| | | | The Untouchables
(1987) |
t's 1930. The City of Chicago is over-run by crime and corruption.
The city is ruled by mob kingpin Al "Scarface" Capone (Robert De Niro). He buys off the police and city government - and kills all who cross him.
Young federal agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is called in to stem the flow of illegal booze and the violence it creates. After his first disasterous raid, Ness almost gives up hope. Then he encounters the veteran beat cop James Malone (Sean Connery) on a bridge.
Eliot Ness is greeted with a barrage of staring eyes and whispers as he arrives at work next day. As he paces his office, a woman, mother of the slain Blackmeyer girl, places her confidence in Ness.
It is her words that make Ness seek out Malone at his home, 1634 Racine. Ness tries desperatly to enlist Malone's help, but he decides that staying alive is more important than the fame of bringing down Capone.
Next day, the character of Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith) is introduced. He's a 40-something accountant with not a lot to offer. Or so it seems.
Malone decides that he will help Ness. Together they go to the Police Academy to pick out a uncorrupted cop. They choose the rookie with faultless aim, George Stone (Andy Garcia).
Malone decides the time is ripe to bust up a brewery, and decides they need another man. Oscar Wallace walks right in at that moment. He is handed a shotgun and takes the challenge.
The brewery is in an uneployment office. When they reach the door, Malone tells Ness "If you walk through that door now, you're walking into a world of trouble, and there's no going back, understand?" Ness takes the challenge, and the quartet bust the biggest brewery most of them have ever seen.
After this, Al Capone is not a happy bunny. He gives a big dinner party, and a lot of people are there. He gives a speech about baseball, and the importance of being loyal to the team. He then breaks the skull of the brewery's overseer with a baseball bat.
Frankie Nitti is sent to Ness' home, to 'warn' him of the danger he and his family are now in. For a moment, Ness worries that his daughter has been kidnapped. She's just out of bed to finish her ironing. Ness sends his old lady and little girl away to safety. He learns of a huge shipment coming through from Canada.
After an overnight flight, on which Wallace is to busy finding out about the mob's finances to sleep, the Untouchables (so named because they refuse all bribes) arrive in Canada to bust this shipment with a troup of Mounties.
After busting the shipment in an impressive shoot-out, Malone captures the bookkeeper George and frightens him into confessing by blowing the brains out of a dead gangster.
When Capone hears about this one, he is very, very peeved off at Ness' little 'beat-the-mob' game and declares that he would very much like to defecate on the ashes of Eliot and his family.
Eliot's old lady Catherine gave birth to a little baby boy while Ness was in Canada. She asks if they are making progress. "Progress? Mrs Ness, I think your husband just became the man who got Al Capone!"
The DA announces that Al Capone is going to court on income tax evasion. Ness and Malone walk by, just as the DA commends their efforts. Wallace is escorting the bookkeeper to their office. Unfortunatly, Frank Nitti is right on their trail. In fact, he's in the same lift. A bullet in both their foreheads. As a final, sick touch, "TOUCHABLE" is written in Wallace's blood...
Is this the end of the Untouchables war on Al Capone?
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The Untouchables is a classic. Amazing soundtrack, great quality of actors, violence and raw, beautiful American history. And Andy Garcia. I'm sorry, but I really like any Andy Garcia film.
The sets were amazing, but so was everything else. To say this was produced before computer animation was refined, this is a wonderful, all live-action film.
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In real life, Frank Nitti did not die in a gun fight with Ness. The Real Frank Nitti commited sucide several years later, on the eve of a scheduled grand jury appearance, by shooting himself in the head.  -Thanks to Gil Gamboa
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Oscar Wallace and Jim Malone each take a drink shortly before they are shot to death.
The camera work in the scene where Elliot Ness is in the airline is identical to a scene in Foreign Correspondent (1940).
The scene shot in slow motion of a baby carriage about to plummet down the steps was based on an infamous Russian silent film "March of the Patankin". It is almost a shot by shot remake, excepting that the mother in "The Untouchables" isn't shot down as the mother in "March...." was. You can see this film short in most cinematography study videos. -Thanks to Chris Peterson
The gunfight sequence between Ness and Capone's gang in the train station is a homage to the Odessa Steps sequence in Bronenosets Potemkin (1925).
Actor Charles Martin Smith (who portrayed Oscar Wallace) also starred in John Carpenter's sci-fi drama, Starman. He has also appeared in an episode of 'The Twilight Zone'(1980's version) and was the director of the glam rock supernatural thriller, "Trick or Treat". -Thanks to Phantom Planet
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Robert De Niro, who played Al Capone, tracked down the real Capone's original tailors and had them make him some identical clothing for the movie.
The set for Al Capone's personal barber shop at the Lexington Hotel included a number of small items (cologne bottles, shaving brushes) that belonged to the real Al Capone.
Brian De Palma hired Bob Hoskins to play Al Capone believing that his first choice, Robert De Niro, might not be available. When De Niro took the role after all, Hoskins was paid $200,000.
Albert H. Wolff, the last survivor of the real-life Untouchables, was a consultant to the film and helped Kevin Costner with his portrayal of Eliot Ness.
In the original script, the final gunfight had Ness and George Stone battling Capone gunmen on a stopped train. Brian DePalma conceived the gunfight on the steps in Chicago's Union Station when Paramount decided that finding a 1930's period train was too expensive.
Giorgio Armani designed the mens clothing worn in the film. -Thanks to Brad Richardson
Robert De Niro demanded to wear the same silk underwear Capone would, even though never seen in a shot of the movie, De Niro still demanded the silk underwear in order to maintain composure in his portrayal of Capone. -Thanks to J. Mendoza
In one scene Eliott Ness is in a warehouse with crates of illegal Canadian Whisky. The crates have the red maple leaf on them. The current Canadian Flag, with the red maple leaf, was not brought into existence until 1964. -Thanks to Michael Haxton
When Kevin Costner goes to see Sean Connery at his apartment to ask for help when he opens the door to Costner, Sean Connery's top button on his shirt is done up but later on in the room it comes undone and done up and then undone again oops! -Thanks to Jim
In numerous scenes, the municipal flag of the City of Chicago is shown as having four stars. The fourth star on the flag, was not added until 1933, 3 years after the movie's 1930 time frame.
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|  |  |  | | The Untouchables
Locations |
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 Featured Movie Location: The train station
Wanna see the real life filming location used for The train station in the movie? These scenes were actually shot at Union Station, located in Chicago, Illinois. [New! Show Google Map]
The exterior of the Untouchables Headquarters was filmed at 209 S LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop District. The building is nicknamed "The Rookery", which is a reference to its role as a temporary City Hall and water tank following the Fire of 1871. As this was a favorite roost for pigeons, the structure was referred to as "the rookery." It is one of the few locations in Chicago where an exterior view of the surrounding buildings still resembles the 1920's, with the Board of Trade and Federal Reserve looming closely nearby. [Thanks to Adam]
The address for the Rookery, correctly named as the fantasy HQ for the Untouchables is 209 S. LaSalle. The area is commonly used for period Chicago films and is also referred to as the LaSalle Street Canyon. The terminal end is the Chicago Board of Trade. The Rookery is two buildings north of the BOT on the left hand side of the picture. The "Canyon" reference applies to the the consideration of architects to keep the horizontal elements of their buildings at a uniform height from building to building. [Thanks to Brenda]
The roof where Eliot Ness has his final confrontation with Frank Nitti is actually the roof of the Chicago Cultural Center. [Thanks to Ron]
The shots of Ness chasing the bad guy up to the roof of the Cultural Center were also shot in the Cultural Center, in the rear staircase. The Cultural Center was also used in the Opera shots. It is located on Michigan Avenue, I believe on the corner of Jackson.
The cultural center's address is 78 E. Washington St, on the block between N. Michigan Ave. and N. Garland Ct. [Thanks to David Cameron]
Some of the exterior shots under the elevated tracks were shot on LaSalle Street near the Rock Island train station. I know this because they had the street closed during the shot and I missed my train because of it! [Thanks to Bridget]
Another location of note would be the ice cream parlor in the beginning of the movie where the little girl is killed by trying to return the briefcase full of explosives. This was originally a boarded up, run down bar at the corner of Clark and Roscoe under the El tracks, the movie studio came in an overhauled the location and also gave the antique shop across the street a new store front. It's currently the location of the "Twisted Spoke" restaurant and bar. [Thanks to Brenda]
Can you help? Do you know any of the Chicago, Illinois filming locations used for The Untouchables? [Please send them in]
|  | | | | ![[16:9 -Widescreen Enhanced]](16_9.gif) | ![[5.1 CH SURROUND]](dd5.gif) | Trailer, Featurette |
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Comments: Special edition includes 5 newly-produced featurettes:(The Script, The Cast, Production Stories, Reinventing the Genre and The Classic) and the original featurette 'The Men' |
| | | | Trailer, Featurette |
| Our
Comments: Special Edition |
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Ennio Morrecone, known as the composer for many a spaghetti western, delivers the goods for a movie that is classic all the way through. From the sinister notes of the 'On The Rooftops' theme, to the soothing flutes of 'Ness and his Family', the music is always perfectly matched to the action on-screen.
My personal favourites? The triumphant tones of the main theme, and the jazzy sound of 'Al Capone'.
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