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The Untouchables
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Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792167211
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 079216721X
Label: Paramount
Languages: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 SurroundEnglish (Subtitled),
Manufacturer: Paramount
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Publisher: Paramount
Region Code: 1
Release Date: January 16, 2001
Running Time: 119 minutes
Studio: Paramount
Theatrical Release Date: June 03, 1987
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Editorial Review:
As noted critic Pauline Kael wrote, the 1987 box-office hit The Untouchables is "like an attempt to visualize the public's collective dream of Chicago gangsters." In other words, this lavish reworking of the vintage TV series is a rousing potboiler from a bygone era, so beautifully designed and photographed--and so craftily directed by Brian De Palma--that the historical reality of Prohibition-era Chicago could only pale in comparison. From a script by David Mamet, the movie pits four underdog heroes (the maverick lawmen known as the Untouchables) against a singular villain in Al Capone, played by Robert De Niro as a dapper caesar holding court (and a baseball bat) against any and all challengers. Kevin Costner is the naive federal agent Eliot Ness, whose lack of experience is tempered by the streetwise alliance of a seasoned Chicago cop (Sean Connery, in an Oscar-winning performance), a rookie marksman (Andy Garcia), and an accountant (Charles Martin Smith) who holds the key to Capone's potential downfall. The movie approaches greatness on the strength of its set pieces, such as the siege near the Canadian border, the venal ambush at Connery's apartment, and the train-station shootout partially modeled after the "Odessa steps" sequences of the Russian classic Battleship Potemkin. It's thrilling stuff, fueled by Ennio Morricone's dynamic score, but it's also manipulative and obvious. If you're inclined to be critical, the movie gives you reason to complain. If you'd rather sit back and enjoy a first-rate production with an all-star cast, The Untouchables may very well strike you as a classic. --Jeff Shannon
As noted critic Pauline Kael wrote, the 1987 box-office hit The Untouchables is "like an attempt to visualize the public's collective dream of Chicago gangsters." In other words, this lavish reworking of the vintage TV series is a rousing potboiler from a bygone era, so beautifully designed and photographed--and so craftily directed by Brian De Palma--that the historical reality of Prohibition-era Chicago could only pale in comparison. From a script by David Mamet, the movie pits four underdog heroes (the maverick lawmen known as the Untouchables) against a singular villain in Al Capone, played by Robert De Niro as a dapper caesar holding court (and a baseball bat) against any and all challengers. Kevin Costner is the naive federal agent Eliot Ness, whose lack of experience is tempered by the streetwise alliance of a seasoned Chicago cop (Sean Connery, in an Oscar-winning performance), a rookie marksman (Andy Garcia), and an accountant (Charles Martin Smith) who holds the key to Capone's potential downfall. The movie approaches greatness on the strength of its set pieces, such as the siege near the Canadian border, the venal ambush at Connery's apartment, and the train-station shootout partially modeled after the "Odessa steps" sequences of the Russian classic Battleship Potemkin. It's thrilling stuff, fueled by Ennio Morricone's dynamic score, but it's also manipulative and obvious. If you're inclined to be critical, the movie gives you reason to complain. If you'd rather sit back and enjoy a first-rate production with an all-star cast, The Untouchables may very well strike you as a classic. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Three-fourths Good
The first three fourths of this movie are excellent. The Last quarter, while suspenseful, is full of plot holes which cast a pall of unbelievability over the film. Acting, Directing, and Dialogue are snappy, the film is fast paced, and quite rivetting.
Rating:  - Prohibition Through Hollywood's Eyes
Thoroughly enjoyable period-piece action flick. Interesting that Predator came out the same year. The Untouchables is every bit as violent, macho and bloody, yet Predator is seen as a mindless testosterone-overflowing glorified B-movie for teenage boys (which it is) and The Untouchables is seen as a "real" movie for full-grown adults.
The difference is, of course, De Palma, Mamet and co. make a genuine effort to place The Untouchables in a certain, albeit largely fictional, time and ... Read More
Rating: - Rare Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner was a different actor in this piece. Well written and well acted.
Rating:  - Bigotry and nationality sterotyping abound in this overblown
supposed saga regarding the "gansters" in old Chicago. It looked to me as if the criminals and the "good guys" were just about the same. For the corruption in the police force and the most pure "Eliot Ness" looked like it ran about neck and neck with the supposed "gangsters". Of course the added racial slurs thrown in by the most high Sean Connery another overrated "actor". Just terrible, don't bother with this one.
Rating: - Details of the Blu-ray Special Collector's Edition being rereleased June 3rd, 2008
The Blu-ray release of this movie has been unavailable for a while, but it's being rereleased. It appears to be exactly the same product, with the same special features and specs as before. No HD sound is listed in the announced specs, but it wasn't in the specs announced for the first Blu-ray release either, and was there anyway.
The Untouchables is a pure Hollywood spin on the true-life "Untouchables" led by Eliot Ness against Al Capone in the 1930s. Unlike anything in the real events ... Read More
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