The Untouchables (film)
The Untouchables is a 1987 American gangster film directed by Brian De Palma and written by David Mamet. Based on the book The Untouchables (1957), the film stars Kevin Costner as government agent Eliot Ness, Robert De Niro as gang leader Al Capone, and Sean Connery as Irish-American officer Jimmy Malone (based on the real life Irish-American agent and "Untouchables" member Marty Lahart). The film follows Ness' autobiographical account of the efforts his Untouchables team to bring Capone to justice during Prohibition. The Grammy Award-winning score was composed by Ennio Morricone and features some period-correct music by Duke Ellington.
The Untouchables was released on June 3, 1987 and received positive reviews. Observers praised the film for its approach as well as its direction. The film was also a financial success, grossing $76 million domestically, and it was nominated for four Academy Awards, of which Connery received one for Best Supporting Actor.
Plot
During Prohibition in 1930, Al Capone has nearly the whole city of Chicago under his control and supplies illegal liquor. Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness is assigned to stop Capone, but his first attempt at a liquor raid fails due to corrupt policemen tipping Capone off. He has a chance meeting with Irish-American veteran officer Jimmy Malone, who is fed up with the rampant corruption and offers to help Ness, suggesting that they find a man from the police academy who has not come under Capone's influence. They recruit Italian-American trainee George Stone for his superior marksmanship and intelligence. Joined by accountant Oscar Wallace, assigned to Ness from Washington, D.C., they conduct a successful raid on a Capone liquor cache and start to gain positive publicity, with the press dubbing them "The Untouchables." Capone later kills the henchman in charge of the cache as a warning to his other men.
