``The Untouchables'' A masterpiece of a gangster movie in which three people meet to restart their careers.

The magic of “The Untouchables”

The unknown Kevin Costner, the big name actor Robert De Niro, and the veteran actor Sean Connery. Their relationship, strangely enough, can be directly applied to the relationship between the characters in the movie. A mafia boss that everyone in the world knows and an unknown investigator trying to capture him. A veteran police officer teaches the investigator the know-how he has learned throughout his life. There is no doubt that this balance brings a synergistic effect that feels like ``magic'' to the movie.

In terms of "movie magic," there is another surprising episode. The most famous scene in ``The Untouchables'' is the shooting scene in Chicago's Union Station, where a baby carriage falls down the stairs. This scene is also known as a reference to and imitation of the Odessa staircase scene in Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (25). In fact, the idea was created when it suddenly became impossible to film using a train due to budget constraints.

“The Untouchables” trailer

The original script included a shootout taking place on a parked train (parts of this sequence were used in Carlito's Road (1987)!). However, the film didn't have the budget to use trains from the 1930s. Today, actors would have acted in front of a green screen, and the trains would have been rendered using CG.

A complex cut that combines footage shot at normal speed and footage shot at high speed, making full use of the top and bottom of narrow stairs, and a series of shots from multiple perspectives. The staircase scene in ``The Untouchables'' is such a well-crafted scene that it was actually a coincidence.

By the way, the baby in the pram in this scene is Gary Hymes' son Colin, who served as stand coordinator. He has been in charge of stunts since he was born, and currently works as a stunt driver in many Hollywood productions such as ``Captain Marvel'' (19) and ``The Terminator: Genisys'' (15). Are active.

Over the years, we have become a society where bribery and fraud are commonplace, and "The Untouchables" = "untouchables" = "those who cannot be bought (by the mafia or politicians)" It can be said that this movie depicts the justice that we should consider now for the sake of self-discipline.

Friends of the "The Untouchables" scouted by Eliot Ness. Originally, they had no common background. However, within the mainstream of society, they all have a common denominator, which is that they are burdened with a certain kind of negative burden, regardless of their social status, class, religion, or race.

Those who dare to rebel against a society where bribery and fraud are commonplace, join forces with others, and fight against the seemingly impossible capture of Capone. Looking back, for Brian De Palma, Kevin Costner, and Sean Connery at the time, ``The Untouchables'' was a backwater in which they tried to restart their careers, just as they did at the time. It is.

【source】

・“The Untouchables” (87) Blu-ray video bonus

・"De Palma" (15)

・“The Untouchables” theater pamphlet

・Daily Record September 27, 2008

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/sir-roger-moore-reveals-the-highs-991827

Text: Takeo Matsuzaki

Film critic Graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media, majoring in film. After working on TV and movie sets, he turned to writing specialized in movies. Currently appearing on TV, radio, and online distribution programs such as ``Plus'' and ``Japan Group.'' He has contributed numerous articles to ``Kinema Junpo'', ``ELLE'', movie theater pamphlets, etc. Currently, he is a member of the Kinema Junpo Best Ten selection committee, a judge for the ELLE Cinema Awards, the Tanabe Benkei Film Festival, and the Creators Factory section of the Kyoto International Film Festival. Co-authored “Modern Movie Terminology Dictionary” (Kinema Junposha) and others.

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"The Untouchables"

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