The Untouchables

We talked about the Prohibition in classroom through « The Great Gatsby » (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I am going to talk about another movie about the Prohibition : The Untouchables.

The Untouchables is an American thriller, directed by Brian De Palma and released in 1987. At the beginning of the 1930s, it was the time of the Prohibition in Chicago. It was forbidden to make, drink or sell alcohol. Some people made and sold alcohol illegally : there were bootleggers. There was a kind of « gang war ». Al Capone, played by Robert De Niro, was very famous at that time. He controls the traffic and sale of alcohol. But a famous policeman, Eliott Ness (played by Kevin Costner), recruits three trustworthy men, untouchables, in order to clean Chicago of crimes. So Eliott Ness’ team was called the Untouchables. The Untouchables really existed as the characters of Al Capone and Frank Nitti. But several characters were invented (for example Jim Malone or Giuseppe Stone). Thanks to the Eliott Ness’ memories, the director was able to transcribe, in his script, Al Capone’s stalking, hunting. The famous Untouchables of Chicago were actually eleven and not four like in the movie. Al Capone’s trial was in 1931. He was sentenced to seventeen years in prison, including eleven years fixed.

 

 

 

 

Une réflexion sur « The Untouchables »

  1. I am a great fan of Brian De Palma’s work, And I love « The untouchables » but my favourite De Palma’s movie is definitely « Scarface » with Al Pacino: just amazing!!

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