The Untouchables on 70mm

Federal law under 18 U.S.C. § 371 requires conspirators to agree either to commit an offense against the U.S. or defraud it, with at least one party taking a concrete step toward that goal. In Prohibition-era Chicago, Treasury agent Eliot Ness (Kevin Costner) arrives determined to bring down Al Capone, only to discover that the gangster’s reach extends far beyond any one man. Brian De Palma transformed a TV property into a subversive crime epic drenched in pulp, melodrama, the western and, of course, a few dashes of Hitchcockian perversity, showing Capone (Robert De Niro, going full pudgy psychopath) not merely as a villain but as the visible face of an over-greased criminal system cloaked behind tailored suits, marble lobbies, opera boxes, and police badges. Even an elevator, in one of the film’s many bravura sequences, becomes a killing chamber, underscoring how criminal collusion occupies every corner of civic life. The brilliance of David Mamet’s screenplay is seeing how it counters Capone’s conspiracy with Ness’s secret posse—Sean Connery (in an Oscar-winning role), Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith—who must themselves conspire outside the law to uphold it.

Filmed in 35mm Panavision by Stephen H. Burum and enlarged to 70mm for select first-run engagements in 1987.

Please note: FLC is screening from one of the original release prints, which uses a vintage magnetic soundtrack. Audio tracks are stored on magnetic stripes attached to the film print itself and are more prone to degrade than optical soundtracks. It will sound louder and richer compared to most 35mm prints and many digital sound systems, but because it’s an older analog format you’ll also hear the wear-and-tear of its many years going through projectors. This is part of the experience, so let every hiss, softness, pop, intermittent silence and visual imperfection remind you of the many audience members who saw this same print before you.