The Untouchables (1987)

It's the best part of twenty years since I last thought about this film and it didn't rank high in my memory, largely because I could never understand the appeal of the very, very average abilities of Kevin Costner.  As far as I was concerned, he had made one splendid film -- "Field of Dreams" -- and his later epics were little more than self-indulgent messes.  However I thought it worthwhile to have another gander at this movie since it really has so many other factors going for it in its favour which just about compensate for the woodenness of its star. For a start it is a Brian De Palma concoction which means it is flashily put together with quirky visuals and with a heavy dose of gory violence.  This director has always been one to pay homage to other directors, most usually Hitchcock, but he certainly dresses these "steals" in his own style.  I did think that the Odessa Steps pastische (from Potemkin) was probably a bit over the top, but it was amusingly done and cleverly incorporated.

Other pluses are a pretty sharp Mamet script and a super Morricone score.  On top of this one has Sean Connery in Oscar-winning support as a Chicago-Irish cop (with Connery's usual Scottish inflection) and another favourite of mine, Charles Martin Smith, as part of Costner's team.   When they both were killed, the film lost much of its heart.  I am a little indifferent to Robert de Niro, here playing Al Capone, but he brought a smarmy reality to the role.  Best of all was a juicy part for the very strange-looking Billy Drago (one of my top villains) playing Capone's pet hitman.  So all in all, it was worth putting up with  Costner for the various other attractions on display; maybe Elliot Ness was also a bit of a stick!