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The Untouchables

“He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way, and that’s how you get Capone!”

Brian De Palma was coming off a couple of box office disappointments when he signed on to bring David Mamet’s script “The Untouchables” to life. The studio was hoping for something akin to a movie version of their old TV show but this team opted to tell a more focused story, and that is both the success and failure of this movie. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our ‘Mamet as screenwriter’ series with 1987’s “The Untouchables.” We talk about what works in Mamet’s script and what doesn’t, and why elements aren’t working the way they should. We chat about De Palma and all of the De Palma-isms that he delivers here, never one to disappoint. We look at the key actors in the film – Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith – and what they each bring to the table, particularly Connery in his Oscar-winning performance. And we touch on the technical with Ennio Morricone’s score, the fantastic production design and the noirish title design. It’s a film that unfortunately didn’t hold up for us this go-around, despite still being able to get enjoyment from it. It’s worth the watch, particularly if you haven’t seen it before, so check it out then tune in!

Film Sundries

A show about movies and how they connect.

When the movie ends, our conversation begins. We love movies. We’ve been talking about them, one movie a week, since 2011. It’s a lot of movies, that’s true, but we’re passionate about origins and performance, directors and actors, themes and genres, and so much more. So join the community and let’s hear about your favorite movies, too.
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