“Daddy was a cop, on the East side of Chicago…. Back in the USA, back in the bad old days…” Paper Lace - “The Night Chicago Died” I’ve always had a thing about mobster movies, partially because of my Italian lineage and the fact that my family grew up in Chicago. Unfortunately, I did not as my parents opted to move down to Texas shortly after I was born. (They traded mobsters for outlaws.) Never really enjoying the ‘wonders’ of Texas, I’ve spent the better part of my life trying to get back up north. In the meantime, I placate myself by watching shows like “The Sopranos” or movies like “Scarface.” Now I don’t want to give you the idea that I like mobsters, I’m just fascinated by the subject. I am similarly interested in Nazis, serial killers, and the Klan, but only from an educational standpoint. I consider them the ‘bad guys’ and don’t have any desire to become like them. So it should come as no surprise that I absolutely went nuts over the film, “The Untouchables” when it first came out in 1987.

I was only a so-so fan of director Brian DePalma’s work at the time, but I was completely blown away by this movie. I considered it to be kind of an off-shoot of the original TV series that starred Robert Stack, which I used to watch as a kid (in re-runs… I’m not THAT old…). I loved that whole ‘G-men going after the rum-running gangsters’ premise. Standing in for Stack in the role of Eliot Ness was Kevin Costner, and I felt that he brought an ‘everyman’ feel to the role. But even though Costner was the star of the film, he was overshadowed by Sean Connery and Robert DeNiro. Connery played Jimmy Malone, the Chicago cop who is dragged into Ness’s war against Al Capone. This was one of the last of Connery’s great roles, where he totally immersed himself into the character. He even won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Since that time however, most of his roles have been well played, but you never really get past the idea that you’re watching Connery, instead of seeing the character.

As for DeNiro, well let’s just say he completely owned the role of al Capone. His screen time is minimal compared to the rest of the cast, but there’s not a moment wasted. Always the actor’s actor, DeNiro gained weight and had his hairline receded in order to play the role. He plays the role with such subtle nuances and even though you can always see the raging brutality lying just beneath the surface, when he cuts loose it’s a shock. And trust me, he cuts loose. I haven’t seen such vicious use of a baseball bat since last year’s Ranger season.

“The Untouchables” has long been one of my favorite DePalma movies, in part because its one of his most coherent, but more so because of the amazing camera work that he uses throughout the film. Whether looking over a sweeping vista in Canada or down a darkened and foggy Chicago street, every shot is pure gold. The tracking shot used during a sequence of events that take place at Malone’s apartment is a DePalma signature, and here it is used to great effect. Even his homage to Russian director Sergei Eisenstein’s “Battleship Potemkin”, which is one of the most talked about scenes from the movie, is brilliant.

Paramount is adding “The Untouchables” to its ever growing list of older films being released to DVD. Even better is that they are making up for past transgressions by releasing them with extra features that go beyond just a trailer or two. This particular release, which is worth every penny with or without extra features, could certainly be considered loaded.

To begin with, there are four brand new featurettes, all of which are more than worthwhile. “The Script, The Cast” offers up a lengthy behind the scenes look at the film, complete with newer interviews with DePalma and producer Art Linson. We also hear from Kostner, Connery, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith, but they are pulled from much older interviews. In “Production Stories”, we hear from director of Photography Stephen H. Burum, who goes into great detail about some of the challenges of shooting the film, as well as some of the original ideas that were shot down (so to speak…). “Reinventing the Genre” allows DePalma the opportunity to describe why he opted to shoot some of the more memorable scenes a certain way. “The Classic” looks a bit at the music score for the film as well as the overall success of the film. The last featurette “The Men”, is a older one that was filmed around the time of the film’s release and has a few extra bits of interviews from some of the cast members.

There are so many reasons to recommend this DVD, first and foremost being the film itself. “The Untouchables” is a great film, and if you haven’t seen it, you should. The extra features are just icing on the cake. Kudos to Paramount for dusting this one off and getting it back out there on the DVD market.

Directed by: Brian DePalma
Starring: Kevin Costner, Robert DeNiro, Sean Connery
Extras: Four New Featurettes - “The Script, The Cast”, “Production Stories”, “Reinventing the Genre”, “The Classic”, and an Original Featurette from the Film’s Initial Release - “The Men”
Specifications: Widescreen Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 10/5/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give The Untouchables: Special Edition an A.