbing them "The Untouchables." Capone later kills the person in charge of the cache as a warning to his other subordinates.

Wallace discovers that Capone has not filed an income tax return for four years and suggests that the team try to build a tax evasion case against him (as Capone's network keeps him well-insulated from his other crimes). An alderman offers Ness a bribe to drop his investigation, but Ness angrily refuses it. After Capone's enforcer Frank Nitti threatens Ness's family, Ness immediately moves his wife and daughter to a safe house. In a subsequent raid on the Canadian border, Ness and his team intercept an incoming liquor shipment. They kill several gangsters and capture a Capone bookkeeper named George, whom they eventually persuade to collaborate. Back in Chicago, as Wallace escorts George from the police station to a safe house, a disguised Nitti shoots both of them dead. Ness confronts Capone at the Lexington Hotel after the murders, but Malone intervenes, urging Ness to focus on persuading the district attorney not to dismiss the charges against Capone.

Malone realizes that police chief Mike Dorsett sold out Wallace and George, and, in a fight with Dorsett, forces him to reveal the whereabouts of Capone's head bookkeeper, Walter Payne. That evening, Malone is lured outside his apartment by Capone's bowtie driver and Nitti critically wounds him in a Tommy gun ambush. Ness and Stone arrive at the apartment; before he dies, Malone shows them which train Payne will take out of town. As Ness and Stone await Payne's arrival at Union Station, they see a young mother with two suitcases and a child in a carriage laboriously climbing the lobby steps. Ness ultimately decides to assist her, but the gangsters who are guarding Payne appear as Ness and the woman reach the top of the stairs, and a bloody shootout takes place. Though outnumbered, Ness and Stone manage to capture Payne alive and kill his escorts - including Capone's bowtie driver - without harm to the mother or the child.

Later, when Payne testifies at Capone's trial, Ness observes that Capone appears strangely calm and that Nitti is wearing a gun in the courtroom. The bailiff removes Nitti and searches him, finding a note from Chicago Mayor William Hale Thompson which effectively permits him to carry the weapon. However, Ness sees Malone's address written on a matchbook in Nitti's possession and realizes that Nitti is Malone's killer. Panicked, Nitti shoots the bailiff before fleeing to the courthouse roof as Ness pursues him. After Nitti expresses his contempt for Malone and claims he will "beat the rap," Ness pushes Nitti off the roof to his death.

Stone gives Ness a list, taken from Nitti's coat, which shows that the jurors in the trial have been bribed. Behind closed doors, Ness convinces the judge to order that the jury in the Capone trial be switched with that of an unrelated divorce trial in the adjacent courtroom. This prompts Capone's lawyer to enter a guilty plea, although Capone is outraged and violently objects. Capone is later found guilty of tax evasion and sentenced to eleven years in prison. On the day Capone begins serving his sentence, Ness closes up his office, giving Malone's St. Jude medallion and callbox key to Stone as a farewell present. As Ness leaves the police station, a reporter mentions the probable repeal of Prohibition, asking Ness what he will do in that case. Ness replies, "I think I'll have a drink."

Cast

Background

The Untouchables began production in Chicago on August 18, 1986.[6] Actual historical Chicago locations were featured in the movie.[7]

De Niro's research for the role of Al Capone included reading about him and watching historical footage.[8] He also wanted one extra scene written for his character, and time to finish his commitment to the Broadway production of Cuba and His Teddy Bear. Lastly, he wanted to gain about 30 pounds (14 kg) to play Capone; according to De Palma, De Niro was "very concerned about the shape of his face for the part."[1]

A month after the film was released, De Palma downplayed his own role on the script:

Being a writer myself, I don't like to take credit for things I didn't do. I didn't develop this script. David [Mamet] used some of my ideas and he didn't use some of them. I looked upon it more clinically, as a piece of material that has to be shaped, with certain scenes here or there. But as for the moral dimension, that's more or less the conception of the script, and I just implemented it with my skills – which are well developed. It's good to walk in somebody else's shoes for a while. You get out of your own obsessions; you are in the service of somebody else's vision, and that's a great discipline for a director.[9]

De Palma met with Bob Hoskins to discuss the role in case De Niro, the director's first choice for the part, turned it down. When De Niro took the part, De Palma mailed Hoskins a check for his contracted fee of £20,000 with a "Thank You" note, which prompted Hoskins to call up De Palma and ask him if there were any more movies he didn't want him to be in.[10]

De Palma initially wanted Don Johnson to portray Eliot Ness.[11] Mickey Rourke turned down the lead role of Ness.[12]

The character of the IRS agent Oscar Wallace was partially based on Frank J. Wilson, the IRS criminal investigator who spent years keeping tabs on Capone's financial dealings before laying charges.[13] Unlike Wallace, Wilson was not killed during the investigation, and was later involved in the Lindbergh kidnapping case.

In preparing for his role as Eliot Ness, Kevin Costner met with former FBI agent and Untouchable Al "Wallpaper" Wolff at his home in Lincolnwood, IL for historical context and to learn about Ness's mannerisms.[14]

Production

Principal photography began in the summer of 1986 in Chicago, Illinois, where Eliot Ness's story begins with him recruiting his Untouchables team with the intent of taking down Al Capone. In August 1986, Paramount Pictures contacted Garry Wunderwald of the Montana Film Commissioner's Office to find a 1930-period bridge to imply a border crossing between the United States & Canada. Wunderwald suggested the Hardy Bridge, which crosses the Missouri River near the small town of Cascade, southwest of Great Falls.

From October 6–20, the bridge was closed to traffic to film the iconic shootout sequence. Twenty five local residents were cast to ride horseback as Royal Canadian Mounted Police during the scene. The crew then built cabins and summer homes along the river, and 600 trees were brought in from Lincoln and Kalispell areas, and planted in a day and a half. Several 1920s & 1930s-era vehicles were rented from ranchers from Conrad and Great Falls. Actual filming took approximately ten days, but the production staff reserved the bridge for enough time to allow for production delays. Hundreds were allowed to watch filming from a nearby field. Actor Sean Connery (Jim Malone) treated well-wishers and fans openly and cordially, and production was completed shortly after.[15]

Reception

The Untouchables opened on June 3, 1987 in 1,012 theatres where it grossed $10,023,094 on its opening weekend and ranked the sixth-highest opening weekend of 1987. It went on to make $76.2 million in North America.[3] According to producer Art Linson, the polls conducted for the film showed that approximately 50% of the audience were women. "Ordinarily, a violent film attracts predominantly men, but this is also touching, about redemption and relationships and because of that the audience tends to forgive the excesses when it comes to violence".[16]

The Untouchables received positive reviews from film critics. It has an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 critics, and an average rating of 7.45/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Slick on the surface but loaded with artful touches, Brian DePalma's classical gangster thriller is a sharp look at period Chicago crime, featuring excellent performances from a top-notch cast."[17] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[19]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, calling it "a smashing work" and saying it was "vulgar, violent, funny and sometimes breathtakingly beautiful".[20] Conversely, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the film for its action sequences and locations but disapproved of David Mamet's script and Brian De Palma's direction.[21] Hal Hinson, in his review for The Washington Post, also criticized De Palma's direction: "And somehow we're put off here by the spectacular stuff he throws up onto the screen. De Palma's storytelling instincts have given way completely to his interest in film as a visual medium. His only real concern is his own style".[22] Richard Schickel of Time wrote, "Mamet's elegantly efficient script does not waste a word, and De Palma does not waste a shot. The result is a densely layered work moving with confident, compulsive energy".[23]

Ebert singled out the film's portrayal of Al Capone, who is depicted as arrogant and childish to the point of misbehaving in public and in court, as the biggest disappointment of the film, while giving praise to Sean Connery's work. While he was voted first place in an Empire magazine historical poll for worst film accent (since despite playing an Irish-American, Connery's Scottish accent was still very noticeable),[24] Connery was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance. Pauline Kael called it "a great audience movie – a wonderful potboiler." Time magazine ranked it as one of the best films of 1987.[25]

Accolades
Award Category Subject Result
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Sean Connery Won
Best Costume Design Marilyn Vance Nominated
Best Original Score Ennio Morricone Nominated
Best Production Design Patrizia von Brandenstein, William A. Elliott, and Hal Gausman Nominated
ASC Award Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases Stephen H. Burum Nominated
ASCAP Award Top Box Office Films Ennio Morricone Won
BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor Sean Connery Nominated
Best Music Ennio Morricone Won
Best Production Design Patrizia von Brandenstein, William A. Elliott, and Hal Gausman Nominated
Best Costume Design Marilyn Vance Nominated
Blue Ribbon Award Best Foreign Film Brian De Palma Won
César Award Best Foreign Film Nominated
David di Donatello Award Best Foreign Film Art Linson Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Sean Connery Won
Best Original Score Ennio Morricone Nominated
Grammy Award Best Film Soundtrack Won
Japan Academy Prize Best Foreign Language Film Nominated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actor Sean Connery Won
London Film Critics' Circle Award Best Actor of the Year Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actor 2nd place
Nastro d'Argento Silver Ribbon for Best Score Ennio Morricone Won
NBR Award Top 10 Films Won
Best Supporting Actor Sean Connery Won
NSFC Award Best Supporting Actor 2nd place
NYFCC Award Best Supporting Actor 2nd place
WGA Award Best Adapted Screenplay David Mamet Nominated

American Film Institute

Video game

A side-scrolling video game, The Untouchables was released by Ocean Software in 1989 on multiple platforms. The game plays out some of the more significant parts of the film. Set in Chicago, the primary goal of the game is to take down Al Capone's henchmen and eventually detain Capone.

gollark: Yes, that's pretty bad.
gollark: I'm okay with the social distancing stuff as long as they do not do it forever or pretend they can, and as long as most relevant law stuff is rolled back after the whole COVID-19 situation is over.
gollark: As far as I am aware it hasn't been demonstrated to work. There have been trials going on for a while.
gollark: You are going to have problems isolating for a year, especially if basically nobody else is.
gollark: It's worrying to me that the UK is seemingly doing quite badly, since I live there.

References
  1. Siskel, Gene (September 21, 1986). "De Niro, De Palma, Mamet Organize Crime with a Difference". Chicago Tribune. ProQuest Archiver. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  2. Cones, John W. (1997). The Feature Film Distribution Deal: A Critical Analysis of the Single Most Important Film Industry Agreement. SIU Press. p. 7. Retrieved 2013-12-29.
  3. "The Untouchables". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  4. Tullio Kezich (September 6, 1987). "Piace Al Capone superstar". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 23.
  5. "The 60th Academy Awards (1988) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-07-31.
  6. "The Untouchables, a Brian De Palma film, to begin production in Chicago on August 18". PR Newswire. HighBeam Research. August 14, 1986. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  7. Actual Chicago and Montana locations of historical buildings used in The Untouchables
  8. Sollosi, Mary (June 5, 2017). "The stars of The Untouchables look back, 30 years later". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  9. Bennetts, Leslie (July 6, 1987). "The Untouchables: De Palma's Departure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  10. "Bob Hoskins paid not to play Capone". Metro Newspapers. March 19, 2009. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  11. "Brian De Palma originally wanted Don Johnson to star in 'The Untouchables'". EW.com.
  12. "Mickey Rourke: a life in film". Time Out. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  13. Crouse, Richard. "Metro in Focus: The Accountant & Crooks with Pocket Protectors!". I Watch Bad Movies So You Don't Have To. Retrieved 2017-09-06.
  14. "The Last Untouchable". PEOPLE.com.
  15. D’AMBROSIO, BRIAN. "The Untouchables' Montana touch: Hollywood shoot-out scene comes to Montana". Montana Magazines. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  16. Darnton, Nina (June 12, 1987). "At the Movies". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  17. "The Untouchables (1987)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  18. "The Untouchables Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  19. "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". web.archive.org. 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  20. "De Niro in The Untouchables". The New York Times. June 3, 1987. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  21. Ebert, Roger (June 3, 1987). "The Untouchables". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  22. Hinson, Hal (June 3, 1987). "The Untouchables". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  23. Schickel, Richard (June 8, 1987). "In The American Grain". Time. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  24. "Connery 'has worst film accent'". BBC. June 30, 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  25. "Best of '87: Cinema". Time. January 4, 1988. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
  26. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Nominees" (PDF).
  27. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills Nominees" (PDF).
  28. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains" (PDF).
  29. "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees" (PDF).
  30. "AFI's 10 Top 10 Ballot" (PDF).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.