The Untouchables is a classic American gangster movie of the 80s, set in the 1920s during Prohibition. Chicago gang leader Al Capone built a huge bootlegging empire through money and violence. However, the mighty Capone was eventually sent to prison by federal agents for tax evasion and eventually died in prison. Through the perspective of Treasury agent Eliot Ness, the film dramatizes the process of bringing down Capone's criminal empire.
Before getting into the topic, let’s talk about your own understanding of the film. I saw this movie on TV at a very young age and was very impressed. Because I couldn't remember the name, it took a long time to search for it when I thought about it later. Watched a lot of classic movies, but The Untouchables is still number one in my mind. It taught me that the road to justice will not be smooth, but justice will eventually triumph over evil.
This movie is scored in two parts, which are, in a nutshell, strengths and weaknesses. Because I have watched it too many times, it will inevitably cause aesthetic fatigue, and many wonderful places in the film may not be introduced. But there are so many unique things about this movie that I highly recommend it.
Highlights/advantages:
1. The cast
film is directed by the suspenseful film master DePalma, starring Kevin Costner, the first 007 Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro, the king of dramas ; Even the third godfather Andy Garcia only appeared in a supporting role in the film. The strong cast is nowhere to be seen. Many detailed shots in the movie are classics under their interpretation.
Connery created Malone, an upright, dedicated and socially savvy old cop. The character's wit and dedication is fully demonstrated by Connery. When the church and Ness planned to set up the Untouchables team, the church door opened when someone came in, and he did not forget to look back alertly; when he was assassinated by Capone's killer and was on the verge of death, he did not forget to take his last breath to remind Ness of the next move, so People are moving. Superb acting skills and extra attention to detail also earned Connery an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the role of Malone.
Robert De Niro plays Al Capone, the villain in the film. His superb acting skills are particularly reflected in many details. Capone sometimes chats and laughs with his subordinates at meetings, sometimes repeating words and thinking deeply. The climax of the scene is at the end of the meeting, when Capone, played by DeLillo, picks up a bat and suddenly executes an underserved man at a table full of cigars and fine wine; When moved and crying, the killer reported the successful assassination. Capone, who was wiping his tears with a towel a second ago, suddenly raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a satisfied smile. The fluctuations and contrasts of various emotions test the quality of the actors to a great extent. Obviously, DeLillo, with his precise understanding of the characters and excellent acting skills, successfully dramatized Capone's psychological world, and further shaped Capone's powerful and sinister image.
2. Soundtrack
The main functions of the soundtrack include rendering the environment, highlighting the psychology of the characters, and transitioning the plot. The main soundtrack melodies of The Untouchables are no more than 10, but under the arrangement of the famous music soundtrack master Ennio Morriconeton, through superb arrangement and repetition, every appearance is just right, and it adds color to the movie scene. few.
The ending song of the film uses instruments such as violin, trumpet, tuba, etc., and reflects a grand, majestic, upright and awe-inspiring spirit through fast rhythm and loud and high melody. In addition to being broadcast at the end of the credits with Ness disappearing into the beautiful Chicago long shot of the setting sun, to deepen the film's thesis that justice must prevail, the melody is also repeated when Ness and his Untouchable squad sprint and raid the bootlegging trade. The four team members were fully armed and galloped, and the melody sounded. The high-pitched melody accompanied the members to bravely fight against the panicked gangsters. A large part of the footage was given to Wallace, who was originally an accountant among the members, and finally took up arms and joined the fight against the gang. Surprisingly, the gentle Wallace did not retreat in the face of the fierce enemy, and bravely knocked down the enemies one by one under the inspiration of the friend being shot. This action scene and the passionate soundtrack complement each other, showing that the belief in justice can give ordinary people great power.
Another subtlety of the soundtrack in the film is the scene where Ness and sharpshooter Stone intercept Capone's accountant at the station. During the long wait, Ness found a lonely mother struggling to carry a suitcase and a stroller with her baby up the stairs. Accompanying this heartwarming scene is the soothing sleep music of pure music. The heartwarming music contrasts sharply with Ness's anxious waiting and watchful observation. And when Ness couldn't stand it any longer, he stopped guarding to help his mother carry the baby carriage, and the middle accountant and several bodyguards entered the station. In addition to the original baby song, the background music also played in a low-pitched tuba and trumpet to express a tense and suspenseful atmosphere. . This seemingly conflicting, incongruous musical pairing nicely contrasts the baby's innocent innocence with the darkly corrupt affordable environment and the intense battle to come, adding to the suspense and tension of the whole scene.
3. Details
Most of the details in the movie are set to increase the authenticity and logic of the movie. But in The Untouchables, many of the details that flashed through the camera play an important role in hinting and promoting the development of the plot. Although such an arrangement may cause some viewers to question the logic of the plot due to neglect of details, on the whole, these ingeniously designed details vividly reflect the superb skills of the director and screenwriter.
In a long shot of Capone's palatial abode after Ness's first failed boozy attempt, there are a few seconds of footage given to a suave, bespectacled man. He explained something to another man about the ledger and the number of barrels. This seems to be just to highlight the details of Capone's bootlegging crime, but it has a strict causal logical relationship with the subsequent shots. As the plot progresses, we know that this man with glasses is the key witness who later testified against Capone's crime - the bookkeeper. And what they were talking about at the time was the details of the smuggled alcohol trade that would be carried out on the US-Canada border as mentioned above. Such a seemingly ordinary shot contains such a huge amount of information, which shows the intentions of the director and screenwriter.
The most important detail in the film is the address on the matchbox. Killer Nitti found Malone's address through the address on this matchbox before he acted. Later, when Nitti was searched, when Ness took his match to smoke, the address on the matchbox was discovered by Ness, which led to a series of action scenes in which Ness avenged his best friend. From the perspective of the development of the plot, the transition of the details of the address on the matchbox is abrupt and not abrupt, which is beyond the audience's expectations but appears smooth and natural, which greatly promotes the development of the entire plot.
Deficiencies/Flaws
1. Plot
From the narrative style, The Untouchables is a little special in gangster movies. Compared with another famous director Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in America" and "The Godfather" series, this chapter appears to be faster-paced and richer in emotion. But this narrative style also brings up some plot logic issues that the audience may not understand. Perhaps the screenwriter and director have ulterior motives, but it is really puzzling to see these incomprehensible plot arrangements in such a film with a strong sense of urgency through many details.
The most elusive of these bizarre (or perhaps the screenwriter-imposed) plots is Ness's reason for seeing Malone and joining Untouchable. Before Ness made a special trip to Malone's house to invite him out to host the sake team, the two met only once, that is, when Ness failed the first time in the wine test, and was educated by Malone, who was patrolling the street. In the process, the main body of the plot highlights Malone's witty words, sophistication, and astonishing judgment. But isn't it too abrupt for a "well-educated" Ness to judge Malone as a shrewd and reclusive integrity cop in just a few sentences? Especially in the dialogue between Malone and Ness, "How do you know I'm a good cop?" "You told me!" The plot is completely arranged without the audience's previous situation, which is confusing. This bridging is the most important part of Ness's formation of his Untouchable team, but it was arranged in the film to be abrupt and unnatural, or the director and screenwriter did it deliberately, trying to stimulate the audience's thinking and brain-enhancing ability. But for some audiences, it does seem that the thinking span is too large and leads to confusion and confusion, which can be said to be a small regret for such a good movie.
2. In
such a large-scale production film with such big names in acting, the actor's acting skills should not be insufficient at all. However, in this film, I noticed some unsatisfactory parts of the acting.
In this film, Andy Garcia, who was still young at the time, played a supporting role in the Untouchable squad, sharpshooter Stone. He excelled in multiple fight scenes, from the agonizing struggle of being shot from the middle of the gun to the decisive confidence in rescuing the hostages. But for the anger and pain he should have shown after Malone's death, his performance was mediocre and flat. Shot in the speeding car at about an hour and twenty-six minutes into the film, Stone and Ness have a brief conversation where they are dashing to the train station to intercept the bookkeeper. In this shot, although Garcia expresses Stone's anger and sadness by pouting and looking down, it seems extremely unnatural, and even has a smile that is not a smile, which is puzzling. In addition, Garcia's voice is always very flat in the film. For example, in the dialogue when the court explained to Ness that evidence of bribery of jury members was found, Garcia's tone did not show the shock and urgency it should have, and lacked dramatic tension. .
This is my first movie review. After watching so many movies, I found out that many of them are for nothing in the last few months: I just hide and enjoy and analyze so many classic movies instead of sharing them with the people around me. Enjoy the cinematic art and aesthetics. I just read a book called "The Art of Watching Movies" by New York University during the winter vacation. I was really shocked and attracted. That's why I decided to start writing film reviews, discussing and discussing my thoughts and analysis with everyone. A few movies with deep feelings are analyzed and analyzed, and the spark of thinking will definitely bring you and me more insights.
The Untouchables is number one on the movie charts in my opinion, so while I did my best to be impartial and fresh in writing this review, I was inevitably subjective or overlooked some important elements. In addition, there are many delays in writing this film review, and the writing ideas may be unclear. Please forgive me! Please be sure to leave a comment, I will humbly learn your opinions!
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