Plot: What’s it about?
The year is 1987, and a rising star by the name of Kevin Costner is now headlining a movie Directed by Brian De Palma. Costner had been known for previous work, most notably Roger Donalson’s “No Way Out” and a movie about an aging cyclist, “American Flyers”. Now we have Costner headlining a movie starring Robert De Niro and Sean Connery. Could he handle it? In retrospect, I think the answer is “Yes”. Costner may not have chosen all the right roles for him, but one of his defining roles of his career so far has got to be his role as Eliot Ness in this movie. Based on a true story, Ness is a treasury agent assigned to bring down the illegal activities of the Mafia in Chicago. It seems Al Capone (Robert De Niro) is profiting by importing Canadian liquor into the Windy City, but no one can catch him in the act and no one can prove that it’s him. Of course, we all know that Al Capone was eventually caught in the end, but The Untouchables concentrates on the time of prohibition, how we dealt with it and how it eventually came to an end.
Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner), ever the idealist has been assigned to take care of Capone and all the problems that he and his hired henchmen seem to be causing. Capone, a reputed gangster and “businessman” has his own theories on how things should be run in Chicago. “I grew up in a rough neighborhood, and we always said that you could get further with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word”. It was clear that Capone was the closes thing to a celebrity, guarded by rows and rows of henchmen. So how was it that Ness was to ever pin anything on him? By sheer coincidence, Ness runs into local policeman, Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery). Malone, as he’s referred to in the movie, has streetsmarts, connections and knows how to bring down Capone. Only thing was that they needed a bit of “fresh meat” off the police force, as half of the force was on Capone’s payroll to begin with. This is where they meet and recruit George Stone (Andy Garcia). Stone is referred to as a “prodigy” by his commander, and is just the kind of idealistic, untarnished cop that can help Malone and Ness bring down Capone and his gang. The fourth member of “The Untouchables” is accountant, Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith). Though kind of obscure looking, and about the last person you would think that could wield a gun, Wallace makes a great, if not comic addition to the team. And so it begins…the gang start raiding liquor houses based on suspicions, tips and every other trick in the book and begin to get noticed by Capone. It’s finally clear to Capone that a war has been waged on him and he’ll stop at nothing to get rid of Ness and his “Untouchables”.
It is important to note that this is a fictional account on what really happened, though the names are real. What Ness and the gang discover that the best way to get Capone may not be through guns. One thing Capone has a lot of. But you get his bookkeeper, and things start to fall into place. I can’t really say much more about The Untouchables that you haven’t seen or heard already. I personally think it’s Brian De Palma’s best movie, and he’s had a lot of great ones. The casting is top notch with DeNiro as Capone and Sean Connery as Malone (a role that finally won him an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor). While the career of Charles Martin Smith has gone downhill, the other cast members have seemed to enjoy continued success. Fans of the movie will certainly want to pick up this DVD, while the old LD that was reissued a few years ago contained a new Dolby Digital mix, this one features it as well. While the extras are just a bit more than that, it’s still worth more than that. This is the type of movie that we want Costner to make again, and let him forego his obsession with his post-apocalyptic dramas.
Video: How does it look?
The Untouchables has benefited from Paramount’s renewed commitment to 16:9 enhancement. The 2.35:1 image has indeed been given a new transfer, but one that really didn’t impress me that much. The general motif of the whole movie is dark, and while most of the scenes look relatively good, there are spots that look almost out of focus. The edge enhancement appears to have taken over here, and some spots just look “weird” to say the least. Now, we’ve all come to such a high standard when it comes to how a DVD looks, that by any other comparison, The Untouchables is far above any other version out there. That’s true. The print used is clean, as there is hardly any artifacting or digital elements present, but it’s clean (no pun intended) that something went wrong. While this is far from unwatchable, I have probably left you with the wrong impression. The transfer, is still good, it’s just not what we’re all used to and the usual high standard that Paramount has. Seeing as how popular this movie is, it may be re-released again in the future as a Special Edition. Then again, Paramount is a studio that hasn’t embraced this as of yet…so you never know. Still, the image is anamorphic, and that’s more than can be said for a lot of other titles. You may not be impressed, but it’s likely that you’ll be satisfied.
Audio: How does it sound?
As I mentioned before, The Untouchables was released on Laserdisc a few years back with a new Dolby Digital soundtrack. It appears that this is the same soundtrack used for the DVD. While it doesn’t compare with some of today’s soundtracks, this fits the bill for quality. I did notice, however, that some of dialogue sounded kind of hissy. The sound at times tended to not be that centered, and therefore gave it kind of a “dated” feeling. While other parts radiated sound throughout the speakers (most notably during the opening credits and the end shoot-out scene), others sounded par at best. Still, I went and listened to my old VHS copy that was in Dolby Surround, and I can say that this is a major improvement over what was. Again, we’ve been so spoiled in terms of soundtracks, and what they sound like that when we hear anything less that perfect, we don’t really know what to think. In retrospect, The Untouchables sounds good, though I’ve heard better from this era. It shouldn’t disappoint, though.
Supplements: What are the extras?
A theatrical trailer presented in anamorphic widescreen is the only extra feature we get. See above comments for hopeful reissue as a Special Edition.
