The Untouchables

The Untouchables
directed by Brian DePalma


Kevin Costner's best film! Okay, that's not much of a marquee, but it certainly isn't the best film by Brian DePalma (Scarface), screenwriter David Mamet (The Spanish Prisoner) or co-stars Robert DeNiro (I can't even pick) and Sean Connery (Goldfinger, duh). The story of the men who captured Al Capone, The Untouchables is a feast of period clothes and style, and a has some good, gory gunfights as well. Wooden as always Costner makes you want to root for the bad guys, but DeNiro is so grossly good as Capone that you have to root for the good guys by default. Includes a few famous speeches, including the "baseball" scene, the "that's the Chicago way" speech, and the famous epigram "isn't that just like a wop to bring a knife to a gunfight." Pithy stuff like that finally earned Connery his first Oscar.

Discussion question: Remember when Kevin Costner was the biggest star in America? What the hell was that all about?