The Untouchables (released in theaters on June 3, 1987) opens in 1930s Prohibition-era Chicago, a city under the absolute, bloody chokehold of the ruthless mob kingpin Al Capone (Robert De Niro).
Determined to end the rampant corruption and bootlegging, idealistic Federal Agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) is tasked with bringing Capone to justice, but his initial, heavily publicized raids are compromised by a thoroughly bribed police force led by dirty cops like Officer Preseuski (Don Harvey).
Realizing he cannot trust the regular department, Ness recruits an uncorrupted inner circle, starting with Jimmy Malone (Sean Connery), a street-smart, cynical Irish-American beat cop who teaches Ness the brutal, unwritten rules of dealing with the mob.
They expand their elite team to include Oscar Wallace (Charles Martin Smith), a mild-mannered government accountant who suggests targeting Capone’s finances, and George Stone (Andy García), an exceptionally sharp-shooting rookie police academy graduate.
The plot intensifies as the newly formed squad strikes heavy blows against Capone’s distribution warehouses, drawing the dangerous, direct wrath of the mobster.
Backed by corrupt police officials like Chief Mike Dorsett (Richard Bradford), Capone dispatches his sadistic, white-suited enforcer, Frank Nitti (Billy Drago), to intimidate Ness, going so far as to threaten Ness’s vulnerable wife, Catherine (Patricia Clarkson).
Despite the mounting danger, the team successfully intercepts a massive liquor shipment on the Canadian border, securing crucial ledger books that outline Capone’s systemic tax evasion.
Tensions escalate into tragedy when Nitti infiltrates the squad’s defenses, brutally assassinating both Wallace and Malone.
Fueled by grief and a fierce desire for justice, Ness and Stone orchestrate a breathtaking, slow-motion shootout at the Chicago Union Station to secure a vital witness, culminating in a dramatic courtroom battle where Ness must cross legal boundaries to permanently dismantle Capone’s criminal empire.
Director Brian De Palma delivers a visually breathtaking masterpiece, utilizing operatic camera movements, sweeping tracking shots, and intense, Hitchcockian suspense to bring old Chicago to life.
Costner gives a phenomenal, breakout performance as the moral, steadfast Ness, while Connery steals the film with an authoritative, Oscar-winning turn that anchors the emotional stakes.
De Niro is terrifyingly magnetic as Capone, infusing the villain with a larger-than-life, theatrical menace.
Chelcie Ross, Clifton James, and John Barrowman make brief appearances.
Sean Connery and Kevin Costner in The Untouchables (Photo/Paramount Pictures)
Reception for The Untouchables
The Untouchables grossed $10 million on its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Beverly Hills Cop II, which pulled in $12.4 million on its third weekend.
The film grossed $186.7 million worldwide.
Roger Ebert gave The Untouchables two and a half out of four stars in his review.
Lasting Legacy
The Untouchables‘ legacy lies in its status as the definitive, ultimate cinematic reimagining of the classic American gangster genre for the modern blockbuster era.
It represents a flawless convergence of legendary talent, perfectly pairing David Mamet‘s sharp, deeply quotable screenplay with a soaring, iconic musical score by Ennio Morricone that has become synonymous with cinematic justice.
The Untouchables‘ legendary Union Station baby carriage shootout stands permanently as one of the most celebrated, analyzed, and parodied sequences in film history, demonstrating De Palma’s peerless mastery of visual suspense.
By elevating a nostalgic television series into a gritty, high-art thriller, it created a lasting cultural blueprint for historical crime dramas, remembered for its exquisite art direction, its exploration of moral compromise, and Malone’s immortal, enduring philosophy on the “Chicago way.”
