Malone: [stopping at a post office] Well, here we are.
Ness: What are we doing here?
Malone: Liquor raid.
Ness: [looking at the police station across the street] Here?
Malone: Mr. Ness, everybody knows where the booze is. The problem isn't finding it, the problem is who wants to cross Capone.
Ness: What are we doing here?
Malone: Liquor raid.
Ness: [looking at the police station across the street] Here?
Malone: Mr. Ness, everybody knows where the booze is. The problem isn't finding it, the problem is who wants to cross Capone.
Director: Brian De Palma
Producer: Raymond Hartwick, Art Linson
Main Cast: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith
Runtime: 119 minutes
Based on a true story during the prohibition times of the
1920’s and 30’s, the movie focuses around “The Untouchables” (untouchable as in
not able to be bribed, incorruptible) formation and eventual take down of crime
lord Al Capone who had the city of Chicago in his palms. Whilst not a completely accurate portrayal of
the events, the sole survivor of the original real-life Untouchables was a
consultant for the film and also helped Kevin Costner with the role of Elliot
Ness.
I really enjoyed this film and reckon it sits not too far
from hits like The Godfather, Once Upon A Time in America and Goodfellas. Many would not agree but to me the actors,
setting and story seem so engaging and the story seems to take a grip of you as
Sean Connery and Kevin Costner’s characters join forces to fight against Al
Capone and his crime ring. Robert De
Niro is stunning as Al Capone and being the method actor (one who tries to be
as realistic to the character they are playing as possible even to the point of
not breaking out of that character during the whole shooting schedule) that he
is, he went to the same tailor Capone did in real life to get a suit and also
insisted on wearing the same brand/type of jocks! Just like The Godfather and Once Upon a Time
in America, De Niro suits the part completely from the first moment you see him
on screen.
All the actors do a great job portraying their characters
and the style of filming is wonderful.
Typical of Brian De Palma is the stylistic angled shots and close-ups
that many seem to shy away from, but this is a Director who learnt a lot from
Hitchcock and therefore has a liking to bend some of the standard everyday
rules of Hollywood filmmaking, and this adds to the enjoyment of the movie.
The Bluray reviewed is the Australian release which can be
bought for under $10 as your local JB Hifi.
There is a 30th Anniversary Edition however it is apparently
the same disc in a new package and for that you get the privilege of paying a few
extra bucks.
The quality of the 2.35:1 image is a bit of mixer. If you are not overly picky, the image looks
fantastic however if you like the movie to look how it should on film you might
be a little disappointed. Yes, it looks
super clean with little grain, in fact almost no grain which is where the bad
part would come in for some viewers. The
studio who released it appear to have a bit heavy handed in noise reduction to
remove the grain which as a result removes some detail and texture so some
parts can look a little bit too smooth but I wouldn’t call it excessive at all
like the Bluray release of Predator where some scenes of Arnold Schwarzenegger
and Carl Weathers look incredibly waxy and almost doll like as you can see
below. But The Untouchables bluray is no where near this bad.
It’s still somewhat better than the DVD release but it’s just
not showing the detail you would expect from a good Bluray. Again, this is mostly going to be an issue for
those who are picky with that film look.
I found it quite good though I certainly noticed the use of noise
reduction (DNR) but it wasn’t really intrusive for me.
The default audio selection is Dolby Digital 5.1 (lossy at 640kbs) and sound quite thumpy and generally quite good however the disc also contains a DTS ES 6.1 track encoded at about 1500kbs which is a bit softer but better balanced and more detailed and therefore makes it the clear winner over the default Dolby Digital. I also neglected to mention that the score is from the amazing Ennio Morricone and sounds great! There is also a reasonable amount of swearing.
The default audio selection is Dolby Digital 5.1 (lossy at 640kbs) and sound quite thumpy and generally quite good however the disc also contains a DTS ES 6.1 track encoded at about 1500kbs which is a bit softer but better balanced and more detailed and therefore makes it the clear winner over the default Dolby Digital. I also neglected to mention that the score is from the amazing Ennio Morricone and sounds great! There is also a reasonable amount of swearing.
The bluray (and special edition DVD’s) have the following
extras:
- The Script, The Cast featurette
- Production Stories featurette
- Reinventing the Genre featurette- The Classic featurette
- Reinventing the Genre featurette- The Classic featurette
- Original Featurette: “The Men”- Theatrical Trailer
Overall, this is a fantastic movie I could watch many times
and never get bored of it. It has story,
action, great acting and is stylistically shot.
It’s a steal for $10. Grab yourself a copy, sit back and enjoy!
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It's a good movie isn't it? Did you enjoy the baseball bat scene with Robert De Niro? lol
ReplyDeleteIs Sean Connery's character based on a real person? OK maybe I'm biased but I think he just steals every scene he's in, he is fantastic!!!!!
The image quality of the DVD I've got is quite good I reckon, plus it has a poster insert that looks like a full page of the 1920s Chicago newspaper, it's really cool!
On a side note, I see what you mean by the excessive noise reduction in the Predator bluray - Schwarzenegger looked like he had full on plastic surgery! looks really weird & unnatural...
Now talking about method acting - have you heard of the famous words by Laurence Olivier? he's widely regarded as one of the finest actors ever appeared on stage & screen, but he was not a method actor. This is the story (got it from the internet):
The 1976 thriller Marathon Man stars Dustin Hoffman as a simple history graduate student who finds himself caught in the middle of a conspiracy involving stolen diamonds and a Nazi war criminal played by Olivier. Hoffman had a reputation as a "method" actor, one who fully immersed himself in a character. He took up running for long stretches as the titular character did, losing 15 pounds in the process. He also literally immersed himself in the job, as when he insisted that the men trying to drown his character in one scene hold his head underwater for longer stretches in repeated takes. According to a June 2010 Esquire magazine article, Hoffman advised the other actors to be careful not to press on his Adam's apple, but "to try to really hold me under. Let me see how long I can stay under. Let me see if I can fight you. Let me see what happens."
The legend goes like this: Hoffman chose to stay awake for three days in a row to be more convincing in his role. Olivier saw his battered and weary co-star and gave him the famous advice, "Why not try acting, dear boy? It's much easier".
Di :)
It is a good movie and well worth seeing i reckon.
DeleteYes the baseball bat scene was kinda shocking but effective in how brutal his character is. Being a method actor i cant imagine the conflicts he would have inside him in his daily life with things he has done coming to light each moment. He went to quite an extent to get "into" his character, the same as the movie Taxi Driver where he apparently drove a taxi unlicensed to get into his character lol
The Dustin Hoffman quote is quite staggering!