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The Untouchables (1987)

tomatometer

81

Average Rating: 7.2/10
Reviews Counted: 42
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 8

Slick on the surface but loaded with artful touches, Brian DePalma's classical gangster thriller is a sharp look at period Chicago crime, featuring excellent performances from a top-notch cast.

86

Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 1

Slick on the surface but loaded with artful touches, Brian DePalma's classical gangster thriller is a sharp look at period Chicago crime, featuring excellent performances from a top-notch cast.

audience

87

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 189,416

My Rating

Movie Info

Like the TV series that shared the same title, The Untouchables (1987) was an account of the battle between gangster Al Capone and lawman Eliot Ness, this time in the form of a feature film boasting big stars, a big budget, and a script from respected playwright David Mamet. Kevin Costner stars as Ness, a federal agent who has come to Chicago during the Prohibition Era, when corruption in the local police department is rampant. His mission is to put crime lord Capone (Robert De Niro) out of

R, 1 hr. 59 min.

Drama, Action & Adventure

David Mamet

Jan 16, 2001

Paramount Pictures

Cast

All Critics (42) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (8) | DVD (33)

The results are watchable enough, with a particularly adept use of Sean Connery, Chicago locations, and period details.

May 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's vulgar, violent, funny and sometimes breathtakingly beautiful.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

An unqualified triumph.

November 28, 2002 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The Untouchables is a beautifully crafted portrait of Prohibition-era Chicago.

February 13, 2001 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

...only marginally entertaining.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

...it does not have a great script, great performances or great direction.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comments (14)
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A perfectly adequate Hollywood movie, even classy and entertaining at times, but, despite De Palma's brilliant set piece which reworks the Odessa steps sequence from Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, this is disappointing stuff.

May 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Film4 | Comment (1)

...a riveting motion picture, enhanced now in the kind of high-definition picture and sound that does it proud. (HD DVD Edition)

June 27, 2007 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis | Comment
Movie Metropolis

The film mostly revels in nostalgia and feels numb.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment (1)
Combustible Celluloid

De Palma's masterpiece is an exhilarating, moving and larger-than-life cops vs. crooks epic. Connery and De Niro steal the show in charismatic supporting turns. The best film of 1987.

February 18, 2006 Comment
FulvueDrive-in.com

The narrative thunders to its conclusion like a locomotive.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

De Palma's stylish crime-gangster tale is extremely enjoybale in large measure due to the set-pieces and homages to Sergio Leone and Eisenstein, but also to Sean Connery's great performance for which he deservedly won the Supporting Actor Oscar.

June 25, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

De Palma, Mamet, De Niro, Connery ... what's not to like?

April 3, 2005 Comment
eFilmCritic.com

A true crime classic film; DePalma's best.

October 26, 2004 Comment

It's one of the all-time great gangster flicks, a gorgeously realized production that places archetypal heroes and villains in the service of a rip-roaring storyline.

October 12, 2004 Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | Comment
Creative Loafing

Finally, a Brian De Palma movie for guys who watch movies with their ***** and don't want to be punished for it!

October 5, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment
Slant Magazine

Steeped in De Palma's glorious violence and sinuous cinematography, but stripped of his tricky sensuality and his anarchic self-reflective wit.

October 5, 2004 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | Comment (1)
Slant Magazine

Superb performances, exquisite direction and that Ennio Morricone score create an authentic 1920s Chicago feel and a hugely entertaining crime drama.

September 15, 2004 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

The pacing is lethargic as the director seems to treat this saga of law and order with mock seriousness.

August 25, 2004 Full Review | Comments (2)
Spirituality and Practice
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Untouchables

One of the best gangster movies made.

March 22, 2007
jmanard52

Super Reviewer

This was a good movie. Everybody does there thing the way they should. I would probably have give it 4 stars if I had watched it at another time. It just wasn't the right time to see it...I saw it again during the right time....hence the 4 stars

December 29, 2008
TheGame90
Martin Sahlin

Super Reviewer

    1. Al Capone: [sneering] Get out, you're nothing but a lot of talk and a badge.
    – Submitted by Aaron L (3 months ago)
    1. Reporter: They say they're going to repeal Prohibition. What will you do then?
    2. Catherine Ness: I think I'll have a drink.
    – Submitted by Scott G (6 months ago)
    1. Al Capone: I want him dead!
    – Submitted by Dan C (8 months ago)

Latest News for The Untouchables

August 29, 2011:
Nick Nolte Joins Gangster Squad
He'll play the chief of police who assembles a few good cops to take down Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).

July 25, 2011:
Harrison Ford Sizes Up Black Hats
He'd play "a retired Wyatt Earp who faces off with a Prohibition-era Al Capone."

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Foreign Titles

  • Die Unbestechlichen (DE)
  • Les Incorruptibles (FR)
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