“The Untouchables” is thirty-five years old, why is it still a perfect classic?

Thirty-five years have passed since the premiere of one of the best films in the history of cinema. A classic that has lost none of its charm and is always great news when you have the opportunity to see it again. Its success and its quality are not an accident, the combination of talents that participated is a true dream team, a mixture of giants who knew how to give the best they had in this film. Some lucky viewers who haven’t seen it yet have a chance to do so now at HBOMax.

The film is inspired by the success of the classic series The Untouchables (1959-1963) starring Robert Stack, one of the first television phenomena in history. Both are based on the memories of Elliott Ness, the treasury agent famous for leading a group that fought organized crime during the era of Prohibition in Chicago. That is the starting point, since both narratives prefer to take all possible poetic licenses and dedicate themselves to entertaining, in particular the film, which is fully dedicated to the great cinematographic spectacle. Although the series is legendary and the adaptations of television programs had not had much prestige until then, this film would become one of the great titles of the eighties.

The story of the film begins with the famous scene of the bomb, where a girl dies, a victim of the mafia actions of Al Capone and his henchmen, in particular the sinister Nitti. It is a fundamental scene, because it establishes that it will not idealize criminals, that it will not be an ambiguous gangster movie in that regard. The Untouchables It’s a movie about heroes, not about antiheroes or villains. It’s as classic as it gets, and it’s not afraid to defend the nobility of Elliott Ness and his crusade against crime, his defense of citizens, and his work to uphold the law. The film, of course, will find a way to go further, but always under the idea of ​​claiming the figure of the hero, not the mobster. In that it is almost on the verge of leaving the genre, but it has so many good action scenes that it manages to become one of the great gangster films in the history of cinema.

The merit is shared. Many talents united, each one doing his own thing, all doing their job with excellence. Starting by Brian De Palmathe director of carrie, blow-out, Scarface (remake of a classic of the genre) and body double. De Palma was one of the most sophisticated directors of those years and giving him this assignment gave the entire staging a visual quality that made many good scenes unforgettable moments in film history. The way De Palma moves the camera, how he builds every moment of action, but also of suspense, shows him as those great classic directors at the service of the best possible film.

All the scenes are extraordinary, each viewer will remember the different moments, because they are all worth it, it is really difficult to repeat a film like this, but to choose one, the one with the stairs of the train station has everything in one place . Spectacular wherever you look at it, with action, suspense, emotion and also, it is obviously a tribute to the classic of Soviet cinema The battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei M. Eisenstein and the time of the Odessa steps. That scene was always used as a sophisticated example of cinematographic montage, of pure cinema. De Palma quotes her and at the same time builds his own unforgettable moment.

De Palma is not alone. The script is by David Mamet, a screenwriter and playwright of enormous prestige who gives the structure of the script everything it needs. Great characters and plot twists that have both drama and humor. A luxury as great as having Ennio Morricone composing the soundtrack. The Italian musician, legendary for composing the music for Sergio Leone’s westerns, gives away one of his most refined scores. But the party does not end there. From the great title sequence the film connects with its mood and we soon discover that the costumes and art direction are stunning and none other than Giorgio Armani collaborated on the film’s costumes. So of course those suits look absolutely amazing, just like everything on screen.

And the actors are what we will remember when we leave the cinema. Kevin Costner He had been rising as a leading man, but this movie made him the star we all knew from then on. He manages to give Ness the credibility of the outright hero who must become more violent to achieve his goal. He is not an all-white hero and the film on his face makes him convincing in a more difficult role than he seems. Andy Garcia also gets, in his role as George Stone, one of those roles that mark a career. Charles Martin Smith, as Oscar Wallace, brings with him the innocence of the office worker turned hero, a character that will also mark the emotion of the film.

Sean Connery he is at perhaps the most perfect point of his extraordinary career. His role as Jim Malone seems written to the exact measure of his personality. In each scene in which he appears, everything has a unique shine. That’s being a movie star. In his role as mentor and guardian angel of Elliott Ness, Connery reaches moments that the whole world knew how to value. From the moment of the premiere to having an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in hand, all viewers, critics and members of the industry saw the value of his talent. Famous as he was, this film was a perfect moment to appreciate him properly.

And the great finishing touch is having Robert De Niro playing Al Capone. Made up and fat, De Niro – who at that time had not done many minor roles – has fun with his villain capable of instilling fear in some of the most violent moments of the film. Perhaps it is one of his best roles, although the laurels have all been for Connery. Billy Drago playing Frank Nitti is also a unique henchman whom the public learns to hate heartily. If something is not missing The Untouchables These are his great cathartic moments. A very intense cinematographic experience that is recorded in the viewer’s memory as it happens with those titles destined to become classics. Thirty-five years have passed since its premiere and it is still perfect.