Genre Grandeur – The Untouchables (1987) – MovieRob

For this month’s next review for Genre Grandeur – Crime Films, here’s a review of Untouchables (1987) by me

Thanks again to Dan of Slipthrough Movies for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Drew of Drew’s Movie Reviews We will be reviewing our favorite Heist Movies.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of March by sending them to drewsheist@movierob.net  Try to think out of the box! Great choice Drew!

Let’s see what I thought of this movie:

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“You just fulfilled the first rule of law enforcement: make sure when your shift is over you go home alive. Here endeth the lesson.” – Malone

Number of Times Seen – Too many to count (Cable, Video, DVD  and 25 Feb 2016)

Brief Synopsis – Historical movie about the US Treasury agents who tried to stop notorious gangster Al Capone during the days of Prohibition.

My Take on it – When it comes to crime themed movies, most people will first think about gangsters and film noir from the 30’s and 40’s.

This movie is a throwback to that era because it resembles the movies made during that time because of the look and action by the characters.

We have here good cops, bad cops and of course bad robbers who’s sole goal is to make money by breaking the law and selling alcohol to whoever wants it whether they be friend or foe.

The cats chosen here really is perfect; we have a young Kevin Costner who always plays the part of a crusader very well; Sean Connery as the veteran cop who know Chicago inside and out and is dedicated to stop crime if he is given the chance and we have a VERY young Andy Garcia as a rookie cop not yet exposed to the regular Chicago corruption so he is able to work within the law and not have need to compromise his integrity.

Robert DeNiro is always great and gives a very strong portrayal of the most powerful man in Chicago at the time.

This movie has no problem showing the blatant corruption in the justice system of Chicago and the characters even find ways to use that to their favor.

The ethnic rivalries from the time between Italians and Irish is explored a bit here and we see how they can both work together or against each other depending on their mood and incentives.

Bottom Line – Excellent portrayal of 1930’s era cops and robbers. Costner, Connery, Garcia and DeNiro are all perfectly cast. Although not at historically accurate its such a fun and engaging crime story. Shows us how corrupt Chicago policemen and other officials became at the time and I liked how they showed Italian vs. Irish cops and how they could work together or against each other. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia –  Brian De Palma met Bob Hoskins over a drink in Los Angeles to discuss playing Al Capone if De Palma’s first choice Robert De Niro were to pass on the role. Since De Niro had not yet said yes, Hoskins told De Palma he would do it if he were available. When De Niro finally took the role, De Palma sent Hoskins a thank you note, and the studio paid Hoskins, who had a “pay or play” deal, £20,000. Hoskins called De Palma and asked if there were any more movies the director did not want him to be in. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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