35° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
BRIAN DE PALMA

THE UNTOUCHABLES

THE UNTOUCHABLES
by Brian De Palma
Country: USA
Year: 1987
Duration: 119'


Following the fiasco of Wise Guys, De Palma returns to the production formula of Scarface: big budget, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro in the cast, a faultless screenplay (by David Mamet, who wrote the same-titled TV series). 1930s Chicago, the fight against Al Capone (evil) conducted by the heroes led by special agent Eliott Ness (good), and the perfection of the sets and costumes (designed by Armani): a classically strong and solid film. A triumph of cinephilia in the staircase scene and of De Palma’s obsessions in Malone’s ambush scene.

Biography

film director

Brian De Palma

Brian De Palma (Newark, NJ, USA, 1940) studied physics at Columbia University in the 1960s, then switched to theater and film studies in grad school. He was exposed to various influences, from the movies made by Welles, Hitchcock, Antonioni, and Godard, to the lessons he learned from his drama teacher Wilford Leach. He started making short films and showing a keen interest in experimental cinema and European nouvelle vague movements. He made his first noteworthy feature films in the late 1960s and early 1970s with independent production companies: Greetings (1968), The Wedding Party (1969), and Hi, Mom! (1970), which starred Robert De Niro. Sisters (1973) was his first psychological thriller, which would become his trademark style. He gained international recognition in the late 1970s with the musical-thriller Phantom of the Paradise (1974), the horror movie Carry (1976, based on Stephen King’s novel), and Dressed to Kill (1980). He made some of his greatest hits in the 1980s: Blow Out (1981), Scarface (1983, which featured Al Pacino in the remake of Howard Hawks’ 1932 classic), and The Untouchables (1987), revealing his predilection for thrillers and gangster movies. After the flop of The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990, based on Tom Wolfe’s novel), he regained the critics and public’s favor with Carlito’s Way (1993), which starred again Al Pacino. He made his first blockbuster Mission: Impossible in 1996, and his first science fiction Mission to Mars in 2000. He then directed Femme Fatale (2002), The Black Dhalia (2006, based on James Ellroy’s novel), and the war movie Redacted (2007, winner of the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival). These last movies confirmed his visionary talent, unique among his generation of filmmakers that grew up in the New Hollywood period, and his sometimes-troubled relationship with the American movie industry.

FILMOGRAFIA

Icarus (cm, 1960), 660124: The Story of an IBM Card (cm, 1961), Woton’s Wake (cm, 1962), Jennifer (cm, 1964), Mod (cm, 1964), Bridge That Gap (cm, 1965), The Responsive Eye (cm, 1966), Show Me a Strong Town and I’ll Show You a Strong Bank (cm, 1966), Murder à la Mod (cm, 1968), Greetings (Ciao America!, 1968), The Wedding Party (Oggi sposi, 1969), Dionysus in ’69 (Dionisio nel ’69, 1970), Hi, Mom! (id., 1970), Get to Know Your Rabbit (Conosci il tuo coniglio, 1972), Sisters (Le due sorelle, 1973), Phantom of the Paradise (Il fantasma del palcoscenico, 1974), Obsession (Complesso di colpa, 1976), Carrie (Carrie - Lo sguardo di Satana, 1976), The Fury (Fury, 1978), Home Movies (Home Movies - Vizietti familiari, 1980), Dressed to Kill (Vestito per uccidere, 1980), Blow Out (id., 1981), Scarface (id., 1983), Body Double (Omicidio a luci rosse, 1984), Dancing in the Dark (videoclip, 1984), Relax, Version 3 (videoclip, 1984), Wise Guys (Cadaveri e compari, 1986), The Untouchables (The Untouchables - Gli intoccabili, 1987), Casualties of War (Vittime di guerra, 1989), The Bonfire of the Vanities (Il falò delle vanità, 1990), Raising Cain (Doppia personalità, 1992), Carlito’s Way (id., 1993), Mission: Impossible (id., 1996), Snake Eyes (Omicidio in diretta, 1998), Mission to Mars (id., 2000), Femme Fatale (id., 2002), The Black Dahlia (Black Dahlia, 2006), Redacted (id., 2007), Passion (2012), Domino (2018).

Cast

& Credits

regia/director
Brian De Palma
soggetto/story
dall’omonimo libro di/from the book of the same title by Eliot Ness
sceneggiatura/screenplay
David Mamet
fotografia/cinematography
Stephen H. Burum
montaggio/film editing
Gerald B. Greenberg, Bill Pankow
scenografia/production design
William A. Elliott
musica/music
Ennio Morricone
interpreti e personaggi/cast and characters
Kevin Costner (Eliot Ness), Sean Connery (Jim Malone), Charles Martin Smith (Oscar Wallace), Andy Garcia (George Stone), Robert De Niro (Al Capone)
produttore/producer
Art Linson
produzione/production
Paramount Pictures
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