One of the better crime fighting films, The Untouchables, was a huge success at the box-office in 1987 and rightly so. The film garnered over $76 million and for that period of time would have been at least 4 times as much in today’s dollars. The cast, made up of actors that have already become major stars, drew viewers to theaters for over 200 days wanting to see the gangster Al Capone and his ruthless gang. Now completely remastered, the film is now available in the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format.
The film opens in the early 1930’s at a time of alcohol prohibition where it was a mad world of illegal use in speakeasies throughout the big cities. In Chicago, gangster Al Capone led a number of “families” who controlled the sale of booze, drugs and prostitution. The federal government, wanting to clean up the city, sends their top agent Eliot Ness to take down the vicious Capone at all costs. This is Ness’s story of choosing the right men to do the job while finding himself in the middle of impossible odds.
As the famed FBI Agent Eliot Ness, Kevin Costner ads his star power and strong personality to the role. It’s only his 11th role at the time in a feature and probably the one that catapulted him into stardom. Two years later he would direct and play the lead in Dances with Wolves earing a Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director and nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role. As Ness he creates a man hell bent on getting Capone and proving it could be done.
Four years after completing his final James Bond feature (Never Say Never Again in 1983), Sean Connery agreed to play a major role in The Untouchables as Jim Malone. The near retirement beat cop, Malone was hesitant on taking on the job to help Eliot Ness. Connery puts on a great show as Malone putting a lot of energy in the film as he turns his character into a bulldog that wants Al Capone taken down. Connery won a Best Actor in a Supporting Role Oscar for his work on the film.
Robert DeNiro’s career started in the 1960’s, but had a lift in the 1970s with The Godfather: Part II (Oscar Supporting Actor The Godfather II) as a younger Vito Corleone in 1974 and followed by Taxi Driver 1976 as the evil Travis Bickle where he worked with Martin Scorsese. The 1980’s came alive for him as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (Oscar Best Actor), Once Upon a Time in America and then The Untouchables. Still in his 30’s he showed the violence that was Al Capone who could swing a mean bat.
Other famous faces include Patricia Clarkson, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith. Clarkson plays Eliot Ness’s wife in the third role of her career and handles it easily. Her work in film took off from there, but It wouldn’t be until 2004 when she received an Oscar nomination for Pieces of April. Andy Garcia who plays fledgling officer George Stone, one of Eliot Ness’s team, earns his badge taking down many of Al Capone’s henchmen. His career, following this performance, took off getting a chance to play Vincent Mancini in The Godfather: Part III and a total of 110 film credits. Charles Martin Smith plays Oscar Wallace the brains behind Ness’s squad. Smith provides some of the comedy much needed to cool down the action. He has earned 89 film credits and you may recognize him from the films Dolphin’s Tale II and Deep Impact.
Special Features Include:
“The Script, The Cast”
“Production Stories”
“Re-Inventing the Genre”
“The Classic”
“Original Featurette:” “The Men”
The Untouchables has been rated R by the MPAA for violence, language, brutality, gore. The film has been released for the first time in 4K Ultra Blu-ray with a Digital Code. It also has been released in a limited Steel Box edition.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Charles Martin Smith, Andy Garcia, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Brad Sullivan, Patricia Clarkson
Directed by: Brian De Palma
Genre: Crime, Thriller
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hr. 59 minj.
Video Release Date: May 31, 2022
Language: English
Reviewed Format: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Audio: Dolby Atmos
Video: Ultra HD
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment
Released on: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
