The Untouchables (1987)'s activity

I was surprised at how much of the imagery that comes to mind when I think of gangland Chicago came from The Untouchables, when I probably first and last saw it near its release, but I think it's even infected my memories of the Odessa steps scene in Battleship Potemkin. Though completely ahistorical, De Palma's gangster pulp is filled with memorable action scenes and cracking dialog supplied by David Mamet who obviously wanted this to be more of a morality play. It still is - as Elliot Ness' purehearted boyscout eventually gets pushed into doing things the "Chicago way" - but it's more exciting than what on the page. This is Kevin Costner before he was a big star, and he's a little raw at times, but it's also before he started grating on my nerves. You need him, but really, all the other members of the team are cooler from the young Andy Garcia to the streetwise veteran Sean Connery, but I think especially the Charles Martin Smith as the bloodthirsty accountant who has the key to putting Capone behind bars. On the villains' side, you have De Niro of course, but his assassin played by the lizard-in-human-skin Billy Drago is creepy as hell. I will say that some of the pulp elements can be a little silly (the courtroom scene, for example), but generally, this is a slick-looking, suspenseful crime picture with a strong ethical thruline. And heck, Morricone on score?!