The Untouchables (1987)

"They pull 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." (Jimmy Malone)

Ahhh Chicago.  The Cubs.  The history.  The corruption.  The love.  The food. -I know a place on the north side that will make a hot beef sandwich with more fiery peppers than beef and dunk the whole thing in au ju for $5 #num.  That huge fire started by Mrs. O'leary's cow.  What a town!  If you didn't know, The Untouchables is the story of Elliot Ness and his cop crew's quest to run Al Capone out of Chicago.

While I loved the swagger, the art, the script, the acting (except for DeNiro as Capone), and the costumes, I think that Brian DePalma (the director) might have been more concerned with the visuals and subtext of each shot than making the audience connect with the major themes of the movie.  I thought there was a lot more that could have been contrasted within the themes.  One of the themes was that "The Law is the Law", while at the same time Malone always says "What are you prepared to do?".  More could have been done in this field.  Don't get me wrong, I think he did a great job, but the 8 minute illusion to Serge Eisenstien's "The Battle Ship Potempkin" was a little much.  That baby in the buggy falling down the stairs during a gun fight with sailors everywhere...sheesh.  (You should all see "Battleship Potempkin" if you get the chance.)

Ratings:
Sergei Eisenstein:  See it
Gangsters: Skip it

Lawmen:  See it

Black Hawks, White Sox, Bulls, Cubs, Bears:  See it (But know that MN will and should always beat you.)

Ditka:  See it

Hurricane Ditka:  See it

Robert DiNero fans:  Skip it ( I just thought. He's done better.)

On a scale of a knife to gun fight to a gun at a missile fight, I give The Untouchables 3.7 out of 5 stars.