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Storyline
Young Treasury Agent Elliot Ness arrives in Chicago and is deternimed to take down Al Capone but it's not going to be easy, because Capone has the police in his pocket. Ness meets Jimmy Malone a veteran patrolman and probably the most honorable one in the force. He asks Malone to help him get Capone but Malone warns him that if he goes after Capone, he is going to war. |
The Director
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma (born September 11, 1940) is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible.
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, De Palma worked repeatedly with actors Jennifer Salt, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen (his wife from 1979 to 1983), Gary Sinise, John Lithgow, William Finley, Charles Durning, Gerrit Graham, cinematographers Stephen H. Burum and Vilmos Zsigmond (see List of noted film director and cinematographer collaborations), set designer Jack Fisk, and composers Bernard Herrmann and Pino Donaggio. De Palma is credited with fostering the careers of or outright discovering Robert De Niro, Jill Clayburgh, John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo, Andy Garcia and Margot Kidder. ... see more />
Description above from the Wikipedia article Brian De Palma, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
User Reviews
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Early (Rough) Review: Revisiting The Untouchables
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From October 24, 2006:
I just bought this movie because it was cheap, like $5. I had seen it a couple of times, probably closer to the time of its release. Since I was barely a pre-teen at the time, I don't think I fully appreciated the film the way it was meant to be appreciated.
This film is a lesson in moral ambiguity. If you don't already know the story, Treasury Agent Elliott Ness, a beat cop named Jim Malone, a treasury accountant, and a sharpshooter rookie decide to take on the most elusive mob boss, likely, in history, Al Capone. De Niro won an Oscar for his portrayal of the gangster, and it's no surprise that his performance was dynamic and impressive.
What is interesting to me and what I didn't register the first time or two I saw the film is that this movie is actually kind of quirky. Even though it draws upon historical events and uses big name stars, the film mixes a sardonic, almost twisted sense of humor with the personal crusade of a man who begins to bend the law he swears to uphold in order to catch his quarry. It's not an emotional journey as much as it is one of slow realization that the line between good and evil is sometimes more blurry and gray than black and white. In fact, the character of Ness appears emotionally detached from almost everyone and everything except Malone as he slowly numbs to this reality.
In that way, the film is a little confusing. I kept asking myself, what is this really about - capturing Capone on the flimsy tax evasion charge, or compromising one's morality and sense of ethics in order to achieve a certain goal. "The means justify the ends." It's kind of a clumsy combination of both.
The film is ult...
View full review
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reviewed by Pippin2010 (Filmaster.com) on the 26th of January 2010
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Marvelous. A hero's tale that finds time to show the frequent inadequacy of virtue and the glamour of evil